Nothing worth having comes without struggle and sacrifice, and the most noble of struggles are those we endure for the good of the ones we love. It's not always about the struggle, but who you struggle for - whose life is better because of the sacrifices you make. When the going gets rough, sometimes we gotta pray just to see the bigger picture. So here's a song that keeps me going from three soul brothers who brought the message home: Anthony Hamilton, Musiq Soulchild, and Jaheim. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to Daddy's Little Girls and I'm hopin' it'll bring you some inspiration to help you start your week.

What I really love about Musiq Soulchild's videos is the fact that he doesn't do a video simply for the sake of doing a video. He chooses treatments that have depth and meaning to them and portray a concept that parallels the song. Such is the case with SoBeautiful from his latest album OnMyRadio. The union between song and video here is excellent, every element of the video's production is meaningful and relevant to the lyrics. If you haven't checked out the album, Musiq definitely stepped it up this time around, and I highly recommend it. Check out the review here.

Just when the rumors about India.Arie and Musiq being an item were starting to die down, this video for Chocolate High will probably re-ignite the buzz. The video, like the song, is very simple and kinda playful. The interactions of the two play out some of the quirky moments in a relationship. I'm feelin it for it's simplicity and it's celebration of black love, and for some reason this song always makes me think of Barack and Michelle...

Artist: Musiq Soulchild
Album: On My Radio

Release Date: 12.9.08

Fans who found themselves slightly disappointed with Musiq Soulchild’s last release will be happy to find that he’s got his mojo back with the release of his 5^th album, On My Radio. With each album, Musiq generally keeps things the same, but ventures further from his neo-soul origins into the world of R&B. The songs on this project run the gamut in the R&B arena, from funky bass-heavy numbers, smoothin’ it out with mellow mid-tempos and slowin it all the way down with Musiq’s classic soul touch. It’s a very honest and mature album in terms of content and does justice to represent the true gentlemen.

Like all of his previous projects, this is an album about emotions, sensitivity and honesty from a man’s point of view. The album was kicked off in August with the release of its hip-hop flavored lead single Radio, which I can appreciate for its versatility and variation in sound and feel. The downside (or maybe the upside) with releasing it as a lead single is that it doesn’t accurately represent the remainder of the project, but you can look to cuts like the album’s opener Backagain, and Iwannabe (featuring Damian Marley) to keep the beat moving. For Musiq’s soulful vocal range, less usually tends to be more as proven on Until one of the album’s highlights. While it doesn’t have any over-the-top vocal styling, its smooth delivery is what makes this track easily a fan-favorite. Other standout tracks on this album include the ballad Dearjohn, Someone, and the second single, If U Leave (featuring Mary J. Blige), an amazing track about understanding your mate, although it sounds way too much like Teachme from Musiq’s last album (Luvanmusiq). Someone is definitely one of my favorite joints here, next to Sobeautiful; both cuts are lyrically filled with passion but vocally contrasting, Sobeautiful is delivered flawlessly in Musiq’s rich falsetto over a love-inspired instrumental.

Don’t expect too much of a change in the formula; the sound on this album is very romantic, and fit to suit a mature audience. There are a few songs that are definitely worth keeping in rotation, and there are some that are less memorable. This album is worth the listen, it’s definitely a step up from Musiq’s last release, and is leaps and bounds beyond that Christmas EP released a few months back. I’d like to hear Musiq switch his style up more on the next one though, I kinda liked where he was going with Radio and would like to hear him experiment more with different styles. Still, the soul still flows on this album, which is a lot more than most artists I hear on my radio…

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A Shining Soulstar
Don't Touch My Radio

-Mack-

Artist: Musiq Soulchild
Album: A Philly Soul Christmas (EP)
Release Date: 10.28.08

Well, it’s that time of the year folks, and Christmas music is certain to be ringing in every mall and store from here to the North Pole and beyond very soon if it isn’t already. A Philly Soul Christmas is Musiq Soulchild’s offering for the season, an EP of 7 traditional Christmas carols delivered with some jazzy, neo-soul flavor. I’ll get straight to the point: this is a prime example of “just because you can sing, doesn’t mean you can sing everything”.

Musiq has a very monotone voice and a rather limited range which works well for his neo-soul style music. But traditional Christmas carols require a lot more than a limited range. His songs kinda take the joy out of the Christmas carols for me because his voice sounds so bland. Production-wise though, this has some great stuff. In fact, if he were to release just the instrumentals from this release, I’d cop it and rock it at my holiday party. I’d give him a C for effort, but a D- on the overall attempt. The best song to me was O Come All Ye Faithful, his voice moves a lot lighter and easier over the piano-led melody. This is actually one of the best renditions of that song that I’ve heard from any contemporary artist. His version of Deck The Halls comes in a smooth second place, but I could honestly do without the rest.

I’m sure his new album On My Radio will be much better when it’s released on 12.9.08 so I’ll be checkin for that. But if you’re on the hunt for new sounds of the season, I don’t recommend this one…

-Mack-

1. Know what you want out of the situation in and be honest. No one demonstrates this better than Musiq Soulchild, but not just on one track, he gives you two. On his very first single, Just Friends, he takes the nice guy approach of just kickin it with a nice shawty and letting it flow from there. If that’s not the way you wanna go, check out one of his more recent joints B.U.D.D.Y. an anthem about the beauty of being friends with benefits.

2. Ladies this one’s for you: keep it real with your heart, and don’t play us with the rebound game. The #2 joint on this week’s countdown is Danity Kane with Damaged. Although the topic makes for a nice song, emotional baggage isn’t cool at all. If you need someone to fix it, maybe you need Jesus. And besides, keepin’ it real upfront causes less stress down the road.

3. A lot of fellas meet the nice lookin chick and think they’re willing to take on any challenge for her. That is, until her 15 year old son shows up and he’s taller than you. That’s why comin in at #3 is Lyfe Jennings with She Got Kids. On the real, kids are an important part to any person’s life, man or woman. If you can’t handle that you probably don’t wanna date someone with kids.

4. The #1 reason relationships dissolve is lack of communication. The #2 reason is too much communication – from outside forces. Up at #4 is Brandy and Kanye West with Talk About Our Love. A good way to keep your relationship in perspective is to keep everyone else OUT.

5. Fellas and ladies, if your significant other has an unusual amount of contact with the one before you, it might be a sign. The #5 joint is Mya with Case of the Ex. Mya was onto something here; if the ex is too close, you might need to move on to the next. Midnight phone calls, text messages and unexpected cameos from the ex could end up turning you into the next ex.

6. Fellas don’t fool yourself: if she left him for you, she’d leave you for the next man. #6 is an artist who needs a search party to dig him out of his retirement: Ginuwine with What’s So Different? Keep it in perspective and ask yourself, what’s really so different? The answers may shock you…

7. If this song hits home for you, it might be time to pick up and move. The #7 jam is from a woman who could write a book on keeping relationships in perspective – and that’s because she’s in one of the most successful celebrity marriages of our time. It’s none other than Tamia’s smash single Stranger In My House. This song highlights trust issues, which is yet another reason for the failure of relationships. When the trust is gone, you’re just slow dancing in a burning room.

You can never underestimate the power of music -- it moves you, relaxes you, gives you strength, inspiration, and can make you experience an unlimited number of emotions. Somewhere through the course of time, it has blessed us with a soulchild endowed with the very same abilities... The B.U.D.D.Y. of many devoted fans delivered a crowd rousing performance in Charlotte, NC last night, backed by his amazing band and vocalists. Musiq took the stage at Amos' performing hits that span 4 albums and threw in some new music from his eagerly anticipated 5th album entitled On My Radio, due out November 25th. From start to finish, it was a show packed with exciting energy and an amazing display of Musiq's smooth vocals and range.

The show kicked off with the ever-familiar jam Just Friends (Sunny) and moved on to more favorites like Halfcrazy and Forthenight, which ignited a slew of steppers to unravel their stresses beneath the rhythm. Going back to his debut album, he reached out to “the true Musiq Soulchild fans” with You And Me, Girl Next Door, and had the whole crowd spelling out their disbelief of how Mary could be so cruel (shouts to the real ‘Girl Next Door’ and her company down front that kept talking to Musiq during the show!). After a bit of a vocal teaser, he belted out every fan’s favorite, his signature Love and let his juicy falsetto bring smiles to the hundreds of faces gathered as he hit that infamous note. There was a connection with the audience during Teachme that just seemed to make the entire performance extra special for everyone in attendance. I’d personally like to thank Musiq for performing my favorite track from his last album Luvanmusiq, the Raphael Saadiq-helmed Betterman; that one holds a special place for this fan of the soul star.

This 80-minute performance embodied the very element that completes a live show – the music. Each time I’ve seen Musiq hit the stage, he leads his band in a jam session that is simply amazing for a fan to watch and hear. He leaves behind the glitz and glamour of his celebrity and connects with his fans. Only an artist with proven ability could have a sea of dedicated fans singing every lyric and ad lib as they sway from left to right. As for the new music, it sounds like Musiq hasn't lost his touch one bit, and is still ready to bring yet another album of hits. for you to 'Juslisen' to. Aside from the acoustic problems of the venue, this show was There are no signs of slowing down for Musiq - I think I speak for every fan that attended the show last night when I say 'I'm so glad!'

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- Don't Touch My Radio

- My Life Sounds Like...

-Mack-