Musiq Soulchild's Fourth Effort Delivers More of the Usual
Lerone Graham
Section: Entertainment
After a four-year hiatus, Musiq Soulchild is back with his fourth album, "Luvanmusiq."
Fans who fell in love with his 2000 release, "Aijuswanaseing," will be pleased to know that Musiq maintains the same soft, smooth, narrative based style that topped the charts the first time around.
However, being a veteran in the game and after such a long wait there could have been more growth.
The first single, "B.U.D.D.Y." is the most bouncy, light-hearted track of this short and sweet offering. You can tell that this track was made to be a single because of its mid-tempo, hip-hop influence and simple lyrical content.
This isn't a bad thing, because Musiq's trademark laid-back, smooth delivery makes it easy to listen to. An artist with any less style would come off corny on this track.
One thing I appreciate about this album is that Musiq isn't afraid to take off his "cool" when dealing with certain subject matter.
On the song, "Teach Me," he talks about the way men are conditioned to be hard and uncaring, or act hard and uncaring, in today's "wannabe gangsta" society. He admits that he is flawed and asks his lady to teach him how to love.
In "The Questions" he sings, "When I think about all the girls I'm with all the time/Yes I like to please their bodies but I feel like it's a waste of time."
With so many artists portraying an unapologetic player mentality, it's nice to hear another side of the story.
Much of the album is slow and romantic, but there are a few up-tempo songs that give the album a change of pace.
"Ridiculous" is a feel-good song where he tells a woman how she makes him feel.
"Make You Happy" is a danceable song where he explains different things he would do to make a woman happy.
My biggest complaint with the album is that there isn't anything that really reached out and grabbed me like there were with previous albums from Musiq.
Though he reunited himself with the previously abandoned moniker of "Soulchild" on this album, part of me wondered where the "soul" went.
While he is still true to his neo-soul style and formula, in some instances he didn't make me believe he was speaking from his soul. With the amount of "baby's" and "girl's" uttered throughout the album, he often came off as cookie-cutter and cliché.
While "Luvanmusiq" is by no means a bad album, after listening to all 12 tracks I can't say it's an album I just have to run out and buy. I feel like it's an enjoyable album, but it lacks the kind of substance that would have me unknowingly memorizing songs or singing them as I go about my everyday tasks.
With recent R&B releases like, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke," this CD would most likely get lost in the mix of my collection.
My advice would be to pick it up if you're a fan, or are in the mood for some solid, romantic R&B- but don't expect anything groundbreaking.
Fans who fell in love with his 2000 release, "Aijuswanaseing," will be pleased to know that Musiq maintains the same soft, smooth, narrative based style that topped the charts the first time around.
However, being a veteran in the game and after such a long wait there could have been more growth.
The first single, "B.U.D.D.Y." is the most bouncy, light-hearted track of this short and sweet offering. You can tell that this track was made to be a single because of its mid-tempo, hip-hop influence and simple lyrical content.
This isn't a bad thing, because Musiq's trademark laid-back, smooth delivery makes it easy to listen to. An artist with any less style would come off corny on this track.
One thing I appreciate about this album is that Musiq isn't afraid to take off his "cool" when dealing with certain subject matter.
On the song, "Teach Me," he talks about the way men are conditioned to be hard and uncaring, or act hard and uncaring, in today's "wannabe gangsta" society. He admits that he is flawed and asks his lady to teach him how to love.
In "The Questions" he sings, "When I think about all the girls I'm with all the time/Yes I like to please their bodies but I feel like it's a waste of time."
With so many artists portraying an unapologetic player mentality, it's nice to hear another side of the story.
Much of the album is slow and romantic, but there are a few up-tempo songs that give the album a change of pace.
"Ridiculous" is a feel-good song where he tells a woman how she makes him feel.
"Make You Happy" is a danceable song where he explains different things he would do to make a woman happy.
My biggest complaint with the album is that there isn't anything that really reached out and grabbed me like there were with previous albums from Musiq.
Though he reunited himself with the previously abandoned moniker of "Soulchild" on this album, part of me wondered where the "soul" went.
While he is still true to his neo-soul style and formula, in some instances he didn't make me believe he was speaking from his soul. With the amount of "baby's" and "girl's" uttered throughout the album, he often came off as cookie-cutter and cliché.
While "Luvanmusiq" is by no means a bad album, after listening to all 12 tracks I can't say it's an album I just have to run out and buy. I feel like it's an enjoyable album, but it lacks the kind of substance that would have me unknowingly memorizing songs or singing them as I go about my everyday tasks.
With recent R&B releases like, "The Evolution of Robin Thicke," this CD would most likely get lost in the mix of my collection.
My advice would be to pick it up if you're a fan, or are in the mood for some solid, romantic R&B- but don't expect anything groundbreaking.
August 30th
Spartan Echo TV
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