Soul Musiq

Musiq Soulchild (AKA Taalib Johnson) was never the most hyped neo-soulster but, six albums in, he's still making music while many have fallen aside. The Just Friends (Sunny) vocalist recently published a book. Now he's headed to Australia for his first tour – "a dream fulfilled". What has the Philadelphian heard about us? "Nuthin' much, sad to say," Johnson muses. "However, I'm definitely looking forward to learning a whole lot once I get out there from whoever I speak to. I'm just that kinda person – I rather hear it from the people who live there, because I feel as though they can tell me best."

When in 2000 Johnson premiered with Aijuswanaseing, there was a buzz about Philadelphia's boho hip hop soul scene, the city spawning The Roots, Ursula Rucker and Jill Scott. Even John Legend, a uni student from Ohio, started out in Philly. Johnson, an aspiring singer (and sometime beatboxer), performed around the city's traps – and busked. But four years ago he relocated to Atlanta. "I think that the music scene is still there," Johnson says of his old hometown. "I don't know how heavy it is. I don't hear anyone speaking of it anywhere close to how music was being appreciated and presented in the time when I was coming up – when the whole 'neo-soul' movement was being cultivated. I don't really get that same kinda vibe."

Johnson, who's received over 10 Grammy nominations, has been remarkably consistent with his albums – despite leaving the Def Jam stable for Atlantic in 2005. Yet his most successful outing remains the sophomore Juslisen, which debuted at No. 1 Stateside. Johnson last unveiled the poppier Musiqinthemajiq, entailing the Swizz Beatz-helmed Anything, in 2011.

Nevertheless, several '90s soulsters – D'Angelo, Maxwell, Lauryn Hill – have grappled with fame and industry politics. Johnson feels "blessed" to have sustained a career but, if he is a soul survivor, it's due to his pragmatism. "In a lotta ways I've allowed there to be a buffer space between myself and what was going on because I know how emotional I am, and how sensitive I am, when it comes to my creativity and how it's being perceived." Astonishingly, Johnson admits to not necessarily airing the music he'd like to, but rather that his fans (and others) "request". "If I was put in the position where you put me in the studio and everything comes from my head and from my heart, I probably would have had a totally different run." He is "grounded" and "aware", surrounding himself with advisors who "keep it real". "I'm just doing my best to stay focussed." 

But Johnson is progressing musically – and challenging himself, having acquired confidence. "I've evolved a lot as an artist. I'm not the same person creatively today as I was in 2000 when I released my first album, Aijuswanaseing. I've learned so much more since then. The way that I challenge myself is to just accept whatever is coming at me and do the best that I can do with it. As I mentioned before, I've yet to really make music out of my own mind and out of my own heart. I've basically taken what was presented to me – whether through the label or producers or writers or management teams, even requests from my supporters and my audience and my fans and my listeners – and I've just done the best that I can do with that. My entire career, as a matter of fact now that I think about it, has been one huge challenge after another (laughs). So I'm consistently being challenged. My biggest challenge right now I think would be to make music out of my own heart and out of my own mind in a way where it's consistent with what you guys have been exposed to, but also feed my own creativity – without compromising the same element that you guys get from the brand 'Musiq Soulchild'." Johnson will commence a seventh album following his Australian trek.

Today R&B is all but dormant. It's been subsumed into EDM. Mariah Carey is just one traditionalist expressing disquiet. Ironically, the Brit Adele is among few alt-soulsters in the charts. Johnson, who's venturing into production, Bow Wow a client, maintains that the labels and, crucially, their "investors" are calling the shots, the music biz run like a "factory". "They chase whatever is trending at the moment and they want everyone to fall in line with that criteria – with no regard to the legacy of what an artist is doing." If there's been a deluge of dance or "pop-focussed music", it's as much down to what audiences are demanding. This, Johnson says, poses "a dilemma" for artists wanting to be relevant. "We're all the guilty victims." A rebellious Frank Ocean languished on Def Jam before slyly unleashing his hot mixtape nostalgia, ULTRA. That such tactics are required is "a shame", Johnson holds. "Unfortunately, some people don't have the stomach for it, they just don't have the patience or the tolerance for it... That's why you just never hear from people no more, because it's not easy." Curiously, Aijuswanaseing actually had contributions from a house cat, albeit a cred one, in Osunlade. 

Johnson has stumbled on a new creative outlet. This year he authored the playful 143 – Love According To Musiq, after being approached with the idea by Atlanta's little known DIP Publishing. Initially, Johnson, the oldest of nine and now a father himself, had reservations about becoming R&B's Dr Phil, not possessing any qualifications, apart from writing songs that have touched lives. (He quit school early.) Johnson came around. "I often find myself having conversations about love. Love is a very important and passionate topic for me and I end up just going on and on and on about it. People would just say, 'Dude, you should write a book – you're saying a lot of stuff that people need to hear. Really.'" 143... was completed in a matter of months, Johnson chatting "for about three hours" with DIP boss Argus Milton and then editing the transcript. Johnson will be delving into his back catalogue in Oz with "track shows". "I'll pretty much be doing the hits. I wish I was coming out there with my band – unfortunately, it didn't work out that way. However, it just means that I've gotta work my way back."

Musiq Soulchild is playing the following shows:

Thursday 13 September - Hi-Fi, Melbourne
Friday 14 September - Hi-Fi, Sydney
Saturday 15 September - Mystique, Brisbane