TEAM RNS PRESENTS

LABEL: Def Soul

RIPPER: Team RNS

1hr 11min total-102.7mb

RELEASE DATE: 2003-12-09
RIP DATE: 2003-11-25

01 Soulstar (Feat. DJ Aktive &    3:02

04 Forthenight (Feat. Aaries)     3:50
05 Infatueighties                 4:36

09 Momentinlife (Feat. Kindred    4:43
The Family Soul & Cee-Lo)

11 Dontstop (Feat. Bilal)         8:08
12 Whereareyougoing               4:28

15 Givemorelove / Leavemessage    9:46

Another Day Another Pre and another
shitty group with fakes, Stop defending
them because no matter what they will just
make you look stupid in the end when
they keep faking and reencoding and
releasing nukes. Enjoy this nice early

How does one bend tradition without making
it break? How can you travel through
space without leaving home? How can a
multi-platinum artist, after only two
albums, turn his third into an
exploration of futuristic funk without
forgetting his roots in homegrown soul
and old school hip hop?

Singer/songwriter/producer Musiq has the
answers to those questions on SOULSTAR; a
collection of fifteen memorable moments
of soulsong, familiar and freakishly

Recording as usual, in his hometown of
Philadelphia, Musiq and Writing/producing
partners Carvin Haggins and Ivan Barias
have gone so far beyond the tag
"neo-soul" on SOULSTAR, you almost
forget their previous collaborations,
2000's Aijuswanaseing and 2002's
Juslisen defined that genre.

Musiqs desire to make his singularly,
iconoclastic vision known gave
Aijuswanaseing a hushed but rushed
quality to its caramel-coated grooves; a
rawness that made his love songs
tougher and his tough songs lovelier.
For Juslisen, Musiq learned the value of
teamwork; how to hip hop jump start even
the smokiest, subtle groove. "I allowed
other people's ideas to filter through
more, to let other people's talent

Those albums, influenced by Musiqs
heroes, Stevie Wonder and Donny
Hathaway, are benchmarks of modern soul
based. But on SOULSTAR, Musiq has added
new colors to his palette of inspiration
- James Brown, David Bowie, Fela Kuti,
Sly Stone - while maintaining a style
uniquely his own, finding even newer

"With the changes on SOULSTAR, I'm
trying to warm people to the idea that
there's more to me than whatever "neo
soul" is", says Musiq, letting audiences
of all stripes know theres life beyond
R&B, beyond Philly, beyond rational
thought. SOULSTAR is a mix of album
one's raw qualities and the dignity of
number two's professionalism, with a new
creativity that sees the Musiq sound
soaring into the future with his sensual
soul-slinging voice and its lyrical

"I'm not necessarily going in a
different direction than the last two
records says Musiq, of the retro-fit
R&B of Aijuswanaseing and Juslisen.
"I'm just going about things in a
different way. It's the same road. I'm
just in a newer car."

Like its predecessors, SOULSTAR had its
start after a long bout of touring. This
gave the sessions between Musiq and the
Mama's Boys production team of Barias
and Haggins a looseness at one with
the live vibe of the road.

The first song written was the
game-playing analogy of "Womanopoly".
"Yeah, that's Carvin", laughs Musiq of
his partner's wordplay; a story about an
unhappy, ambitious girl moving up to Park
Place to snag her share of the Community

If Carvin works the words with Musiq,
it's Ivan who takes responsibility, with
Musiq, for the music and production.

"Though I play singer, we're one unit
says Musiq of the trios Car Mu I name. I
translate what they do my own way."

"It's that feel-good vibe" says Musiq
of the title track's lush introduction
soulstar. After that, Musiq leaves his
city of brotherly love for points south
(the dirty, "romanicipation"), north (the
chilled ballad "whoknows"), and
off-the-planet (the future-funked

SOULSTAR's first single, "Forthenight"
is a slapped-hard rhythmic track with a
bridge thats a catchy, quirky switch
up from its tuneful melody; dedicated
as much to the 80s as it is the romance
of commitment-phobia. So too does
"infatueighties" sell its soul to the
hedonistic decade, with its rat-tat-tat
rhythm and tit-for-tat sexuality.
"That's my B-Boy song" says Musiq.

The same thing can be said of his cover
of the Rolling Stones' "missyou, a
rocker Musiq took further than Jagger
himself. "If he's mad. I'm more like....
Damn; not anger or sadness, but the space

In between SOULSTARs new ideas is an old
soul - Musiqs voice; the very thing that
made him a legend before he hit 25. The
growth that signaled new ways of
writing and production on SOULSTAR
affects too Musiqs satiny, simmering
vocals. The angelic highs of youloveme,
the weariness of her, the confidently
cocky romancipation; all are
proclamations of Musiqs soul-slinging

SOULSTAR approaches the buoyant balladry
of "whoknows" and the stammering funk
of "romanicipation" with slinky
production innovations courtesy Musiq
himself. Like his co-production credits
throughout SOULSTAR, the warm brass and
reed arrangement of "whoknows" and the
baritone-sax bass line of
"romancipation reveal an artist
experimenting with his love of sound.

"That Earth ,Wind & Fire vibe, that
Fela sax line? Those were part of my
growing up. That's the point behind the

On the wack side, the twisted Muzak of
"youloveme, with its lullaby melody and
ping-pong vocals, is as close to an
early 60s TV theme as he's likely to get;
"my Dick Van Dyke for the BET
generation" jokes Musiq. Sometimes, hes
not joking. The tough, live
"leaveamessage" - with its oscillating
organs and fatback bass - was necessary
to Musiq. "I wanted to explain to people
trying to reach me, I'm not trying to be
an ass. My life is so filled with junk
- I just can't call you. But I'm
thinking of you."

Musiq approaches "reasons" with the
same blunt clarity, a song dedicated
to music itself - the healing life
force that's guided him when he's needed
light, saved him when he's needed
salvation, embraced him when no one else
could. "It's my ode, my thank you to
what music's meant to me."

For fans of Aijuswanaseing and Juslisen,
Musiq wants them to know he's the same
guy from a town filled with musical
history, looking to maintain that
heritage while stretching as an artist.
"And for people who never heard my last
two records, SOULSTAR is a journey into
sound thats familiar and freaky.
SOULSTARs a futuristic throwback that's
just a little bit out there" says Musiq.
Its a play on the idea of being a star.
But its also something, like my last
name, that carries responsibility. I'm
growing into the name Soulchild more
every day. It's one I have to live up