Track Listing

1. soulstar
2. youloveme
3. womanopoly
4. forthenight
5. infatueighties
6. whoknows
7. babymother
8. missyou
9. momentinlife
10. thereason
11. dontstop
12. whereareyougoing
13. romancipation
14. interlude (musiq album)
15. givemorelove/leaveamessage

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #44683 in Music
• Released on: 2003-12-08
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds
• Running time: 71 minutes

CD Description
For Musiq, soul is everything. From his former professionalsurname, Soulchild, to his third record's title, SOULSTAR, and even an album photo that features him wearing a T-shirt reading "Soul Rebel", Musiq makes it abundantly clear that soul is his driving force. Not surprisingly, SOULSTAR lives up to its name, as Musiq locks into a series of tight groovesand lets his smooth voice carry the tunes.
The opening title track begins with some deft scratching and a delicate string backing that gives way to Musiq's velvety croon and Carol Riddick's old-school R&B vocal refrain. On "Womanopoly",Musiq's lyrics cleverly riff on the real estate board game and coast over a strolling beat. Perhaps most impressively, the vocalist pulls off an inventive cover of the Rolling Stones' "Miss You" that shuffles along to a dynamic arrangement. Producing albums this enjoyably consistent is proof positive of this SOULSTAR's staying power.

Customer Reviews

Musiq on Cruise Control
The birth of so-called "neo soul" was a fresh alternative from much of cliched modern r&b. Artists like Erykah Badu, D'Angelo, and Maxwell helped changed the way we listen to music by fusing innovative beats with flashes of 1970s old school soul. It worked for the first few years before the genre started to get lazy creatively. Musiq (hold the Soulchild) has put out a string of solid singles, but he's been criticized by some for using the boho look for credibility. I, for one, have been able to give Musiq the benefit of the doubt and actually found his last two records (particularly the first) reasonably good, if hardly earth-shattering. But on his third album "Soulstar," some of the magic is missing and much of the freshness is gone. Listening to this record is like eating a loaf of French bread a couple days old: it's still edible but somewhat stale. No doubt, the material is listenable and enjoyable; you won't be hitting the "stop" button on nice cuts like the title track, "Womanopoly," and the title-says-it-all ballad "Babymother." Paradoxically, "Soulstar"'s best track is one Musiq didn't even write: a street smart re-working of the Rolling Stones classic "Miss You." But while much of the album is decent, we find Musiq wearing his influences on his sleeve all too openly. Until he comes into his own and drops the Stevie Wonderisms, Musiq may someday record an album that's great instead of one that's merely okay.

He's done it again!
I was a bit wary about buying this album, in case it didn't live up to my expectations. The first two albums were musically and lyrically excellent, and "Soulstar" has definitely 'got me'!

The first track totally blew me away - I wasn't ready for something so so beautiful and yet so simple. The lyrics are so real it's like you can really feel what Musiq is tryna tell you - 'cos it's like he's talking to you!

Amazing!

This guy just gets better & better
I personally think this guy is the best thing since Stevie Wonder. His third album I had been waiting for so long did not disapoint. I must say not as strong as the other two as a whole but he still knows how to make some quality tunes. As he explained he hasn't got different with his style but just evolved, moved on from the familar soul sounds of 'ijustwannasing' to 'Soulstar' the future sounding nu-soul brought to us all. From the robotic beats & orchestralness of 'infatueighties' to the Christmasy feeling 'youloveme' and of course the funk-fuelled 'missyou' which should even get the Rolling Stones dancing. This is a definite buy for the avid musiq fan (like me) or to someone who just wants to find something new. Lets all hope he does a uk tour to promote his album because I desperately what to see this dude live.