Musiq (Soulchild)

If there's one guy you can count on for feel-good music about bitter, sweet or bittersweet relationships, it's Musiq Soulchild. His fifth release, OnMyRadio, plays that role–a solid album reminding us that love's ups and downs can actually sound good (on the radio, that is).

Love-struck jams like "Until" and "Deserve U More" show that this Philly native isn't afraid to stay true to his neo-soul and romanticist roots. With tracks like these, the singer boldly spews about loving his woman, often admitting that a breakup would be the end of the world as he knows it.

His first single “If U Leave” tells a story about a passionate back-and-forth with veteran songstress Mary J. Blige, insisting that they both must swallow their pride for the sake of their strained relationship. "Special" contrasts slightly, as he pursues a one-of-a-kind woman by singing what seem to be sweet nothings (if he wasn't Musiq, they would be).

He maintains his lyrical credibility in upbeat songs like "Money Right," which also experiments with a more urbanized, poppy Chris Brown-esque beat. Though the mainstream sound screams "sellout," he easily makes up for it with verses and a chorus that cut deeper than the typical "I'll-spoil-you-crazy-when-I-get-rich" rap track.

The buttery smooth ballads aren't all the soulful singer has to offer. He lays it down with a few provocative tracks like the Caribbean-laced "I Wanna Be," which features reggae legend Damian Marley, and "Radio," a so-so attempt at a club banger, where he takes an unimpressive shot at rapping and bragging about his down-south swagger.

But don't think Musiq tries to reinvent himself on this album. Despite the unusual splashes of island and synth-crazed dance tracks, OnMyRadio does not deny the reason why Musiq has had chart-topping success. Ultimately, the album acknowledges that his fan base include the hopeless romantics who need sappy slow jams to sob (or bop) to.

— Gabrielle Chua
12.11.08

Four fine albums deep into a career with no Top Ten pop singles to his name, Musiq Soulchild went for broke with the single released prior to his fifth album. At least it kinda seemed that way: "Radio" sounded suspiciously like a cash-in on Atlanta snap, à la Dem Franchize Boyz's "Lean wit It, Rock wit It," or even Monica's "Everytime the Beat Drop," but it was a couple years late. It was almost shockingly out of character, if not clumsy and baffling. It appears as the last song on OnMyRadio, an album that, for the most part, sounds otherwise just like a Musiq Soulchild release. Highlights like "Until" and "So Beautiful" show that Musiq continues to thrive most when working with mellow midtempo and ballad material. The latter, a collaboration with Lee "J.R." Hutson (who played a significant role in the excellence of Jill Scott's The Real Thing), is one of the most unassumingly gorgeous cuts he has recorded, and the relatively upbeat and busy "Special" and "Money Right" deserve to be minor hits (at the least). A couple dramatic moments don't quite take full flight, and a handful of tracks are tepid and unmemorable, but OnMyRadio is mostly another set of sturdily constructed laid-back R&B. "Radio" hopefully didn't scare off anyone. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide