Aijuswanaseing — Musiq Soulchild
Man, man, man… What a day it is. Musiq Soulchild, Aijuswanaseing… BLAPPERR.
Review is over. Done. Print it haha.
Nah, but really tho, what an absolutely legendary piece of art. This album is high up on my list of most influential pieces of media in my life. This album can come on whenever and you can’t even be mad about it. My girlfriend hasn’t heard this album before me doing this review, so it was an absolute PLEASURE to put her on. Imagine being able to hear this shit for the first time again.
The cover art for this album is iconic now at this point. It is a beautifully shot photo with some really great text work. The Musiq logo is super sick and the font choice for the album title is great. The rest of the booklet is great too, lots of information for each track, and very thorough “thank you” section in the booklet, and even a poster! Really killer stuff.
First track on the album, “Scratch (Interlude)”, is this introductory lil beat box number. Spelling out Musiq’s name in the beat. It sounds sick, not really a “song”, but still a solid way to start your debut album. Followed up that intro with “Girl Next Door” feat. Ayana of Aaries, which is such a great first song to have. Imagine this being a random CD you find and this is the first song you hear from Musiq.
The album closes out with the song “You Be Alright”. A wildly beautiful soulful/gospel situation. Something you can just throw on and vibe to. Lil candle lit ting. Musiq shows off his range, hitting the crazy high notes and bringing it back down to something deeper. I almost hear a little bit of a Maxwell vibe on this song.
What a great piece of music history here. I’ve listened to this album over and over, since I was a kid. Musiq and his first few albums really showed me that when an R&B album is done right, it really just can’t be beat. I am always going to recommend that you should check out this album. The music is timeless and filled with so much love.
After the points have been tallied, final score for this album is: 8.8!
(New album to beat! Highest score so far.)
Favorite Song: “Just Friends (Sunny)”
Skips: “Paparazi”
Stand Out Tracks: “You and Me”, “Just Friends (Sunny)”, “Mary Go Round” feat. Osunlade, “143”, “Love”
