LUVANMUSIQ - MUSIQ SOULCHILD
Romancing is Musiq Soulchild’s game, so it’s refreshing that a label shift (Def Jam to Atlantic) hasn’t changed his ways. Instead, the soul singer’s fourth effort, “Luvanmusiq,” offers more gentlemanly tunes, served sunny side up. Sampling the ’80s dance hit “Heartbeat,” the trumpet-blaring lead single “B.U.D.D.Y.” endorses platonic friendship over romance. The remaining tracks rest mostly on the downbeat, with tender ballads like “Lullaby” and “Greatestlove.” On “Teachme” and the Raphael Saadiq-crafted “Betterman,” Musiq waxes poetic about the benefits of a good woman, and the groovy “Ms. Philadelphia” finds the sucker for love infatuated with a hometown honey. Though it’s his staple, the chatty double-time flow can get tedious at times (”Thequestions”), but “Luvanmusiq” finds Musiq comfortably in his lane.
