MusiqInTheMagiq

MusiqInTheMagiq is the sixth studio album by the R&B singer Musiq Soulchild. It was released on April 29, 2011, on Atlantic Records. The album entered the Billboard 200 chart at number eight, selling 34,000 copies in its first week. As of 2016, the album has sold over 111,000 copies.^[1]

MusiqInTheMagiq
Studio album by Musiq Soulchild
Released	April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29)
Recorded	2009–2011
Genre	R&B, neo soul
Length	44:21
Label	Atlantic Soulstar Soli Ridge
Producer	Arden "Keyz" Altino, Drumma Boy, Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, ELEMENT, Victor Greig (exec.), John Legend, The Kaliphat, Lil' Ronnie, MellowMomentum, Musiq Soulchild (also exec.), August Rigo (exec.), Jack Splash, Jesse "Corparal" Wilson
Musiq Soulchild chronology
OnMyRadio (2008) MusiqInTheMagiq (2011) Life on Earth (2016)

Singles

No physical singles were released from the album, though two songs came out as iTunes singles, "Anything" and "Yes".^{[citation needed]} The music video for "Anything" was directed by Phillip "Taj" Jackson and was officially released on May 3, 2011, on iTunes.^[2]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
About.com	[3]
AllMusic	[4]
Okayplayer	(85/100)[5]
PopMatters	[6]

Mark Edward Nero from About.com praised the decision by both the composers and producers to craft more up-tempo tracks that "benefit from marriages between Musiq's soft vocals and bass-and-drum-driven beats." He concluded that, "By blending his trademark starry-eyed romanticism with more urgent musical enthusiasm, Musiq has managed to craft a formula that's resulted in one of the better albums of his career so far."^[3] AllMusic's Andy Kellman said that the record "does not stray far from Musiq's past but features some developments, such as the singer's increased comfort with falsetto deployment ("Sayido," "Waitingstill") and a charming mid-'60s soul throwback ("Love Contract")." He gave notable praise to the final track "Likethesun" for having Musiq's best vocal performance over "stop-start percussion patterns and swarming synthesizers", saying he should do more of that style in later projects.^[4] PopMatters contributor David Amidon found the album "pretty bland and uninspiring", criticizing the production choices in beats and vocals, and the lyricism feeling thin on tracks like "Single" and "Anything", concluding that "Little hints of Musiq's talents crop up here and there on MusiqInTheMagiq, but they're too few and far between to really recommend your cash come Musiq's way this time."^[6]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Anything" (featuring Swizz Beatz)	Taalib Johnson, Jerry Duplessis, Arden Altino, August Rigo, Kasseem Dean, Linton Beckles, Lipson Francis, Roy Anthony Carter	Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis, Arden "Keyz" Altino (co.)	3:51
2.	"Single"	Johnson, Ronnie Jackson, Philip Cornish	Lil' Ronnie	4:05
3.	"Sayido"	Johnson, Duplessis, Altino, Rigo, Dana Stinson	Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Rockwilder, Arden "Keyz" Altino (co.)	3:10
4.	"Lovecontract"	Hitesh Ceon, Kim Ofstad, Gerrell Gaddis, Tim Blacksmith	ELEMENT	3:13
5.	"Silver&Gold"	Johnson, Duplessis, John Stephens, Altino, Rigo	Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, John Legend, Arden "Keyz" Altino (co.)	3:24
6.	"Waitingstill"	Johnson, Duplessis, Altino, Christopher Gholson, Rigo	Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Drumma Boy, Arden "Keyz" Altino (co.)	3:52
7.	"Backtowhere"	Johnson, Duplessis, Altino, R. Jackson, Rigo	Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis, Lil' Ronnie, Arden "Keyz" Altino (co.)	3:38
8.	"Do We Have To"	Johnson, Jesse Wilson	Jesse "Corparal" Wilson	3:26
9.	"Befriends"	Johnson, Jack Splash, Phillip "Taj" Jackson	Jack Splash	3:42
10.	"Yes"	Ceon, Ofstad, Claude Kelly	ELEMENT	3:41
11.	"Medicine"	Johnson, Carl Adams	MellowMomentum	3:57
12.	"Likethesun"	Johnson, Wilson	Jesse "Corparal" Wilson, The Kaliphat	4:23
Total length:				44:21

Deluxe edition

Deluxe edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Producer(s)	Length
13.	"Clumsylove"	Ceon, Ofstad, Rigo	ELEMENT	3:12
14.	"Goodgirl"	Johnson, R. Jackson, Cornish	Lil' Ronnie	3:16
Total length:				50:49

iTunes edition

No.	Title	Director(s)	Length
15.	"Anything" (Music video)	Phillip "Taj" Jackson	3:52
Total length:			54:41

 • (co.) Co-producer

Notes

Premium edition includes:^[7][8]

• deluxe edition CD with bonus tracks;
• 18" x 18" MusiqInTheMagiq poster — autographed for the first 250 customers;
• full album stream session 72 hours before release date;
• immediate MP3 download of "Anything".

Personnel

Credits for MusiqInTheMagiq adapted from Allmusic.^[9] Writers listed at track listing section.

Musicians

Eddie Allen – trumpet Arden "Keyz" Altino – Fender Rhodes, keyboards, producer, synthesizer strings Nerva Altino – piano Kafele Bandele – horn Obed Calvaire – drums, percussion Mike DeSalvo – engineer Charissa Dowe – violin Keith "Lil Wonda" Duplessis – keyboards Mark "Lace" Gibbs – percussion

Wayne Jeffrey – acoustic guitar James Lewis – guitar Eli Menezes – guitar, percussion Joseph Prielzony – strings Anthony Reyes – bass guitar, guitar Gabe Robles – assistant Jay Rodriguez – baritone saxophone Mark Williams – trombone Andrew Yu – cello Hitesh Ceon & Kim Ofstad – all instruments on tracks produced by ELEMENT Carl "MellowMomentum" Adams – all instruments on tracks produced by MellowMomentum

Production

Carl "MellowMomentum" Adams – producer Warren Babson – engineer Nick Bilardello – art direction, design, illustrations Hitesh Ceon (of ELEMENT) – instrumentation, producer, vocal producer Kris Clark – assistant Jerry "Wonda" Duplessis – producer Zvi Edelman – A&R Lanre Gaba – A&R Moses Gallart – engineer Chris Gehringher – mastering Christopher "Drumma Boy" Gholson – producer Guerby Girault – assistant Rob Gold – art manager Victor Greig – executive producer Koby Hass – assistant, engineer, percussion Ronnie "Lil' Ronnie" Jackson – producer Taalib "Musiq Soulchild" Johnson – executive producer, vocal producer The Kaliphat – producer Claude Kelly – vocal producer Glen Marchese – engineer, mixing

Masa – Illustrations Kevin Matela – assistant Clint Nelson – assistant, engineer Sheryl Nields – photography Mitchell O'Brien – assistant Kim Ofstad (of ELEMENT) – instrumentation, producer, vocal producer Geno Regist – engineer August Rigo – executive producer, vocals Nick Roache – engineer Nick Romei – package manager Kevin Schinstock – assistant, engineer Jack Splash – arranger, producer John Stephens (aka John Legend) – producer Dana "Rockwilder" Stinson – producer Sergio "Sergical" Tsai – engineer Tai Tsosie – assistant Mario Velazquez – assistant Billy Villane – assistant, engineer Jesse "Corparal" Wilson – producer Kevin "Kev-O" Wilson – assistant

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (2011) Peak position US Billboard 200[10] 8 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[11] 3

Year-end charts Chart (2011) Position US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[12] 68

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label	Edition
Canada	April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29)[13]	Digital download	WEA International	Standard
	May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03)[14]			Deluxe
Japan	April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29)[15]			Standard
	May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03)[16]			Deluxe
United States	April 29, 2011 (2011-04-29)[17]		Atlantic	Standard
	May 3, 2011 (2011-05-03)	Digital download[18]		Deluxe
		CD[19][20]		Standard