"Girl
Next Door," "Love" and "Just Friends (Sunny)" are some
of the songs on Musiq Soulchild's debut release of Aijuswanaseing in 2000.
In
2000, after the headaches and angst about Y2K, the music industry was popping
with new music to officially set the tone for the music at the start of the
millennium. Live in London and More by Donnie
McClurkin, Like Water for Chocolate by
Common, Mama's Gun by Erykah Badu were some of
the albums released that year. Musiq Soulchild also released Aijuswanaseing in
2000.
A Talented Musiq
Soulchild
A very soulful and
talented young man named Taalib Johnson came on the music scene with an unusual
artist name and an even more intriguing album title. Johnson is known to fans
as Musiq Soulchild or for short Musiq. He
released his debut Aijuswanaseing in 2000 and at that time, he brought a fresh
style and energy to R&B/Soul music. Musiq not only had lyrical input in
Aijuswanaseing but he also executive produced this album with Jerome Hipps,
Mike McArthur and Kevin Liles.
Aijuswanaseing
Aijuswanaseing is
this artist's way of expressing "I Just Wanna Sing" and it was
released via Island Def Jam. Aijuswanaseing has 15 tracks
including the first track "Scratch Introlude" and a self-titled ninth
track "Musiq Soulchild (Interlude)." The popular songs are "Girl
Next Door," "Love" and "Just Friends (Sunny)" which,
according to MTV.com's Musiq Soulchild Biography, "appeared on the
soundtrack to Nutty Professor II: The Klumps."
- "Settle For My Love (Intermission)": "Settle For My Love (Intermission)" is the fourteenth song on this album and it is entertaining from the start to the ending. A remake of [Patrice Rushen](http://www.patricerushen.com/)'s "Settle For My Love", Musiq croons along with Ayana and Ayinke of AARIES in a blended tune that makes you want to sway, sing along and then press the rewind button to hear the song again. They sing "settle for my love/ settle for my kiss/ settle for my love that you'll never miss."
- "Girl Next Door": In "Girl Next Door,' Musiq sings an 'Ugly Duckling' type story. While he never paid attention to a neighborhood girl in the past, he sings of his interest and how she has him captivated as an adult. The song contains a sample from Ed Green's "My Love For You" and features Ayana of AARIES. Musiq expresses in the hook "If I would've known the girl next door would've been you/ I probably would've shared my grub...by now we would be so in love."
- "Love": Love is a song with a short title but it has a powerful message. Produced by Andre Harris and Carvin Haggins with lyrical input by Musiq Soulchild, this song is probably one of the greatest love songs since 2000. Some lyrics are "ever since the first moment I spoke your name/ from then on I knew/ that by you being in my life/ things were destined to change...."
- "My Girl": "My Girl" is a man's testimony to a lady that she has all of her lover's attention. The second verse starts "Girl don't you know my whole world stops for you/ in this relationship you're first and I come two."
- "Just Friends (Sunny)": The 'Sunny' in "Just Friends (Sunny)" is attributed to the sample of Bobby Hebb's "Sunny." This song is almost conversational as it expresses his feelings and interest in a young lady. The hook simply starts "I'm not trying to pressure you/ just can't stop thinking about you/ you ain't even really gotta be my girlfriend...."
