Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), known popularly as Musiq Soulchild (as well as simply Musiq), is a singer and songwriter from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

As a teenager, Musiq engaged in various types of vocal performances throughout his city from beatboxing to singing on the street. This passion for music led to the development of his stage name as well as his decision to drop out of high school to commit himself to pursuing a music career.

Following a period of homelessness, Musiq signed to the Def Jam division Def Soul Records, where he would release his first three albums: Aijuswanaseing (2000), Juslisen (2002), and Soulstar (2003). Aijuswanaseing became his first to become Platinum certified, Juslisen became his first to debut at the top of the Billboard 200, while Soulstar was a minor success, only becoming Gold certified.

In 2006, Musiq was a part of a de facto trade that would see him taking rapper Fabolous‘ place at Atlantic Records while Fabolous would take his place at Def Jam. With Atlantic Records, he put out Luvanmusiq (2007), OnMyRadio (2008), and MusiqInTheMagiq (2011). Luvanmusiq continued in the style of his previous albums, OnMyRadio incorporated elements of contemporary rap, best exemplified by its crunk inspired lead single “Radio,” and MusiqInTheMagiq served to fufill his contract agreement with Altantic.

In 2013, Musiq announced himself as both an independent artist and a signee to producer Warryn Campbell’s My Block Records. That same year, he released a collaborative reggae album with fellow R&B singer Syleena Johnson entitled 9ine. The following year, he released an EP titled The Husel, named after his rap alter-ego.

After releasing his double album Feel the Real in 2017, Musiq returned in 2023 with Victims & Villains, an album completely produced by Hit-Boy and released through Musiq’s Soulstar Music Company.