Musiq Soulchild - 'onmyradio'

In a world of here today, gone tomorrow singers, R&B/Soul artist Musiq Soulchild has managed to stay a relevant artist in the music game for almost a decade. And on his fifth album, onmyradio, Musiq gives his fans more of what they love: well sung, sensitive ballads that are forever hopelessly romantic, plus a few upbeat dance songs. Apparently, Musiq's approach on this album is if it ain't broke, don't fix it; and that approach definitely works. Other than the wretched and woefully out-of-character hip-hop party track "radio," this is a strong album from top to bottom.

And saying that this is a strong album from top to bottom isn't just hype; there's 11 songs that are all catchy and enjoyable. Among the best songs however, are "ifuleave," a duet between Musiq and the royal Ms. Mary J. Blige. The song, about a squabbling couple, is typical of Musiq' songs in that it has strong, intelligent lyrics that tell a story. Also to the song's credit, it manages to find a nice balance between the two singers' vocal styles. Sometimes on duets, Mary's powerful voice outshines that of her singing partner, but not this time. Although Musiq's voice is softer and more restrained, the two vocalists have amazing chemistry and a great back-and-forth on the song.

Another of the album's best songs is "moneyright," an upbeat, optimistic track about a man who has big plans for what he's going to do for the love of his life: "Soon as I get my money right, I'ma take good care of you/Just like I'm supposed to, baby you believe me, don'tcha?," he sings, and it's quite a refreshing change to hear a man sing about actually being a man, instead of acting like a boy.

And to Musiq's credit, although most of the songs on onmyradio are similar to the type of material he's always recorded, he does take a few chances musically on the album. The most obvious is the song "iwannabe," which features reggae artist Damian "Jr. Gong" Marley, one of the sons of the legendary Bob Marley. As you might expect, the song has a Caribbean vibe to it, but although it's bright and sunny, as opposed to Musiq's typical smoky low-key smoothness, it works.

Also deserving of special mention is the sexy, sultry "So Beautiful," a falsetto song so steamy that if you wear glasses, they just might fog up listening to it. It's not that the song's explicit - it's far from it - but it's got an non-subtle sexual vibe, and a tempo that's perfect for sharing that special intimacy. It's even got a fair amount of heavy breathing in it.

No album's perfect of course, and onmyradio does have a few flaws. Chief among them is the aforementioned God-awful throwaway song "Radio," on which Musiq raps - yes, raps - over a kinetic Dirty South beat. To call it trash would be an insult to garbage. The less said about it the better. The album's only other quibble with On My Radio is that a couple of songs sound somewhat similar to tracks from his other albums. But that can be forgiven; when you're five albums deep in a career, you're bound to repeat yourself every once in awhile. The key is to not let your music get stale. And Musiq definitely hasn't done that. His songs are just as fresh and compelling on this album as they've ever been. And he still sounds full of life and not bored or going through the motions, especially on the passionate "loveofmylife."

So the final verdict is: if you're a longtime Musiq fan, you're not likely to be disappointed by this album. It's got everything you've come to expect from Musiq and a little bit more. And if you're not familiar with the man or his music, this is a good starter album with which to get acquainted with Musiq's music.