Anthony Hamilton’s music career has its beginnings in the gospel choir at church he used to sing in since he was 10 years old. Having signed with label Uptown Recordsin 1993, Hamilton moved to New York to pursue music. He was a backup singer on tour for artist D’Angelo’s album “Voodoo” and subsequently collaborated with southern rap group Nappy Roots on albums “Watermelon, Chicken, and Grits,” “Wooden Leather,” and “The Humdinger.” The collaboration on single “Po’ Folks” won them a Grammy nomination for “Best Rap/Sung Collaboration” in 2003.
Hamilton signed with label So So Def Imprint by Jermaine Dupri and came out with an independent album called “Comin’ From Where I’m From” in 2003. The album went platinum and features the single “Charlene.” His sophomore album, entitled “Ain’t Nobody Worryin” was released in 2005 with successful single “Can’t Let Go” and the album became certified gold.
Hamilton has collaborated with numerous R&B artists, even snagging a duet for "Buon Natale" with Nat King Cole on his holiday album. In 2007, Hamilton had a cameo role as a singer in the film “American Gangster” and also contributed to the soundtrack. He sang “Freedom” with Elayna Boynton on the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino film “Django Unchained” in 2012.
Unlike most artists who normally have to wait a while before achieving mainstream success, Musiq didn't waste any time. His début album "Aijuswanaseing" (I just wanna sing) went into the Billboard 200 at number four, whilst his following album, "Juslisen" was a number one hit. Both albums received critical acclaim as they gained platinum status, making Musiq a household name after just a few years.
Following a successful couple of albums, Soulchild was inevitably nominated for many prestigious awards. Two of his leading singles from his early discography "Love" and "Halfcrazy" were short-listed for the Best R&B Vocal Performance in consecutive years, whilst "Juslisen" was nominated for Best R&B Album in 2002. Despite not winning the awards, the nominations clearly gave him the encouragement to make better and more soulful music.
Soulchild went on to release two more number one albums in 2007 and 2008 with "Luvanmusiq" and "OnTheRadio". The former album in particular was well received and was awarded with three Grammy nominations.
Having not released a solo album since 2011, Musiq's most recent project was an album entitled '9ine' with Syleena Johnson, although this failed to have any major chart impact. Musiq is now a artist signed to My Block Records following his recent departure from Atlantic Records.
Musiq is first and foremost a rather unique singer. Although you could vaguely describe his music as either being soul or R&B, he encompasses a wide range of genres that make him stylistically different. He has been known to incorporate elements of funk into his music, whilst he also claims he has a "hip hop swagger". To a modern audience, the easiest way to describe him would be a mixture of the soulful singing of Frank Ocean combined with the vocal range and relaxed paced of The Weeknd.
Anthony Hamilton has one of the most soulful and angelic voices in the R&B genre and seeing one of his live performances is almost like a religious experience.
During his performances he is usually backed by a myriad of talented musicians and sometimes even a full orchestra. There are horns, woodwinds, cellos, and violins that gracefully play atmospheric warm tones creating an emotive soundscape for Anthony Hamilton to belt out his soulful voice that makes the audience raise their hands and sway to the music. When an orchestra backs Anthony Hamilton, the orchestra usually crescendos up to the apex of an emotive experience and Anthony Hamilton’s voice rises above the loud sound of the orchestra to demonstrate his passion and vocal force.
During more traditional performances Anthony Hamilton tours with a backing band consisting of a keyboarder, a drummer, a guitarist, a bass player, and several backup singers. The backup singers act as a choir singing the soulful harmonies of the music while Anthony Hamilton acts as a religious focal point preaching his gospel with his soulful, charismatic voice. The keyboard player performs on a keyboard that has a smooth bell like sound and plays very vibrant jazz like chords laying down a smooth vibe. Anthony Hamilton has a wide vocal range, jumping up and down octaves hitting the most difficult notes imaginable, and soulfully breaking into a melisma that will have everyone in awe.
Anthony Hamilton has a great stage presence dressing in suave clothing and a fashionable fedora. He gracefully struts around the stage and dances in the smoothest way that will have the audience fully engaged. To hear Anthony Hamilton’s deep, rich voice grace the presence of your bare ear in a live setting is one of the most inspirational experiences that music has to offer.
Ah, Musiq Soulchild; a man so smooth that, on his classic ‘143’, couldn’t just say I love you the traditional way, and instead did it numerically, winning the hearts of countless female admirers and forever changing the way I view the south Manchester bus that shares that number. Musiq - not, you’ll be surprised to learn, his real name - very much made his own lane back in the nineties, with the quirkiness of his R&B and soul crossover represented visually by the bizarre, spaceless approach he used to take to naming his albums; after his debut, Aijuswanaseing, made his name in the U.S., he followed it up with his first number one LP in his homeland, Juslisen. Album number four, Luvanmusiq, hit the top of the charts in America, too, and whilst he’s failed to replicate that level of success on this side of the pond, he hasn’t taken it personally, touring the UK frequently. In early 2009, he played a slew of shows across the country with a full band, but a scheduled return with Avant and Donell Jones in tow in 2010 ended in farce when the promoters failed to pay Musiq’s bus driver and he understandably went on strike, forcing the cancellation of several shows. To be fair, with several backing singers and a brass section amongst the backing that bring Musiq’s songs to life on stage, arranging last-minute transportation would’ve proved impossible; hopefully the experience hasn’t put him off, and he’ll be back with new dates soon.