Soulstar (album)

Soulstar
Studio album by Musiq
Released	December 9, 2003 (2003-12-09)
Studio	Home Cookin' Studios (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Length	70:26
Label	Mama's Boys Def Soul
Producer	88-Keys Carvin & Ivan MAD Junius Bervine Da Gutta Fam
Musiq chronology
Juslisen (2002) Soulstar (2003) Luvanmusiq (2007)

Soulstar is the third studio album by American singer Musiq Soulchild. It was released by Def Soul on December 9, 2003, in the United States. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number thirteen, spending 23 weeks on the chart and exiting on May 29, 2004; on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart where it peaked at number three, it spent 37 weeks, falling off on September 9, 2004. Soulstar would be Musiq's final album for the Def Jam rooster, before he transitioned to Atlantic in a de facto trade for his next album Luvanmusiq (2007). ^[1]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[2]
Entertainment Weekly	B [3]
USA Today	[4]
Vibe	[5]

Soulstar garnered positive reviews from music critics. AllMusic editor Andy Kellman said that despite the length of the record, he praised Musiq's growing musicianship to craft modern R&B tracks that don't carry gimmicks or personas that give his performances on them "a sense of intimacy that many of his contemporaries lack." He concluded by calling it "one of the finest contemporary R&B releases of 2003, with both style and substance in good supply." ^[2] Raymond Fiore from Entertainment Weekly said of Musiq being able to transcend his "humble-pie persona" amongst the other neo soul artists throughout the album: "But while the former ”Soulchild” is maddeningly predictable, the grooves on Soulstar prove surprisingly rewarding. Just when you think Musiq’s songs remain the same, he unleashes a series of harmonically lush chords that elevate him way above average." ^[3] Steve Jones of USA Today said, "Although he often wears his Wonder-Hathaway influences on his sleeve, his ever-improving songwriting and vocal phrasings set him apart. Love themes predominate, but his songs often paint detailed scenarios and are anything but simple." ^[4] In a mixed review for The New York Times , Jon Pareles praised Musiq's lyricism for being reminiscent of '70s Stevie Wonder but was off-put by Ivan Barias' production causing said lyrics in the tracks to "ramble until they begin to sound like recitatives." He later called Soulstar "an album of dense, fascinating textures and articulate lyrics that ends up pleasant but prosy." ^[6]

Commercial performance

The album debuted and peaked at number 13 on the US Billboard 200, with first week sales of 156,000 copies. ^[7] It also reached number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. ^[8] On February 17, 2004, Soulstar was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipment figures in excess of 500,000 units. ^[9]

Track listing

Soulstar track listing

No.	Title	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Soulstar" (featuring DJ Aktive and Carol Riddick)	MAD	3:02
2.	"Youloveme"	Carvin & Ivan	3:50
3.	"Womanopaly"	Carvin & Ivan	4:55
4.	"Forthenight"	Carvin & Ivan	3:50
5.	"Infatueighties"	Carvin & Ivan	4:36
6.	"Whoknows"	Carvin & Ivan	4:55
7.	"Babymother"	Carvin & Ivan	4:43
8.	"Missyou"	Carvin & Ivan	4:00
9.	"Momentinlife" (featuring Cee Lo Green and Kindred the Family Soul)	Junius Bervine	4:43
10.	"Thereason"	Carvin & Ivan	5:29
11.	"Dontstop/her" (featuring Bilal)	88-Keys	8:08
12.	"Wherareyougoing"	Da Gutta Fam	4:28
13.	"Romancipation"	Carvin & Ivan	4:10
14.	"Interlude"		0:38
15.	"Givemorelove/Leaveamessage"	Carvin & Ivan	9:46

Notes

• The vinyl release of Soulstar has a different track listing from the CD. The songs "Whereareyougoing" and "Leaveamessage" do not appear on the vinyl version of the album.

Sample credits

• "Soulstar" contains a sample of "I Found Love (When I Found You)", as performed by the Spinners
• "Youloveme" contains a sample of "Soft Touch", as performed by Henry Mancini
• "Babymother" contains a sample of "Shadows", as performed by Tom Scott
• "Romancipation" contains a sample of "The Jam", as performed by Graham Central Station
• "Givemorelove" contains a sample of "Getaway Day", as performed by Tom Scott

Personnel

88-Keys – producer AAries – vocals, backing vocals Andre – voices, performer Ivan "Orthodox" Barias – arranger, composer, engineer, executive producer, instrumentation, multi instruments, producer, programming, tracking Junius Bervine – composer, instrumentation, multi instruments, producer Algebra Blessett – telephone voice, voices Jeff Bradshaw – trombone Matt Cappy – trumpet Chad – telephone voice, voices Charnee – telephone voice, voices Bootsy Collins – telephone voice, voices Troy Corbin – backing vocals Andre Dandridge – engineer, telephone voice, tracking Maurice "DJ Aktive" "The Scratchologist" Deloach – scratching Dox – performer, telephone voice, voices Vikter Duplaix – percussion, producer Erickache – performer, telephone voice, voices Roger Erickson – photography Chris Gehringer – mastering Serban Ghenea – mixing Theodore Gilbert – bass Larry Graham – composer Cee Lo Green – vocal arrangement, vocals, backing vocals, composer Akisia Grigsby – art direction, design Nicole Guiland – backing vocals Gutta Fam – producer, vocal arrangement Carvin "Ransum" Haggins – composer, engineer, executive producer, performer, producer, telephone voice, tracking, vocal arrangement, vocal producer, backing vocals, voices John Hanes – digital editing Heather – performer, telephone voice, voices Heiku – producer Timothy Hicks – backing vocals Jerome Hipps – executive producer Mick Jagger – composer Terese Joseph – recording director

Kindred the Family Soul – vocals, backing vocals Kenny Lattimore – backing vocals John Lawson – drums Kevin Liles – executive producer M.A.D. – composer, producer Henry Mancini – composer Michael McArthur – executive producer Moms – performer, telephone voice, voices Muriyd – performer, telephone voice, voices Musiq (Soulchild) – composer, producer, vocal arrangement, vocal producer, vocals, backing vocals UE Nastasi – mastering Olezski – Fender Rhodes Bilal Oliver – composer, telephone voice, vocal arrangement, vocal producer, vocals, backing vocals, voices Ben "Benanas" O'Neill – guitar Ora – performer, telephone voice, voices Pops – performer, telephone voice, voices Keith Richards – composer Carol Riddick – vocals, backing vocals John Roberts – drums, percussion Tim Roberts – assistant Dawn Robinson – backing vocals Franky "Vegas" Romano – composer, arranger, bass, guitar, performer, sitar, telephone voice, voices Tom Scott – composer James "Jayshawn" Smith – backing vocals Johnnie "Smurf" Smith – arranger, instrumentation, keyboards, organ, producer Frank "Mumbles" Sullen – engineer, tracking Rick Tate Jr. – saxophone Torrie – performer, telephone voice, voices Thaddeus T. Tribbett – bass April Williams – backing vocals Levar "Lil' Tone" Wilson – backing vocals

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Weekly chart performance for Soulstar Chart (2003) Peak position Canadian R&B Albums (Nielsen SoundScan) [10] 29 US Billboard 200 [11] 13 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [8] 3

Year-end charts Year-end chart performance for Soulstar Chart (2004) Position US Billboard 200 [12] 114 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) [13] 21

Certifications

Certifications for Soulstar

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA) [9]	Gold	500,000^
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Acevedo, Kai (September 28, 2017). "Musiq Soulchild on new album, working with Rapsody, getting traded for Fabolous". Revolt . Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
2. Kellman, Andy. "Soulstar - Musiq (Soulchild)". AllMusic . Archived from the original on November 14, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
3. Fiore, Raymond (December 19, 2003). "soulstar". Entertainment Weekly . Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved June 3, 2022.
4. Jones, Steve (December 8, 2003). "Musiq's 'Soulstar' shines; Setzer's 'Daddy' is all grown up". USA Today . Gannett. Archived from the original on October 22, 2022. Retrieved July 27, 2011.
5. King, Jason (January 2004). "Musiq 'Soulstar'". Vibe . Vol. 12, no. 1. Vibe Media. p. 119. ISSN   1070-4701 . Retrieved July 27, 2011.^{[ permanent dead link ]}
6. Pareles, Jon (December 22, 2003). "Critic's Choice/New CD's – Seducing With Words and Wiles". The New York Times . Retrieved July 27, 2011.
7. Trust, Gary (March 21, 2007). "Chart Greets Sweet Sounds of Musiq". Billboard . Retrieved July 21, 2025.
8. "Musiq (Soulchild) Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard.
9. "American album certifications – Musiq – Soulstar". Recording Industry Association of America.
10. "R&B : Top 50". Jam! . December 18, 2003. Archived from the original on December 23, 2003. Retrieved January 29, 2023.
11. "Musiq (Soulchild) Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
12. "Year-End Charts: Billboard 200 Albums - 2004" . Billboard . Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
13. "Year-End Charts: R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – 2004". Billboard. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved December 19, 2018.