Rebel redux: Features

His identity and legacy were cemented before his break: Platinum-selling and Grammy-nominated albums. A handful of crossover hit singles. Regular run on MTV and BET. A little shine on the side from McDonald's, Coke, Nike and Gap. And at the very least, he would always be remembered as the R&B dude with the funny name who liked to jam and jumble the words of his song and album titles together, i.e. "Juslisen," "Halfcrazy," "Forthenight" and "Aijuswanaseing."

Still, Talib "Musiq Soulchild" Johnson had a bit of a missing person's complex on the eve of unveiling his 2007 album, "Luvanmusiq."

"What I've learned in this industry is that it has a short attention span for artists and careers," explained Musiq, breaking from studio work in Atlanta. "So I just wanted to reintroduce myself, from a humble standpoint ... without discrediting anything I've done in the past, but take a fresh outlook and make it known that this is me making another attempt to express myself through music."

Beyond the hungry "as if I was a new artist" approach to writing and recording the album, he also went on marathon media campaigns and tours to promote the record. He stopped short of wearing "Hi, my name is Musiq" stickers on his Soul Rebel T-shirts.

Of course, no one had forgotten: "Luvanmusiq" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart upon its March release. And there were even a few unfamiliar ears happy to meet him.

"The new fan base, it's really interesting to hear what they have to say," he said, laughing. "They say they love this new artist and then they find out I've been out for a while."

An eight-year-and-four-album while. And one year after his reintroduction, he's going to introduce himself to Anchorage with his first Alaska gig, Saturday at Atwood Concert Hall.

Musiq shouldn't be a stranger to most. Starting in 2000, he established his name and genre-and-era-melding style through steady album releases and subsequent hit singles. And now at 31, he's evolved creatively but remains the same old Musiq that he was on his debut "Aijuswanaseing," pumping out playful, radio-friendly singles that painstakingly evade radio trends.

"I don't necessarily set out to avoid the radio, but when I listen to it, I get bored -- the repetition, I've heard this already," he explained. "There's nothing for me to look for on the radio except to keep my ear close to the pace and what people are listening to."

So if the music on the radio is so uninspiring, who inspires Musiq? Stevie, Prince, Marvin and ...

"T-Pain," Musiq said, without a hint of irony.

Yes, the same T-Pain who has been Mr. Inescapable Pop Radio Hitmaker for the past three years.

"The thing about it is, that's what he does to make money," Musiq added, "but he's a very creative dude."

Most modern artists might say the same thing about Musiq, although this Soulchild will probably never reign like T-Pain. It just isn't in his stars -- take his nine Grammy nominations and zero Grammy wins as evidence.

"I'm not really competitive or frustrated in that (respect)," he said. "I don't need an award to validate my creativity, but in this field I do need an award like that to validate my credibility. It's apparent that music lovers respect what I do, but to the music industry, there's this certain standard to meet and I'm always just shy of it."

No wonder the guy occasionally worries that folks might forget him.

"It's a good look, but I don't have to have it," Musiq added. "If I never win a Grammy, I'll still make music."

• Find Play editor Josh Niva online at adn.com/contact/jniva or call 257-4328.

Musiq Soulchild

When: 8 p.m. Saturday

Where: Atwood Concert Hall

How much: $30-$50, available through www.centertix.net

Web: www.musiqsoulchild. com, www.myspace.com/musiqsoulchild

About Musiq Soulchild ...

His name: Born Talib Johnson, he grew up in Philadelphia and was known by the nickname Musiq for his musical ambitions and talents. He added Soulchild as a tribute to the R&B artists of the '70s that he grew up listening to.

His penchant for jamming words together in his song and album titles: He does it just to be different and playful -- "I'm not that deep." And yes, he can spell. "Some people think I'm being disrespectful to the English language," he said with a laugh. "I didn't mean to offend you."

On his understated style and swagger: "You'll never see me out there balling," he said. "Nothing against people who are out there celebrating their success. I'm happy and proud of my accomplishments, but not everyone out there is balling. I make music for ballers, people who aren't ballers, for all walks of life."

On his Anchorage gig, his first in Alaska: "I never know what to expect in places I've never been before," he said, "but I'm usually thoroughly surprised to see people in so many different places who even know about me. It's a good feeling to know you get love all over."

-- compiled by Josh Niva