Amazon.co.jp
デフソウル期待の2000年の新星、ミュージック・ソウルチャイルド。デフジャムのケヴィン・ライルズ自らが、彼を「21世紀のスティーヴィー・ワンダー」と豪語する。77年生まれのフィラデルフィア出身の彼は、ディアンジェロやマクスウェルなど、R＆Bシーンきっての才能たちと並び称される存在だ。本作は、ヒットした<4>を筆頭に、ミュージシャンシップにあふれ、すばらしいソウルのきらめきが散りばめられたファーストアルバムである。（葵 文吾）
From Amazon.co.uk
Has "neo-soul" been around long enough for it to have throwbacks already? The ostentatiously named Musiq Soulchild seems to think so. The vibe on his debut album,
Aijuswanaseing, feels an awful lot like the one D'Angelo first got folks all hot and sweaty with waaaaayyy back in 1995, with the now-classic
Brown Sugar. Musiq even liberally interprets "Brown Sugar" on "L Is Gone", when the newcomer croons, "Skin caramel complexion/Lips chocolate brown" (D's version went "Skin is caramel with those cocoa eyes"). The 23-year-old Musiq is smart enough to have a couple of his musical predecessor's partners in his crew, like producer James Poyser and bassist Pino Palladino. They get some nice, laid-back grooves going on for "Girl Next Door", the sassy opening track, and "Speechless" with its sly, funky Stevie-Wonder-style bounce. In spite of their best intentions, however, the 23-year-old Philly native never manages to generate any real heat. Despite his perfectly adequate croon (part Stevie, part Eric Benet, and of course, part D'Angelo), it's his lack of lyrical prowess that does him in. Tossing off verbal gems like "So I could be like Michael Jackson and enjoy myself/Cause what I want to do is make a tuna melt" and "Your body's banging like a 400SE" with complete sincerity, Musiq sabotages the sensitive-ladies-man image he's obviously trying to cultivate by letting his ulterior motives show. He leaves us hoping that next time, he'll let someone else write the words for him.
--Sylvia W. Chan
