Musiq Soulchild

Musiq Soulchild's only complaint about three 2008 Grammy nominations for Luvanmusiq (including one for Best R&B Album) appeared to stem from semantics. "Personally, I call what I do soul music," he was quoted as saying on the Web site SOHH.com. "I wish there was a category for Best Soul Album, that would be fresh." For Musiq, the distinction between soul and R&B may lie in the vocal/lyrical emphasis that some say the former genre possesses (i.e., Luvanmusiq's "Teach Me"). But the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance nomination he won for "B.U.D.D.Y" — along with Luvanmusiq itself — is an example of Soulchild's strength: An ability to match hip-hop, soul, jazz and funk with appropriate lyrical content. After all, isn't smooth-talkin' rap layered over jazzy horn the perfect way to coolly snare the attention of a woman?