Soulchild’s LOVE.

“…The world looks so brand new to me
Now that I found love…”

See, as human beings we are not content with the concept of an “unknown”, it is in our nature to try and make sense of ALL things big and small. Simply put, we have a constant need to comprehend, might even go as far as terming it an urge given the lengths some have and are willing to take in pursuit of “knowing the unknown”.

 Our minds are deeply resistant to uncertainty and ambiguity; from an early age, we spontaneously generate plausible explanations in response to uncertainty.

One of the abovementioned unknowns that continuously bug us is the concept of Love. Is it a feeling, an emotion, a commitment, an action, or a decision maybe? How do we comprehend such a complex concept?

One way to go about making sense of Love is to personify it. See, by personifying Love we bring an element of familiarity to it and in doing so we give ourselves a reference point of sorts.

Personification the attribution of a personal nature or human characteristics to something non-human, or the representation of an abstract quality in human form

Oxford Dictionary

In the year 2000, fresh from signing to Def Jam Records, neo-soul artist Musiq Soulchild released his debut album, Aijuswanaseing – pronounced ‘I Just Wanna Sing’, which in hindsight was a ground breaker. The album featured lead single Love where Musiq Soulchild is seemingly having a conversation with Love. On the song he questions, longs for and reaffirms Love. Here he smartly uses lyrics such as, “many days I’ve longed for you” and “everything I do, I do for you”, that leave much room for abstract interpretation.

To me, Music Soulchild’s Love tells a story of an individual who allows himself to not only embrace Love fully but also allows himself to better understand Love. He chooses to personify Love and in that he is able to then have a reference to poise questions and voice his concerns to. By addressing Love as though it be human, he allows himself to be better vulnerable but also puts himself in a position where he can be receptive of answers – though they may not necessarily come.

Now, the nature of Soulchild’s personification can be interpreted romantically or religiously. Romantically may seem more apparent but religiously?

Showing skepticism and vulnerability, pouring out of self, and being receptive of answers? see how it sounds like a religion with Love at the center of it just as God is in many. Love is like a religion in that they both dictate basic beliefs, demand moral standards, and honor their objects with high moral status. Love, just like faith, is seen as a powerful expression of profound, unique, and morally pure emotions.  

In hindsight, when you look back, you realize that God is Love and Love is God. It is a spiritual record, but I didn’t know at the time.

Carvin Haggins (LOVE songwriter)

If anything, Musiq Soulchild’s Love is a good display of how music can be used as an extension of reality that we can easily direct ourselves in order to make better sense of actual reality. We may never be able to fully comprehend Love nor understand what it really is, but we can try to make sense of it by breaking down what it means for us.