Musiq

It also had a very successful run on American urban radio stations. Their film scores have included Batman, Good Will Hunting, Proof of Life, Men in Black, and dozens more. Elfman also wrote the theme for The Simpsons. Most recently, Musiq has released the singles and videos "forthenight" and "whoknows" from his third LP, Soulstar. "forthenight" has been one of VH1 Soul's most played videos of 2004 so far. Frontman Danny Elfman has had a very successful film scoring career since, often using Boingo guitarist Steve Bartek as orchestrator. Once again, its video got heavy play on MTV2 and VH1 Soul, as well as on MTV Jams. Oingo Boingo amicably parted ways after their annual Halloween concert in 1995, because it was "time." The final concert is available on both audio and video recordings. In late 2002, Musiq contributed guest vocals to "Break You Off", the first single from The Roots' Phrenology album. Around 1994 it was yet again shortened, this time to "Boingo".

Both videos also got substantial play during the year on VH1 Soul. Because of the expense and difficulty of maintaining an ensemble of this size, Danny Elfman decided in 1976 to reduce both the band and its name, dropping the "Mystic Knights" moniker. He had continued urban and MTV2 success with its singles, "halfcrazy" and "dontchange", the former of which was one of the most played music videos on MTV2 in the summer of 2002 and during the year overall. Unfortunately, very little recorded material from this period exists. In 2002, he released his sophomore album, Juslisen (read: "Just Listen"), as simply Musiq. Most of the members performed in whiteface and clown makeup; a typical show would contain music ranging from the 1890s to the 1950s (some of which was covers, some of which was original material either parodying or based on music of another era.) This version of the band had as many as 15 members at any one time, playing over 30 instruments between them. His singles also received moderate airplay on urban and urban contemporary radio stations. In this incarnation, the band was essentially a musical theatre troupe.

The singles "Just Friends (Sunny)", "Love", and "Girl Next Door" received exposure in America mainly on the more underground music video network, MTV2, as well as on BET. They also made a cameo appearance as the Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo in the movie Forbidden Zone, written and directed by Richard Elfman, the brother of Danny Elfman. Musiq did much of his own songwriting, and most of the record was produced by the A Touch of Jazz production company, headed by Jazzy Jeff. The band made an appearance playing their hit "Dead Man's Party" on stage in the memorable party scene in the movie Back to School. He released his debut album, Aijuswanasang (read: "I Just Want to Sing"), in 2000, which was well-received by critics and audiences. Their most famous song, "Weird Science" was, in fact, written for the John Hughes movie of the same name. He moved back to Philadelphia as a teenager, and began plans for a career in music. The band is probably best known for appearing on a number of soundtracks in the early-to-mid-1980s.

Musiq was born in Philadelphia and grew up with his family--including eight brothers and sisters--in Putnam County, Georgia. An early version of the band (who produced a novelty record about kidnapped heiress Patty Hearst, "You've Got Your Baby Back") was known as The Mystic Knights of the Oingo Boingo. Musiq Soulchild (born Talib Johnson on September 16, 1977 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an African American neo soul and R&B artist, one of the most popular artists on the Def Soul label. Since 2001, he has gone by simply Musiq, dropping the "Soulchild" from his moniker. Besides being a successful recording artist, Musiq is notable for his disregard for normal rules of capitalization, punctuation, and spelling, as can be seen by the titles of his singles and his albums. Oingo Boingo was the band of composer Danny Elfman from the mid-1970s to October 31, 1995. 2004: "whoknows" (US #65). 20th Century Masters: Millennium Collection ~ Oingo Boingo (2002, compilation). 2003: "forthenight" (US #52). Anthology (1999, compilation).

2002: "dontchange" (US #17). Farewell (1996, live, final concert). 2002: "halfcrazy" (US #16). Boingo (1994). 2001: "Girl Next Door" (US #85). Best O' Boingo (1991, compilation). 2000: "Love" (US #24). Dark At the End Of the Tunnel (1990).

2000: "Just Friends (Sunny)" (US #31). Stay (1990, compilation released in Brazil only). 2003: Soulstar. Skeletons In the Closet (1989, compilation). 2002: Juslisen. Boingo Alive (1988, live album recorded on a sound-stage). 2000: Aijuswanasang. BOI-NGO (1986).

Dead Man's Party (1985). So-Lo (1984, album by Danny Elfman, later considered to be an official Oingo Boingo album). Good For Your Soul (1983). Nothing To Fear (1982).

Only a Lad (1981). Oingo Boingo (4-song EP) (1980). You've Got Your Baby Back (1976).