Ravinia 2021 - Issue 3

PAVILION 7:30 PM SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2021 MUSIQ SOULCHILD † –Intermission– THE ROOTS † Ravinia debut A MESSAGE FROM MIDTOWN ATHLETIC CLUBS At Midtown Athletic Clubs, we believe active, social people live happier, healthier lives. That involves more than just fitness; it’s also about having a picnic on the lawn at Ravinia with friends and finding ways to engage with your community. For us at Midtown, being active is a way of life, and that includes being active in the community and giving back. Midtown Clubs support a wide variety of charities in the eight communities where they are located. In addition to Ravinia, we sponsor programs like the Tennis Opportunity Program in Chicago, ensuring talented young tennis players from underprivileged communities get tennis coaching, playing time, and academic tutoring so they in turn get college scholarships; Mindstrong in Montreal, the largest mental-health fundraiser in the province, raising over $1 million per year; and the Tour de Cure in Rochester, NY, a massive bike ride for diabetes research. In addition to supporting many local organizations, our biggest goal is ending genetic retinal disease, a form of which impacts our founder’s grandson. With support from Midtown, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has funded research and doctors around the globe focused on curing Lebers Congenital Amaurosis and other retinal diseases like macular degeneration and retinal pigmentosa. To date, over 50 children have been cured. They see their parents, siblings, friends, and the world for the first time! This cure is the first and only gene therapy of any kind ever successfully performed on humans. What was science fiction 15 years ago, is reality today. Amazing. But there is still so much to accomplish on the way to our goal. Our founder’s grandson isn’t one of the lucky few whose specific gene is able to be fixed—yet—but he lives our mission of being social, active, and happy every day. He’s graduating from college this year, and if you visit one of our clubs this summer, you might just see him swimming laps in the outdoor pool. THE ROOTS Originating as the duo of rapper and MC Black Thought and drummer Questlove, The Roots became a major underground attrac- tion in their native Philadelphia. As the group expanded, so did its reach, earning an invite to play across Europe. The Roots cut a disc dubbed Organix to sell at these shows, and the buzz led to a deal with the DGC arm of Universal. Their first disc there, 1995’s Do You Want More?!!!??! , quickly reached a broad au- dience, and The Roots cracked Billboard ’s top 40 with 1996’s Illadelph Halflife , which also included their first top-40 single, “What They Do,” featuring Raphael Saadiq. Things heated up even more in 1999 with Things Fall Apart , the top-five, platinum-selling hit that featured Grammy winner “You Got Me,” co-written with Jill Scott and featuring Erykah Badu and Eve. Phrenology followed in 2002, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album like its predecessor. A series of jam sessions formed 2004’s The Tipping Point , and a new deal with Def Jam resulted in the politically conscious albums Game Theory (2006) and Rising Down (2008). In 2009, The Roots be- came the house band for Jimmy Fallon’s late- night show, but the new gig didn’t diminish their creative energy. How I Got Over (2010) retained the political overtones of the previ- ous records but was more subdued, reflecting the recent change in leadership. Their col- laborative disc with John Legend, Wake Up! , was similarly motivated, featuring covers of lesser-known classic soul music, including a Grammy-winning rendition of “Hang On In There.” The Roots then worked with Miami soul legend Betty Wright on Betty Wright: The Movie (2011) and released the concept album Undun , telling a story of (unsuccess- ful) redemption. The pattern repeated with Wise Up Ghost (2013), a duet project with El- vis Costello, and the self-destruction concept album ...And Then You Shoot Your Cousin in 2014, the same year they followed Fallon to The Tonight Show . Recently, Questlove and Black Thought were executive producers of the acclaimed AMC docu-series Hip-Hop: The Songs That Shook America . The Roots are making their first return to Ravinia since their 2018 festival debut. MUSIQ SOULCHILD Finding a deep connection with his father’s extensive record collection, highlighted by R&B and funk greats Aretha Franklin, Ste- vie Wonder, Sly & The Family Stone, and Donnie Hathaway, Taalib Johnson took on the moniker Musiq in the streets, jazz clubs, and open-mic circuit of Philadelphia, add- ing the surname Soulchild as a way to show respect and admiration for his biggest musi- cal influences. Under the wing of Def Soul, he made his recorded debut with the single “Just Friends (Sunny),” which appeared on a silver screen soundtrack and climbed to number six on Billboard ’s R&B and Hip-Hop chart shortly before coming out on Musiq’s first album, Aijuswanaseing , in 2000. The follow-up ballad “Love”—today a ubiquitous wedding anthem—raised the bar at number two on the same chart and earned a Grammy nomination while helping lift the parent disc to platinum sales. This period also saw Mu- siq win a BET Award (2001) and an ASCAP Award (2002) as Best Male R&B Artist. Car- rying these successes even higher, he topped the album charts with 2002’s platinum-selling Juslisen , featuring a cover of The Beatles’ clas- sic “Something” among his original tracks. The singles “Halfcrazy” and “Dontchange” tipped into the top 20 of Billboard ’s Hot 100 while also becoming major R&B chart hits, and Musiq guested on The Roots’ “Break You Off ” later that year. Guitar icon Carlos San- tana tapped him to feature on “Nothing at All” in 2003. After releasing his gold-selling disc Soulstar that same year, Musiq joined the Atlantic Records roster and issued Luv- anmusiq in 2007, returning to the top of the charts with “B.U.D.D.Y.” and “Teachme” becoming big hits. OnMyRadio (2008) and MusiqInTheMagiq (2011) closed out his major label tenure going from strength to strength with the singles “IfULeave” (featuring Mary J. Blige) and “Anything” respectively. After his reggae duet album 9ine (2013) with Syleena Johnson, Musiq added Life on Earth (2016) to his library of top-five R&B discs, and the 2017 double album Feel the Real delivered him his 13th Grammy nomination. Musiq Soulchild is making his Ravinia debut. RAVINIA.ORG • RAVINIA MAGAZINE 53