- BLACKsummers'night (2009) · 2009
- Now · 2001
- Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite · 1996
- Life (Music Inspired By the Motion Picture) · 1999
- Girl On Fire · 2012
- Now · 2001
- Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite · 1996
- Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite · 1996
- BLACKsummers'night (2009) · 2009
- Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite · 1996
- BLACKsummers'night (2009) · 2009
- Fortunate - EP · 1999
- blackSUMMERS'night (2016) · 2016
Albums
- 2001
- 2001
- 1998
- 2017
- 2017
- 2016
- 2016
Artist Playlists
- Cerebral grooves from neo-soul's leading light.
- His cool R&B is saturated with both romance and politics.
- Soul jams that explore the deepest human emotions.
- 2021
- 2019
- 2018
- 2017
Live Albums
- 1997
Compilations
Appears On
- Bhaku Jr.
- The Alchemist
More To Hear
- Maxwell talks to Ebro Darden about the album on its 25th anniversary.
- 'Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite' celebrates its 25th anniversary.
- Elton FaceTimes the show's most-played artist of 2018.
- Why the neo soul singer takes breaks.
- More new music from Kwabs, plus classics from the Bee Gees and Maxwell.
More To See
About Maxwell
An R&B auteur with a supple voice, Maxwell has been one of the leading lights of neo-soul music since his mid-’90s emergence. Born Gerald Maxwell Rivera in 1973, the Brooklyn native grew up on the slick pop-soul of the early ’80s as he taught himself music’s ins and outs. He wrote and gigged around New York constantly and was signed to a record deal in 1994; two years later, his debut, Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, came out, becoming a commercial success thanks to singles like the swooning “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder).” The next year, he released MTV Unplugged, which showcased his musicianship and wide-ranging tastes on revamped versions of his own songs as well as Nine Inch Nails and Kate Bush covers. Embrya, issued in 1998, was a high-concept, meticulously arranged foray into progressive soul; its follow-up, Now, included his reimagining of Bush’s “This Woman’s Work,” which quickly became one of his signature tracks. After a years-long hiatus, Maxwell released BLACKsummers’night, the first album in a proposed trilogy, to widespread acclaim and commercial success in 2009; with tracks like the stunning “Pretty Wings” and the simmering “Bad Habits,” it re-established Maxwell as one of R&B’s leading songwriters. The second piece in the trilogy, blackSUMMERS’night, came out in 2016, with the gleaming “1990X” and the flinty “III” further showcasing his musical and compositional swagger. Maxwell is an artist who works at his own pace, but patience has always paid off.
- HOMETOWN
- Brooklyn, NY, United States
- BORN
- May 23, 1973