Maxwell

Maxwell, born Gerald Maxwell Rivera on May 23, 1973, in Brooklyn, New York, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer of Haitian and Puerto Rican descent. Growing up in the East New York neighborhood of Brooklyn, he discovered his voice singing church hymns and began performing on the New York club circuit at age 19. He signed with Columbia Records in 1994, and his acclaimed debut album *Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite* arrived in 1996, spawning the hit singles "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" and "Sumthin' Sumthin'." The record is widely regarded as a cornerstone of the neo-soul movement — alongside Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu, Maxwell is credited with bringing neo-soul to mainstream audiences. MTV invited him to perform an "MTV Unplugged" concert after just one album. His 1998 follow-up *Embrya*, produced in part with Stuart Matthewman, took a more experimental direction. His long-standing creative partner is songwriter and producer Hod David. Maxwell has won three Grammy Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards, and two NAACP Image Awards. In 2019, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation. His most recent studio album, *blackSUMMERS'night*, was released in 2016.