He has been credited with helping to shape what has been termed the “Neo Soul” movement that rose to prominence during the late 1990’s , Along with fellow musicians D’Angelo and Erykah Badu
Drawing his greatest inspiration from the concept of the R&B auteur (looking to artists like Prince, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, etc.)
This Is The Story of R&B Singer , Maxwell.
Gerald Maxwell Rivera was born May 23, 1973, known mononymously as Maxwell, an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi-instrumentalist .
Maxwell was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of a Haitian mother and a Puerto Rican father. His mother grew up in a devout Baptist household in Haiti. Maxwell’s father died in a plane crash when Maxwell was three years old
After receiving a low-cost Casio keyboard from a friend, the Brooklyn, New York-native began composing music at age 17. Already a fan of what he described as “jheri curl soul”, which was the trademark of early 1980’s R&B acts such as Patrice Rushen, S.O.S. Band and Rose Royce, Maxwell began to teach himself to play a variety of instruments.
According to him, the R&B of the early 1980’s contained “the perfect combination of computerized instrumentation with a live feel”, and that the genre’s dynamics later became lost due to the influence of hip hop on R&B.
During facing ridicule from classmates for being shy and awkward, he progressed and continued to develop his musical abilities, and he also adopted the look of a more bohemian style outwardly in his clothing, growing long sideburns and letting his hair grow out wildly and combed in an extreme style, or sometimes putting his hair in long thin braids .
More Information & References : Maxwell
Discography
- Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite (1996)
- Embrya (1998)
- Now (2001)
- BLACKsummers’night (2009)
- blackSUMMERS’night (2016)
Tours
- Headlining
- Urban Hang Suite Tour (1997)
- Now Tour (2001–02)
- Maxwell Live (2008)
- BLACKsummers’night Tour (2009)
- Summer Soulstice (2014)
- Summers’ 2016 (2016)
- Co-headlining
- Sony Music Black College Tour (1996) (with George Clinton, the Fugees, Groove Theory and UBU)
- Maxwell & Jill Scott: The Tour (2010) (with Jill Scott)
- Annual Summer Jam (2016) (with Fantasia Barrino)
- King and Queen of Hearts World Tour (2016) (with Mary J. Blige)
50 Intimate Night (2018)
- Cancelled tours
- MaxwellTwoNight (2012)
Awards and nominations
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Maxwell | Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Maxwell | Best Male R&B Artist | Nominated |
| 2002 | Maxwell | Best Male R&B Artist | Nominated |
| 2010 | Maxwell | Best Male R&B Artist | Nominated |
| Centric Award | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite | Best R&B Album | Nominated |
| 1998 | “Whenever Wherever Whatever” | Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 1999 | “Matrimony: Maybe You“ | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| Embrya | Best R&B Album | Nominated | |
| 2000 | “Fortunate“ | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 2002 | “Lifetime“ | Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Nominated |
| 2010 | “Pretty Wings“ | Song of the Year | Nominated |
| Best Male R&B Vocal Performance | Won | ||
| Best R&B Song | Nominated | ||
| “Love You” | Best Male Pop Vocal Performance | Nominated | |
| “Phoenix Rise” | Best Pop Instrumental Performance | Nominated | |
| BLACKsummers’night | Best R&B Album | Won | |
| 2017 | “Lake by the Ocean“ | Best R&B Song | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | “This Woman’s Work“ | Breakthrough Video | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Maxwell | Outstanding New Artist | Nominated |
| 2010 | Maxwell | Outstanding Male Artist | Won |
| “Pretty Wings“ | Outstanding Music Video | Nominated | |
| Outstanding Song | Nominated | ||
| “Bad Habits“ | Outstanding Song | Nominated | |
| BLACKsummers’night | Outstanding Album | Nominated | |
| 2011 | “Fistful of Tears“ | Outstanding Music Video | Nominated |
| Outstanding Song | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | “Fire We Make“ | Outstanding Duo or Group | Nominated |
| Outstanding Music Video | Nominated | ||
| Outstanding Song | Nominated | ||
| 2017 | Maxwell | Outstanding Male Artist | Won |
| “Lake by the Ocean“ | Outstanding Traditional Song | Nominated | |
| 2018 | “Gods” | Outstanding Music Video | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Maxwell | Best New Artist | Won |
| “Ascension (Don’t Ever Wonder)“ | Best R&B/Soul Single – Male | Won | |
| Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite | Best R&B/Soul Album – Male | Won | |
| 1998 | MTV Unplugged | Best R&B/Soul Album – Male | Nominated |
| 1999 | Embrya | Best R&B/Soul Album – Male | Nominated |
| 2000 | “Fortunate“ | Best R&B/Soul Single – Male | Won |
| 2003 | “This Woman’s Work“ | Best R&B/Soul Single – Male | Nominated |
| 2009 | Maxwell | Best R&B/Soul Male Artist | Won |
| “Pretty Wings“ | Best Song of the Year | Nominated | |
| The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award | Nominated | ||
| BLACKsummers’night | Best Album of the Year | Nominated | |
| 2013 | “Fire We Make“ | The Ashford & Simpson Songwriter’s Award | Nominated |
| Best Collaboration | Nominated | ||
| 2016 | Maxwell | Best R&B/Soul Male Artist | Won |