Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
Studio album by Maxwell
Released	April 2, 1996
Recorded	1994–1995
Studio	Electric Lady RPM Sorcerer Chung King (New York) CRC (Chicago)
Genre	R&B neo soul soul retro-soul[1]
Length	64:47
Label	Columbia
Producer	Maxwell Peter Mokran Stuart Matthewman
Maxwell chronology
Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996) MTV Unplugged (1997)
Singles from Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite
"...Til the Cops Come Knockin'" Released: May 15, 1996 "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" Released: July 30, 1996 "Sumthin' Sumthin'" Released: December 1996 "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)" Released: May 1997

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite is the debut album by American R&B singer-songwriter Maxwell. It was recorded in 1994 and 1995, then released on April 2, 1996, by Columbia Records.

Maxwell largely wrote and produced the album himself, recording in sessions at Electric Lady Studios, RPM, Sorcerer, and Chung King Studios in New York City, and CRC recording studios in Chicago. The resulting music features a mellow, groove-based sound with elements of funk, jazz, smooth soul, and quiet storm. A concept album, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was composed as a song cycle that focuses on an adult romance, based in part on Maxwell's personal experiences.

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was not an immediate commercial success, but it was helped by the release of its second single "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" in July 1996, and the album eventually became a million-seller. It was also a success with critics, who praised it as a departure from the mainstream, hip hop-oriented R&B of the time, while earning Maxwell several accolades and comparisons to soul singers of the past, particularly Marvin Gaye and Prince.

The success of Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite elevated Maxwell's reputation to that of a sex symbol and a notable performer in the music industry. He was credited with shaping the "neo soul" movement of musicians that rose to prominence during the late 1990s. Along with D'Angelo's Brown Sugar (1995) and Erykah Badu's Baduizm (1997), the album provided commercial exposure to neo soul and has since been cited by several critics as Maxwell's greatest work.