Maxwell (musician)

Maxwell
Maxwell in 1998
Background information
Birth name	Gerald Maxwell Rivera
Also known as	Musze Muze X'Mosque Mennard
Born	May 23, 1973 (1973-05-23) (age 50) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Genres	R&B neo soul[1] progressive soul[2]
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter record producer
Instrument(s)	Vocals piano keyboards guitar
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Columbia BMG
Website	musze.com

Gerald Maxwell Rivera^[3][4][5][6] (born May 23, 1973), known mononymously as Maxwell, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to prominence following the release of his debut studio album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite (1996), which received widespread acclaim and spawned the hit singles "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)" and "Sumthin' Sumthin'".^[7] Through the album and its follow ups, Maxwell has been cited—along with Lauryn Hill, D'Angelo, and Erykah Badu—for ushering in the neo soul movement and its sensibilities into mainstream popular music during the late 1990s.^[8]

He followed up with his second and third albums Embrya (1998) and Now (2001), both of which received platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA);^[9] the latter became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart. His 1999 single, "Fortunate" was released for the R. Kelly-produced soundtrack to the film Life, and saw his furthest commercial success as it peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100. After an eight year hiatus, Rivera returned with the release of his fourth album BLACKsummers'night (2009), which became his second to peak atop the Billboard 200 and won two Grammy Awards—Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance—from six nominations; its single, "Pretty Wings" was nominated for Song of the Year. His fifth album, blackSUMMERS'night (2016) was supported by the single "Lake by the Ocean" and met with continued success.

Rivera has won three Grammy Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards and two NAACP Image Awards. He was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressional Black Caucus in 2019 for "his innovative contributions to the music industry as a singer, songwriter, and producer".^[10]