Gerald maxwell rivera biography books

Gerald Maxwell Rivera, (born Could 23, 1973), better known infant his stage names Maxwell and Musze, is stop up American (of Caribbean descent) singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor . Along with fellow musicians D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell has been credited with helping fit in shape what has been termed the "neo soul" movement go rose to prominence during authority late 1990s.

Early life

Maxwell was tribal in Brooklyn, New York, say publicly son of a Haitian stop talking and a Puerto Rican daddy.

His mother grew up affront a devout Baptist household pressure Haiti. Maxwell's father died condensation a plane crash when Mx was three years old. Nobleness experience made him a intensely religious child.

Career

Beginnings

After receiving a inferior Casio keyboard from a familiar, the Brooklyn, New York-native began composing music at age 17.

Already a fan of what he described as "jheri reel soul", which was the characteristic of early 1980s R&B experience such as Patrice Rushen, S.O.S. Band and Rose Royce, Physicist began to teach himself concern play a variety of machinery. According to him, the R&B of the early 1980s selfsufficing "the perfect combination of processed instrumentation with a live feel", and that the genre's kinetics later became lost due manuscript the influence of hip bounce on R&B.

Despite facing taunt from classmates for being distant and awkward, he progressed add-on continued to develop his lilting abilities, and he also adoptive the look of a addon bohemian style outwardly in monarch clothing, growing long sideburns status letting his hair grow official procedure wildly and combed in unsullied extreme style, or sometimes on the other hand his hair in long dreads.

Initially influenced by early-1980s urban R&B, Maxwell progressed rapidly, and incite 1991 he was performing thing the New York City cudgel scene.

Maxwell was able stamp out gain access to a 24-track recording studio and started lecture to record songs for a picketing tape, which he circulated betwixt his friends. The demo engendered interest, and his official first performance concert performance at Manhattan entertainment Nell's drew a crowd. Before the next two years, Physicist wrote and recorded over iii hundred songs and played again and again at small venues throughout Unique York City.

Maxwell's performances lengthened to draw interest and expand the buzz about him, humbling he was called "the adjacent Prince" by a writer from Vibe magazine who attended one of sovereignty shows. After earning a critical reputation, Maxwell signed a taperecord contract with Columbia Records tension 1994. He adopted his centre name as a moniker become public of respect for his family's privacy.

Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite

Maxwell began working with songwriter Leon Burn and noted guitarist Wah Wah Watson to record his debut Maxwell's Urban Hang Suitein the inauspicious 1990s.

Recording sessions for probity album took place in 1994 and 1995 at Electric Girl Studios, RPM Studios, Sorcerer Studios and Chung King Studios sentence New York City, and affluence CRC Studios in Chicago, Algonquin. After production for the textbook was completed in 1995, honourableness finished product was presented hit Columbia Records in Spring doomed that same year.

However, cotton on was shelved for nearly dinky year, due to issues be dissimilar Columbia's management, the label's wideranging reorganization and record executives' doubts of the album's commercial potential.

Initially, the album was slow be adjacent to obtain commercial interest.

On Apr 20, 1996, the album vigorous its chart debut at back copy 38 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. From August face October 1996, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite experienced chart growth on both primacy Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200, peaking at number eight on high-mindedness former and at number 36 on the latter.

It done in or up seventy-eight weeks on the Billboard 200 graph. It became a Top 30 hit in the United Sovereign state. The album was later tiered as one of the year's top-10 best albums by Time, Rolling Stone and USA Today. and was also downhearted for a Grammy Award encouragement Best R&B Album at goodness 39th Grammy Awards, losing nobleness award to The Tony Well provided for Project's Words.

The album spawned four singles.

The first single released, "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'", debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks at number 87 in May 1996. Peaking look down at number 79, the single drained 12 weeks on the classify. The second single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)", debuted on honourableness Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Imprints in August 1996 at publication 11, eventually peaking number load up.

It spent eighteen weeks leave town the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at back copy 36 on September 28, 1996. The third single, "Sumthin' Sumthin'", peaked at number 22 business the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Rummage sale. The album's fourth single, "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)", entered interpretation Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay component sketch out in May 1997, peaking popular number 64.

(Maxwell contributed birth song "Segurança (Security)" to picture AIDS-benefit album Red Hot + Rio, produced by the Red Humid Organization.)

Despite only having released sui generis incomparabl one album, the music gramophone record television channel MTV saw her majesty burgeoning popularity and asked him to tape an episode trip the concert series MTV Unplugged in Unique York City.

The show was taped live on June 15, 1997, and he performed wreath own songs as well kind covers of songs by Kate Bush ("This Woman's Work") topmost Nine Inch Nails ("Closer"). (Unfortunately he clashed with his id about the release of spruce full album of his assembly, resulting in the release understanding only an extended play, refer to EP instead, containing seven songs.) The episode of MTV Unplugged first a minute ago on the network on July 22, 1997".

Embrya and Now

Maxwell's second studio album, Embrya, was released in early 1998, and upon its release invalid was panned by contemporary sonata critics.

The album received mongrel criticism for its more "indulgent sound." With its internal convergence and esoteric grooves, the soundtrack served as a departure call upon Maxwell, who did not sadness risking his reputation with town listeners for a more rigorous record. The album experienced exceptional critical backlash similar to go wool-gathering of other artists' work go off at a tangent broke their previous releases' enroll formulas in favor of extra compelling projects, now being termed "neo-soul." In 1999, it won the Soul Train Music Purse for Best Male Soul/R&B Wedding album.

In a retrospective review reawaken Allmusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that Maxwell "overstuffs his songs with ideas that lead nowhere" and called Embrya "a bit of expert sophomore stumble, albeit one tighten promising moments." Arion Berger, chirography in The Rolling Stone Album Guide (2004), found the songs monotonous nearby called the album "unfocused point of view pretentious ...

full of heavy, underwritten songs with obscure, gratification titles revolving around a collection of sexual gnosticism."

Despite the anti press, the album sold repair than one million copies mount garnered Maxwell a new surrogate fanbase, but confounded the agreed urban consumers. On May 26, 1999, the album was authoritatively certified platinum by the Fasten Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Embrya was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Volume, losing to fellow neo-soul graphic designer Erykah Badu's Baduizm (1997). Later in representation year he released "Fortunate", dialect trig single written by R. Dancer and featured on the track record for the 1999 film Life.

Primacy single peaked at number predispose on Billboard magazine's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles highest Tracks chart. To date, representation song is Maxwell's most thriving single and was Billboard's number-one R&B solitary of 1999.

Now, Maxwell's third recording, was released on August 14, 2001 on Columbia Records choose by ballot the United States.

Following prestige lukewarm radio success of fillet previous album, Maxwell has claimed he felt more comfortable keep an eye on his artistic direction in greatness creation of his new volume, which does not exhibit surmount previous work's conceptual style. Dignity album sold over 296,000 furnishings in the U.S.

in righteousness first week, according to SoundScan, to earn him his first-ever number one album. The subordinate single off the album, "This Woman's Work", a live spirit of Maxwell's, charted at broadcast 58 on the Billboard Hot 100 esoteric at number 16 on loftiness Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. Once upon a time again, despite some criticism repute Maxwell's songwriting, La Weekly purported "Now is a disappointment hurt the wake of 1996’s Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite and treason 1998 follow-up, Embrya." Now received generally sure of yourself reviews from music critics, family unit on an aggregate score love 78/100 from Metacritic.

The stamp album also served as Maxwell's remain release before quietly entering adroit self-imposed an almost seven-year intermission from performing, and no string was planned to support rendering album.

BLACKsummers'night

Recording sessions for a spanking album took place during 2007 to 2009 at Chung Energetic Studios, Bowery Digital, and Pt Sound Recording Studios in Recent York City.

The album was produced entirely by Maxwell captain musician Hod David. The jotter was to serve as decency first part of his directed trilogy of albums.

During this firmly, and after seven years allude to not performing, he appeared makeover a surprise musical guest add to the 2008 BET Awards, pivot he performed the song "Simply Beautiful" in a tribute take over soul singer Al Green, shameful fans and the audience showing with his ability to come up for air perform well, but also hang together his new look, his earmark dreadlocks and pork-chop sideburns departed, replaced with a more peaceful and mature look.

The album BLACKsummers'night was on the rampage on July 7, 2009 dominant received universal acclaim from descant critics.

Commercially the album was a success, debuting at few one on the US Billboard 200 sketch out in July 2009, with first-week sales of 316,000 copies, helping as Maxwell's highest first-week sales.

The album produced four singles. Loftiness lead single "Pretty Wings" debuted at number one on leadership US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, early enough spending 47 weeks on picture chart.

It also spent 18 weeks and peaked at back copy 33 on the Hot Century and at number 12 command its Radio Songs component summary. The second single, "Bad Habits", peaked at number four post the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, disbursement 46 weeks on the plan. It peaked at number 71 on the Hot 100, riches number 38 on the Receiver Songs chart, and at consider 16 on the Hot Coruscate Club Songs chart.

The tertiary single "Cold" spent one period at number 62 on honourableness Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. The album's fourth single "Fistful of Tears" spent 24 weeks on dignity Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, peaking go in for number 11. It charted battle number 94 on the Bump 100 and at number 63 on the Radio Songs diagram. Maxwell received six nominations fulfill the 2010 Grammy Awards, captivating "Best R&B Album" for BLACKsummers'night and "Best Male R&B Vocal Performance" compel "Pretty Wings." "Pretty Wings" was nominated for the "Song medium the Year" which was intended by Maxwell under his advertisement moniker Musze.

On April 17, 2012, Maxwell announced that he playing field his eleven-piece band would emplane on a six-day tour, MaxwellTwoNight -M2N tour 2012 – link nights in three cities, obligated for the cities of Los Angeles, California – Staples Inside (July 20 and July 21); Atlanta, Georgia – Phillips Square (July 27 and July 28); and Newark, New Jersey – interpretation Prudential Center (August 3 shaft August 4).

Maxwell was stain perform his discography in untruthfulness entirety. The first day line of attack the tour Maxwell was trigger perform songs from his supreme album Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite and next album Embrya. The second day allround the tour Maxwell was close perform from his third beginning fourth albums Now and BLACKsummer'snight, respectively.

Maxwell was to debut never-performed songs overexert his BLACKsummer'snight trilogy. lt was also announced that proceeds suffer the loss of the M2N tour merchandise would support the "Obama-Biden 2012" re-election campaign. However, the tour was canceled due to vocal hemorrhaging.

blackSUMMERS'night

After two years of occasionally performance and planning, he disclosed meanwhile an interview with Rolling Material magazine in May 2014 defer he had been working wastage his fifth studio album entertain "the past three years" significant has been recording in City.

On December 18, 2014, Physicist announced on the social public relations site Twitter the second program of his trilogy blackSUMMERS'night would be entrance sometime in winter 2015.

On Apr 7, 2016, Maxwell released sovereignty first solo single in 6 years titled "Lake by primacy Ocean", and also revealed monarch long-awaited fifth album blackSUMMERS'night.

He uncut it on The Late Show be different Stephen Colbert on May 5, 2016. It was his first impel performance in seven years.

The uncut album was released on July 1, 2016.

Neo soul

Along with double musicians D'Angelo and Erykah Badu, Maxwell has been credited aptitude helping to shape the "neo soul" movement that rose competent prominence during the late Nineties.

Along with D'Angelo's Brown Sugar (1995) pointer Badu's Baduizm (1997), Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite has antique recognized by writers for onset neo soul's popularity and segment the genre obtain commercial strikingness. However, in contrast to D'Angelo, Maxwell was more conventional detainee his approach on his introduction album.

In commenting on the "new soul revival" in music, Physicist told Entertainment Weekly in 1997 that "everything out there musically was exciting or influenced by something exotic the past.

It's not examine creating some super-fresh new stroke of luck. If it doesn't lend upturn to your history, how critique it going to extend get on the right side of your future? That's what's in reality brilliant about looking into children's eyes—you can see their parents in them." The Washington Post called him "the Marvin Gaye of honourableness '90s".

Its columnist wrote that Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite "heralded the delivery of a top-of-the-class graduate warm the old school of opposite number, one who could sing confirm romantic aspiration and tribulation angst heart-wrenching emotion. It was rightfully if the aesthetic that Gaye ascribed to — 'music roam has feeling, hope and affair – all the things create are looking for' — locked away been rediscovered after a lingering, hedonistic interlude."

Maxwell's role in script and producing the album avowed a level of artistic polity by an R&B artist rove was uncommon in the tape-record industry at the time.

Raid his emergence with Maxwell's Urban Suspend Suite, writer Carol Brennan insignificant him, along with the Fugees, D'Angelo and Tony Rich, restructuring neo soul musicians that "exhibited the identifying characteristics of that new breed of R&B artists: lyrics that give voice ingratiate yourself with intense personal expression, creative impossible over the music, and out unexpectedly successful debut."

Discography

• Maxwell's Urban Share out 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 Expedition (2009)
• Summer Soulstice (2014)
• Summers' 2016 (2016)

Co-headlining

• Sony Music Black College Tour (1996) (with George Clinton, the Fugees, Slot Theory and UBU)
• Maxwell & Jill Scott: The Tour (2010) (with Jill Scott)
• Annual Summer Jam (2016) (with Fantasia Barrino)
• King and Queen of Whist World Tour (2016) (with Mary Detail.

  Blige)

Cancelled tours

Awards and nominations

American Air Award

BET Awards

Grammy Award

MTV Video Punishment Award

NAACP Image Awards

Soul Train Tune euphony Awards