Maxwell

Gerald Maxwell Rivera (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’”. 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.He followed up with his second and third albums Embrya (1998) and Now (2001), both of which were certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA); the latter became his first album to debut atop the Billboard 200 chart. His 1999 single, “Fortunate” was released on the soundtrack for the film Life, and reached 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 album to reach number one on the Billboard 200 chart and received two Grammy Awards from six nominations: Best R&B Album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for “Pretty Wings”; which was also nominated for Song of the Year). His fifth studio album, blackSUMMERS’night (2016) spawned the single “Lake by the Ocean”, and was met with continued commercial success and acclaim.

He has won three Grammy Awards, six Soul Train Music Awards and two NAACP Image Awards. Rivera 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”.

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