Maxwell

You know that feel when someone ask you "yo man, what kind of music do you listen to?" and you don't know what to say since you heard like almost everything? I posted everything here from Boyz II Men to Mew, from Alekesam to The Whitest Boy Alive, from A Tribe Called Quest to Bon Iver, from Chet Baker to Mos Def, from The Strokes to Michael Jackson. Today, let's talk about Maxwell.

Everybody knows who Maxwell is. He's one of the musician back in the early 90s that helped "Neo Soul" to grow as a sub-genre of soul movement alongside names like Raphael Saadiq, Erykah Badu & D'Angelo. Without them, there will be no Musiq Soulchild, no Bilal, no Maliq & D'Essentials, no nothing. Memorable quote from him from an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he said, "It bothers me how women are treated in pop songs. I'm doing my best to pay some long-overdue respect to African-American women.", and yet he's still keeping his words to now.

Born a New Yorker, no surprise that he'd wear a Supreme

I still remember back in around '97 when i was still in school around 5th or 6th grade, my sister's friend came to my house bringing his mixtape that contains one of Maxwell's, Whenever Wherever Whatever, and i instantly hooked up to that track. But it's up to the album, "Now" (2001), that i really gotten to get into Maxwell and his music. I started to buy his other albums like Urban Hang Suite and the MTV Unplugged and really enjoying it at the moment. I remember listening to Sumthin' Sumthin', 'Til the Cops Come Knockin', Fortunate, and Lifetime over and over again.

In 2002, he finished his tours and decided to take a break from music. He surprisingly made a comeback in 2009 (with no 'fro) after a 7-year hiatus with his new album, BLACKsummers'night, and literally brought neo-soul to another level. His music has nominated and won him lots of awards including BET, Soul Train, and Billboard Music, but his 2009 comeback grant him 6 nominations in 2010's grammy awards, and won Best R&B album and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

He's always surrounded by great musicians, but last year in VH1 Storytellers, Maxwell and the band (notice that Robert Glasper on the piano) once again bringin' his songs to the higher level. Just like he did back in the 90's at MTV Unplugged, he got intimate with the crowds for this 2011 VH1 Storytellers. Check the video below and learn how some of his music was created.

Check out his other music below