Maxwell: ‘I’m here … to make them feel like the kings and queens they are’
Just because Maxwell has been around long enough to see things come full circle, doesn’t mean he’s done.
In the mid-’90s he was part of a wave of artists re-injecting some classic vibes into R&B, in what became termed the “neo-soul’ movement. 25 years on, he can claim plenty of bona fide classics of his own, starting with “Ascension,” “Sumthin’ Sumthin’” and “Pretty Wings.” Not that he’s resting on his laurels: His most recent hit single, “Off,” peaked earlier this year, giving fans a first taste of an album they’ve been anticipating for quite a while now.
Maxwell will perform Sunday, Oct. 23, at the University of South Alabama Mitchell Center, and he recently took a few minutes to talk about the music. While he didn’t spell out a release date for the forthcoming “Blacksummers’NIGHT” album, he did elaborate on the reason fans have had to wait.
Q: This show comes near the end of the second leg of your 2022 tour. How has it been, getting back on the road after the pandemic? How’s the energy out there?
Maxwell: “It’s definitely gratifying. Truly it is. It’s a blessing, that people still care after all these years and that they’re willing to come and experience 20-some-odd years of work that I’ve been able to do and collaborate with so many people on. It is taxing, a bit, with travel and how things can get delayed. It’s interesting. The part of me that is the very most mature part of me goes into high gear. The patient part: ‘Just wait it out, this is for the people, they’re waiting for you, they need you, you need them.’ You know, kind of tapping into a much more mature part of myself, because there’s a part that would have been like, ‘Oh, not this. I can’t miss another flight or be delayed.’ At the end of the day … I just go out there with the intention of doing the best I can to make things feel a little semblance of joy, for all that they’ve been through and all that we’ve been through in the course of this interesting few years.”