If Prince and Marvin Gaye had ever recorded a duet, the results would have been similar to soul singer Maxwell’s hits. Maxwell was integral in the founding of neo-soul in the latter half of the 1990s, and his spiritual songs became a touchtone of the genre.

His debut, 1996’s Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite, burned slowly up the charts, and Maxwell slam-dunked with his MTV Unplugged EP, which featured covers of Nine Inch Nails’ “Closer” and Kate Bush’s “This Woman’s Work.” In 1999, the singer scored big with the single “Fortunate,” and released his fourth album, Now, in 2001.

Neo-soul is no longer the well-carved niche it once was, and Maxwell has been on hiatus since the release of Now, but the singer has announced that a revival of sorts is in the making. Maxwell plans to release an album called Black Summers’ Night in three parts over three years, beginning with Black on July 7 of this year.

By Caitlin McGarry