In 2009, neo-soul singer Maxwell released what he promised was the first part of a three-album trilogy, BLACKsummers'night. Seven years later, it seems as though he's finally ready to drop the second part later this summer. In a new interview with Essence, Maxwell revealed his excitement about this latest project. "I'm so hyped about the new album coming out," he said. "It's fresh and it's different, but it is what I do. It doesn't make you feel like, oh, yeah, that's going to come out in 1996. You're not going to feel that. At least I hope you don't."
He then went on at length about why he's finally getting around this record now:
"I'm at the point with the album where it's just like ... With the passing of my cousin, and my grandmother passing away ... Me turning 40, and being 42 now, and having a whole sort of new milestone in my life, where a lot of my mind is grown up, and I'm thinking in terms of the next 10 years, and what I'm going to try to do for the next 10 years, which is something I never really ... I mean, I did it, but I'm not doing it as much as I do now. I'm just hyped. We have two and a half years of just consistent, around the world, going everywhere, traveling, doing shows…It's funny, because I remember reading Marvin Gaye's biography when I was, like, 17 years old, Divided Soul. He always said something that really stuck with me. He said, 'You can rush to fail, or you can take your time to succeed.' I'm happy that I haven't exhausted people's visions to the point where they'll never want to listen to me."
Maxwell also revealed that the first single from BLACKsummers'night will be a track called "Lake by the Ocean" so keep your eyes and ears open for that in the coming months.
