Maxwell is without question the crown prince of the neo-soul movement. Blessed with bohemian good looks, with the requisite wild hair and an enigmatic and self-deprecating personality, Maxwell was not quite prepared to be the poster boy for the next generation. At the time of its release, Urban Hang Suite was little more than a sweet slice of retro-soul, the kind of thing that was always gonna be in the changer, but was never gonna be in regular rotation on anybody’s Hot-100 station.
A small cadre of listeners secretly cultivated R&B’s little secret—many of whom initially peeped the joint at places like Circuit City on sale for $7.99—who wanted to protect Urban Hang Suite and the man behind its genius from over-exposure (we can use Alicia Keys as a reference) and the filthy hands of over-promotion and commercial expectations.