After his Father's death, Mother rarely allowed Maxwell outside of their apartment to play in the rough east New York City neighborhood. Religion played an important part of his younger years. A devout Baptist, Maxwell often attended the church five times a week. Much of his childhood was spent alone as Maxwell was unable to interact with children in his neighborhood. Instead, he would pass the time studying the Bible, watching television or reading in his bedroom.

     He has often referred to himself as a nerd who had a rough time fitting in at school. His education was difficult; other children taunted him with names like "Maxwell House Coffee." "Being into books, having the glasses, being in the back of the class. Knowing the answers but being afraid to answer. I'm not Einstein or anything, but I definitely went through a period of trying to be who I'm not," Maxwell commented to St. Louis Post-Dispatch reporter Chris Dickinson during a 1996 interview. At this time, he did not sport his trademark hair-do, instead opting for a shaved head. He did not live up to his current reputation as a charmer to the women. In fact, he only had 2 girlfriends all the way through High School and did not attend his Senior Prom.

     It was not until music entered Maxwell's life that he began to feel more comfortable with himself. A friend gave him a beat up Casio keyboard to borrow when he was 16 or 17. The first day he came home with the keyboard, he played for around eight hours before he even took off his jacket.

     Maxwell often locked himself in his room for hours, once again secluding himself from the outside world. Over the next couple of years, he played music and worked to purchase several other instruments and musical equipment, including a guitar. Completely self-taught, Maxwell soon honed his skills as a musician. In his early years, Maxwell did not have any musical friends and did not share his music with others. His only mentors were the 1980's groups he listened to such as Patrice Rushin, The S.O.S. Band, Loose Ends and Rose Royce. The "early '80's had the perfect combination of computerized instrumentation with a live feel. Later the music got all into hip-hop and some of the dynamics were lost," his Columbia Records biography elaborated.

     At 19 years old, Maxwell was readying to play the New York City club circuit, supporting himself as a waiter. He was fortunate enough to gain the support of a friend of a friend, the owner of a 24-track studio. He recorded several demos, which he began giving to friends. The buzz was enough to create a good turnout at his first official concert, which took place New York City's hot club Nell's. He continued to play gigs at various clubs, from 1992 and 1994, while demoing an estimated 300 songs during this period. The music of this time was reportedly soul with a mix of alternative music. Soon, people took notice of Maxwell's talent, including a representative of Vibe Magazine. The publication ran a piece in which Maxwell was dubbed the "next Prince" just prior to inking a deal with Columbia Records in 1994.

     Maxwell and Columbia Records did not quite connect on the vision for his debut album. However, the label was willing to give him the independence he desired. Columbia's only restraint was in the area of production. They were a bit concerned about Maxwell producing his first album, so they brought in Chicago producer P.M. to help out. As it turns out, P.M. only ended up helping with a handful of the earliest Urban Hang Suite tracks: "Dancewitme," "Lonely's The Only Company (I & II)." Most at the label were not so supportive of his efforts during these early recording sessions, confused by the music's direction. It was not until the sequenced masters were delivered that most realized the effort was a concept album.

     Maxwell had a clear vision for his debut album that most of the musicians involved understood. Although Maxwell recorded many of the instruments himself, a strong roster of veteran players aided him. Leon Ware, who collaborated with Marvin Gaye on his brilliant I Want You album, co-wrote "Sumthin' Sumthin'," after Ware arranged dinner with Maxwell. Another friend, the legendary Motown session guitarist Melvin "Wah Wah Watson" Ragin, assisted by co-writing and playing on the instrumentals: "The Urban Theme" and "The Suite Theme." The pair met Maxwell at a session just prior to Maxwell signing with Columbia Records. In addition, Sade's Keyboardest/ Saxophonist Stuart Matthewman, who went on to help form the group Sweetback, contributed to Urban Hang Suite. Maxwell eventually went on to pen "Softly, Softly" for their self-titled debut album.

The Urban Hang Suite Sessions lasted for much of early 1995 and were completed by March. Maxwell wrote, or co-wrote, most of the album under the pseudonym Musze. The name, of course, is registered to Maxwell at the Library of Congress. However, Maxwell has often indicated that he is not Musze and in essence he is justified to make this claim. When music took up a bulk of his religious studies, he became a bit more spiritual rather than religious. Maxwell revealed to American Visions, during a 1997 interview, that when he was younger loving "God, and loving higher things became the rules: what you have to do and how you have to do it, and a particular method in how you reach God. For me, it became less about that and more about the universal message that he or she lives inside and you are part of it --that everyone is part of everyone." When Maxwell pointed toward the sky and winked in answer to one reporter, who asked who Musze is, he was answering honestly. The musical creativity Maxwell has been given is traced, by him, to God.

     The album was not released until April 2, 1996, after a full year collecting dust. During this time Columbia Record's Black Music department underwent several changes.

     Maxwell decided to wait out the transition until the new team was situated. He began writing demos for his second full-length album during that period, which still remains unreleased. He was also asked to perform wordless vocals behind Samuel L. Jackson's narration of Nelson George's film To Be A Black Man. In addition to studio work, Maxwell went on the road with the Fugees and Groove Theory on a black music college tour. The shows played such venues as Atlanta's Morehouse College and Howard University in Washington, DC. Despite the occasional difficult college crowd, the shows exposed him to his intended audience.

     The new Columbia team was hesitant to even release the delayed album. They were not certain if the public would understand Maxwell's image and music. To complicate matters, he was not so interested in having his face and music thrown out into the public eye. Maxwell requested that the typical artist picture not be included on the cover of the album. Instead, he wanted just the pertinent information, like the track listing and bar code, to be displayed. The label compromised with him and put the picture on the back of the album. What's more, Maxwell wanted to make his image as inaccessible as possible so it did not compete for attention with his music.

     Regardless of the label's concerns, they decided to go with Maxwell's strategy of letting the music speak for itself. Columbia opted to market Urban Hang Suite as an album, rather than using the typical R&B singles strategy. The label also allowed "…Til The Cops Come Knockin'" to be the first release, even though Columbia had a feeling "Ascension" would most likely be the best choice for single. Instead, the label used the press and retail/ street-level samplers to create the buzz on Maxwell. The album's initial release carried a discounted "developing artist" price tag to move units. As expected, the song did not fare well on the charts, but word of mouth began to spread.

Maxwell has slowly climbed to the crème in a rather stagnant R&B scene. For the general population to understand his vision, it took a huge 1996 awards season in which he won three NAACP Image Awards, 3 Soul Train Music Awards and a Grammy. The awards, along with his seemingly endless tour schedule and television appearances, generated enough hype to propel Urban Hang Suite to platinum status on March 24, 1997. Maxwell, however, remained weary of success, which he has revealed as his biggest fear time and again. "When your new," Maxwell stated to The Philadelphia Inquirer's Tom Moon. People "trip on you for a while, then people start hating you because they've suddenly seen too much of you."

     As he has reminded the public in several interviews, Urban Hang Suite was only his first album. But, he has given some indication of what the future might hold for his music. When his MTV Unplugged EP was released in July 15, 1997 he mysteriously hinted at the second studio album, in the linear notes declaring, "Coming Soon" followed by a picture of a white umbrella. The next album, rumored to be tentatively titled The Big Umbrella, will represent the the progression in Maxwell both musically and conceptually. "I'm into consistency and gradual progression," he told Interview Magazine's Dimitri Erhlich. The "second album will represent the next stage in my musical statement."