Maxwell (born in Brooklyn, New York on May 23, 1973) is an American R&B artist. He played an important role in the development of the subgenre of neo-soul music.

Maxwell (the name of his biological father; he chooses to keep his full birth name private) was born of mixed Puerto Rican and West Indian heritage (his mother hails from Trinidad and Tobago). Maxwell began his interest in music at the age of 17, by writing and arranging songs on a tiny casio keyboard. He eventually got a record deal with Columbia Records in 1994 when he was 21 years old. His loss of his father at the age of three had a great impact on him as a person and as an artist. Maxwell p