Like one of the soulful slow jams he’s known for, Maxwell has been taking his sweet time at this stage in his career. The neo-soul singer-songwriter has been working on a trilogy of albums since the late 2000s, releasing the Grammy award-winning BLACKsummers’night in 2009 and blackSUMMERS’night in 2016. Now, after over a decade, it finally looks like he’s ready to close the book on the project. Maxwell released new single “Off,” which he’s teased as an offering off blacksummers’NIGHT, the planned end to the trilogy. The song is a typical Maxwell outing, woozy and sensual, with the singer’s voice still velvety smooth. On Twitter, Maxwell called “Off” “THE FIRST FROM THE FINAL #MXWLNIGHT,” seeming to hint that his 2018 song “Shame” won’t make the album. Per a press release, blacksummers’NIGHT is set for release in spring 2022, on new label BMG and on the heels of a 2022 arena tour. Maxwell will also receive the “Legend” award at the 2021 Soul Train Awards on November 20. We’d call that going off.
