DATE: Wednesday, July 16, 1997              TAG: 9707160057

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Interview 

SOURCE: BY CANDY McCRARY, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:   63 lines

SOUL CROONER MAXWELL GIVES R&B AUDIENCE A LITTLE SUMTHIN' SUMTHIN'

R&B MUSICIAN Maxwell is still adjusting to the trappings of fame.

The singer/songwriter/producer was shopping for new sneakers at a mall in Baltimore recently when he was spotted by fans. It wasn't his unforgettable 'fro that drew autograph-seekers, but the success of his platinum debut, ``Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite,'' which garnered him a Grammy nomination and three Soul Train Music Awards.

``I get embarrassed by all the attention,'' said Maxwell, who performs Thursday at Chrysler Hall. ``I can't believe people care as much as they do. I get nervous.''

Who can blame him? During that same shopping trip, he purchased a Mary J. Blige CD when a fan snatched it out of his hands. Maxwell let the fan keep it and bought another.

Such is life for the 24-year-old Brooklyn native, whose ``MTV Unplugged'' EP hit stores this week to critical acclaim. The performance airs July 22 on MTV - a rare feat for a soul artist.

``It's a blessing,'' Maxwell said in a phone interview. ``I got the call: `Yo, MTV wants you to do an unplugged.' I was like, `For real? But I only got one record.' ''

But that record was enough to hook music critics and fans tired of the bass-laden turn that R&B has taken in the '90s.

Time magazine described ``Urban Hang Suite'' as ``soulful, seductive and as smooth as lingerie.'' The jazzy, romantic theme album tells the story of a love affair from the first meeting to the marriage proposal. The singles ``Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)'' and ``Sumthin' Sumthin' '' were Top 10 hits on Billboard's R&B chart; the album is still on the Billboard 200.

But Maxwell's commercial success alone didn't prompt MTV to call him. His musical ability - he writes the majority of his songs - is what attracted the music station.

After receiving the news, Maxwell had only a week and a half to prepare before his May 7 performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

``I didn't want everything to be all old stuff, so I had to rush to rearrange some songs, and I wanted at least one or two new songs,'' he said. ``I didn't even know it was going to be a record.''

The seven-track EP has remixes of five ``Urban Hang Suite'' songs that sound almost new, plus a funky spin on Nine Inch Nails' ``Closer.'' He also reworked the Kate Bush song, ``This Woman's Work,'' a cut he says is meant as a tribute to women.

``I respect women tremendously,'' he said in a husky voice that belies his occasional falsetto. ``I wanted to do a song that shows that respect.''

He also wants his success to be a wake-up call to today's black artists, many of whom release machine-induced records that sound the same.

``I hope people can broaden their minds and accept that African-Americans have a deeper ear,'' he said. ``I think we all represent a certain eclectic energy, but we've been selling ourselves short. We have other styles, and there's a different energy to what African-Americans are.''

That attitude, coupled with his spirituality, is what has lifted Maxwell, along with Erykah Badu, D'Angelo and Eric Benet to the forefront of the back-to-soul movement.

``I knew there would be people who would be receptive to a cross section of music,'' he said. ``If I pigeonhole myself, I pigeonhole the listeners.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Marc Baptiste KEYWORDS: PROFILE INTERVIEW

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