Grammy-award soul singer Maxwell has been pretty quiet following the release of his hit single “Pretty Wings” in early 2009. While he originally promised a trilogy of releases to be released a year apart, the official sequel to ‘BLACKsummers’night’ has been pushed back several times. With his headlining role at this year’s Essence Music Festival came the official announcement of ‘blackSUMMERS’night’ and a preview of the album’s first single “Gods”. He revealed that the second installment of his trilogy will be released late summer/early fall to coincide with “the last day of summer”. In less enticing news, Maxwell also revealed that he’s working with Alicia Keys (and hubby Swizz Beats) on a duets project. While I condone the time delay towards perfecting the second part of his trilogy project, I don’t agree with the Alicia duets album. Maxwell’s voice is serene and Alicia’s is like a rake going across a chalkboard – not the best mix. Read the entire interview here.