Commercial Performance
Initially, the album was slow to obtain commercial interest. On April 20, 1996, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite made its chart debut at number 38 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The first single released, "...Til the Cops Come Knockin'", debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks at number 87 in May 1996. Peaking at number 79, the single spent 12 weeks on the chart. The album's second single, "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)", debuted on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks in August 1996 at number 11, eventually peaking number eight and spending 29 weeks on the chart. It spent eighteen weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 36 on September 28, 1996. The single also peaked at number 25 on the Rhythmic Top 40 and at number five on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales. It received extensive play on radio stations, as did the song "Whenever Wherever Whatever", despite not having been issued as a single;
The third single from Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite, "Sumthin' Sumthin'", peaked at number 22 on the Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales. An alternate version of the song, titled "Sumthin' Sumthin': Mellosmoothe (Cut)", was released as a single from the soundtrack album to the film Love Jones (1997). The soundtrack album's single peaked at number 23 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. The album's fourth and final single, "Suitelady (The Proposal Jam)", entered the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay component chart in May 1997, peaking at number 64. During August to October 1996, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite experienced chart growth on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Billboard 200, peaking at number eight on the former and at number 36 on the latter. It spent seventy-eight weeks on the Billboard 200 chart. It became a Top 30 hit in the United Kingdom.
The gold-certified single "Ascension (Don't Ever Wonder)", which had shipped 500,000 copies in the US by October 1996, has been considered by music writers to be a significant factor in the album's increased commercial interest at the time. On September 17, 1996, Maxwell's Urban Hang Suite was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). By 1997, the album had shipped in excess of one million copies in the United States, and it earned platinum status from the RIAA.
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