Maxwell came through for R&B fans with a new song and visuals to match. The music video stars models and actors Maria Borgess, Jeneil Williams, Achok Majak, Riley Montana, Sira Kant and Adonis Bosso.
Although the art can speak for itself, Maxwell expressed his vision clearly.
'We wanted to celebrate beauty. Specifically the beauty of Black women. Black women – Black people – don’t see themselves heralded as a standard of beauty nearly enough in the media, especially in entertainment, high fashion and art. It’s getting better, but we still have so far to go. People of color have carried shame about our features, our hair, our bodies, our skin tone. As I said previously, this song is about removing the cloak of shame and opening up to love… including self-love and love of your culture. So we decided to pay homage to another beautiful video, George Michael’s iconic 'Freedom'– but make it Black. The end result is gorgeous, powerful and stunning. This video is a love letter to my women of color. Feel no shame in your skin – you are beyond beautiful.'
"Shame," available on all streaming platforms, is Maxwell's third single off his upcoming studio album, "NIGHT."