"Sumthin' Sumthin'" is a mid-uptempo song by American
neo soul
Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...
singer
Maxwell, released as the third single from his debut album, ''
Urban Hang Suite''. It peaked at number 22 on the ''
Billboard''
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
In the issue dated March 16, 1985, ''Billboard'' magazine debuted its first chart devoted exclusively to 12-inch Singles Sales. The 50-position weekly ranking joined ''Billboard''s established Club Songs chart, reduced to the same 50 positions, ...
chart in the US. An alternate version of the song, titled "Sumthin' Sumthin': Mellosmoothe", 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 song scored him a second UK top 40 peaking to 27 on UK Singles chart. The woman featured in the song's music video is French fashion model Chrystele Saint-Louis Augustin.
Critical reception
Christopher A. Daniel from Albumsism wrote that "Sumthin' Sumthin" is "an inviting track hinting at
Maxwell trying to get someone’s attention, filling in the blanks with rhythmic handclaps and syrupy
Larry Graham-styled bass slaps." Ralph Tee from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...
s ''RM'' Dance Update rated the song four out of five, saying that it is "the most exciting new
soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being".
Etymology
The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...
record of the year so far. While steeped in the tradition of the greatest
R&B, 22-year-old Maxwell fuses acoustic sounds with the most soulful of vocals on this blissful mid-paced
funk groove that heads straight for the
D'Angelo and
Don-E market." He added, "Hear the music, feel the quality."
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
Certifications
References
External links
www.musze.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sumthin' Sumthin'
1996 singles
Maxwell (musician) songs
Songs written by Leon Ware
Songs written by Maxwell (musician)
1996 songs
Columbia Records singles