The British Reggae entertainer Max Alfred Elliott, otherwise called Maxi Priest was born June 10, 1961. He grew up in Lewisham, London and is the second youngest of nine children. His parents are of Jamaican heritage, but they relocated to England to provide a better opportunity for their family. Maxi Priest is well known to sing the softer, groovy side of reggae music, which has earned him plenty of international fame and recognition. Due to his Rastafarian beliefs, he changed his name to Maxi Priest.
Maxi Priest lyrics are mostly made up of a fusion of R&B, pop music, a bit of gospel and of course reggae themes. He is related to Jacob Miller (a reggae artist) who is his uncle, and together with his cousin Ryan Elliott, he formed the group Ultimate Kaos. Although Maxi Priest early musical career started in South London, with the then popular sound system called Saxon Studio International, he has grown to build a well-liked international fan base.
In 1985, Maxi Priest was introduced to Virgin Record, where they offered him a recording deal. He released his first album called You’re Safe. Although this album featured traditional reggae tunes, it also included a live instrumental backing band. His follow up album titled Intentions in 1986 earned him the breakthrough, he was longing for. He kept his lively groove and went on to produce the hit “Some Guys Have All The Luck”, this single was well received by his British fans.
Maxi Priest recognition and fame came from his first major album called Maxi Priest in 1988. This album featured the popular hit song “Wild World” which made him one of the top British reggae singers. Another hallmark for Maxi Priest is that he is one of two British reggae entertainers to have gained number one hits on the American Billboard. Maxi Priest recorded his biggest selling album, titled Bonafide in 1990.
The songs on this album climbed the musical charts with its influential tune “Close to You”. He later released songs like “Just a Little Bit Longer” and “Space in My Heart”, but none of these songs were well received. Nevertheless, Maxi Priest produced his next album called Fe Real, this album did not make much impact on the musical stage and failed to reap any success of previous albums. After playing a supporting role in the movie Scam, Maxi Priest took a break from recording songs and focus on his own recording label Dugout; for a few years. His collaboration with Roberta Flack produced the hit single “Set the Night to Music” in 1991, which made the top ten on the American charts. In 1996, Maxi hit the billboard hard with his single “That Girl,” from his Man With the Fun album. This single is one of his greatest songs with fans all around.
During his musical career, Maxi Priest teamed up with other Jamaican and international artists. These included artists like Shaggy, Shabba Ranks, Sly & Robbie and Beres Hammond, just to name a few. In 2007 Maxi Priest team up with the popular group band UB40 on a tour, which he performed in front of a sold out crowd. Maxi Priest was given the name “King of Lovers Rock” by his fans, however, being a British reggae icon he mostly gained his fame from international reggae lovers.
Considered to be the “Luther Vandross of reggae” according to Rolling Stone, Maxi’s silky smooth vocals sounds often wander from his roots of reggae into the crossover of pop and R&B smoothness. This has seen him being called “A polished pop singer flirting with a Jamaican accent” by People magazine. His music then delivers a genuine fusion of romantic feel to soulful contents. Since his 1988 debut, Maxi Priest has enjoyed incredible success as a singer with popularity and respect from around the world.
The soothing and soulful reggae songs produced by Maxi Priest are timeless and will have you listening to them over and over again. In fact, he is one most successful reggae solo artist from international scenes, which has seen him received recognition among Jamaicans.
