Maxi Priest

Music insiders would have you believe that there are a variety of musical genres and categories, and that common ground is few and far between. However, the bottom line is that people embrace music and rhythms that mean something to them, no matter what their background. As Maxi Priest knows, music is universal. Over the course of 10 albums and countless live performances all over the globe, Maxi has unleashed a one-world music that heals, rejuvenates and uplifts...The second youngest of nine children,

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Maxi..s parents had moved to London, England from Jamaica. His father was a steelworker in a factory, while his mother devoted her life to Christianity; she was a missionary at a Pentecostal Church and lead singer for the church choir, and as a youngster Maxi grew up listening to gospel, reggae, R&B, as well as pop music.While working as a carpenter building speaker boxes for a local reggae sound-system, Maxi Priest began singing over the mic at live dancehall sessions with artists such as Smiley Culture.

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In 1984 Maxi made a bit of history after he and Paul "Barry Boom" Robinson produced Philip Levi's "Mi God Mi King, .. the first UK reggae tune to reach Number One in Jamaica.His 1988 album Maxi, was recorded in Jamaica with legendary musicians Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespeare, and Willie Londo, and was released in America by Virgin Records. With "Some Guys Have All the Luck", a cover of Cat Steven's classic "Wild World" that gave Maxi his first U.S. smash hit, and roots tracks like his duet with Beres Hammond, ..How Can We Ease The Pain.