Editing Maxi Priest (section)

==Career==
Priest's musical career began with him singing on the [[South London]] reggae [[Sound system (Jamaican)|soundsystem]] [[Saxon Studio International]], after which some independent single releases followed, such as his groundbreaking release with conscious dancehall toaster Papa [[Levi]], "Sensi", backed by CAUTION and released on the Level Vibes label in a [[discomix]] vocal and dub style. Maxi Priest's early discomix releases secured his reputation with both the dancehall and the concsious [[roots reggae]] sound system audiences. His first major album, ''[[Maxi (album)|Maxi]]'' (titled ''Maxi Priest'' in the US and Canada), was released in 1988, and, along with his cover of [[Cat Stevens]]' "[[Wild World (song)|Wild World]]" (which he recorded with [[Sly Dunbar]] and [[Robbie Shakespeare]]) established him as one of the top British reggae singers.

He is one of only two [[United Kingdom|British]] reggae acts (along with [[UB40]]) to have an American [[Billboard magazine|''Billboard'']] number one: "[[Close to You (Maxi Priest song)|Close to You]]" in 1990. A [[duet (music)|duet]] with [[Roberta Flack]], "[[Set the Night to Music]]", reached the American Top Ten in 1991. His duet with [[Shaggy (musician)|Shaggy]] in 1996, "[[That Girl (Maxi Priest song)|That Girl]]", was also a hit in the United States, peaking at number twenty.<ref name="Awards"/>

In the latter half of his recording career, Priest favoured working alongside other artists, both established and up-and-coming. He has worked with [[Sly and Robbie]], [[Drummie Zeb]] of [[Aswad]], [[Shaggy (musician)|Shaggy]], [[Beres Hammond]], [[Jazzie B]], [[Apache Indian (musician)|Apache Indian]], [[Roberta Flack]], [[Shurwayne Winchester]], [[Shabba Ranks]], [[Robin Trower]], and [[Lee Ritenour]].

It was reported in some newspapers in the [[Birmingham]] area, including the ''[[Birmingham Mail]]'' on 13 March 2008, that Priest would be replacing [[Ali Campbell]] as the new lead singer of UB40, and that he had recorded a cover of [[Bob Marley]]'s "[[I Shot the Sheriff]]" with the band, based on information from "an unnamed source close to the band". Priest had joined UB40 on tour in 2007, culminating in sold-out shows at the [[National Exhibition Centre]] in [[Solihull]] in December.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/maxi-priest-to-join-ub40-60000|title=Maxi Priest to join UB40|first=Birmingham|last=Live|date=14 March 2008|newspaper=[[Birmingham Mail]]|access-date=4 October 2019}}</ref> Another local newspaper, the ''[[Express & Star]]'' that had reported that Priest would be the new UB40 frontman, included a statement from band spokesman Gerard Franklyn which contradicted the claim, stating: "Maxi is collaborating with the band to record material but he won't be the new lead singer, that will be Duncan Campbell, the brother of Ali and Robin Campbell. He will only be appearing with them for this new recording."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.expressandstar.com/2008/03/14/maxi-priest-is-new-ub40-frontman/|title=Maxi Priest is new UB40 frontman|newspaper=[[Express & Star]]|date=14 March 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080318005106/https://www.expressandstar.com/2008/03/14/maxi-priest-is-new-ub40-frontman/|archive-date=18 March 2008}}</ref>

In 2012, Priest recorded a cover of Japanese band [[L'Arc-en-Ciel]]'s song "Vivid Colors" for the band's English-language tribute album.

In 2013, Priest recorded a remix version of the Hindi song "{{Lang|hi-latn|[[Kabhi Jo Baadal Barse]]|italic=no}}" originally sung by [[Arijit Singh]]. It was remixed by [[British Indian]] producer [[Rishi Rich]].

His 2014 album ''Easy to Love'' entered the ''Billboard'' Top Reggae Albums Chart at number two.<ref>{{cite news |author=Jackson |first=Kevin |date=11 July 2014 |title=Maxi Priest gets Billboard love |newspaper=[[Jamaica Observer]] |url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Maxi-gets-Billboard-love_17136686 |access-date=12 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714122755/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/entertainment/Maxi-gets-Billboard-love_17136686 |archive-date=14 July 2014}}</ref>