Surforeggae interviews o grande astro of reggae Maxi Priest! Check it out!

Maxi Priest, the owner of one of the most distinctive voices in World Reggae, granted us an exclusive interview. The artist, who was born in London and is the son of Jamaicans, scored a series of hits throughout a brilliant career. His newest album "Easy to Love" is undoubtedly a Lovers Rock classic, as the "romantic vein" of reggae is called. On a very relaxed morning, Maxi spoke with us for more than an hour and also revealed a little of his passion for Brazil. Check it out!

THE INTERVIEW

Surforeggae: Maxi, what could you say about the world reggae scene when your career began and today? What has changed since then, and has it become worse or better? Maxi Priest: The scene grew and changed a lot because of technology, and things move faster now. You no longer have to wait for many people. These are advances and also setbacks, because sometimes that is good and other times we lose a lot—we lose inspiration from everyone involved in the process. The more people in the room creating music, the more those people connect their vibrations to it. The energy of musicians playing together is something we have lost a little. Today one or two people with a computer try to create something, and it is only their energy (or theirs and their partner's); sometimes it works and sometimes it does not. We have to move with the changes and know how to adapt, take advantage of some things and discard others. Surforeggae: You became quite well known for your romantic Lovers Rock songs and say you are influenced by gospel music and R&B. But which musical styles really helped you develop your techniques? Maxi Priest: One of my biggest influences was Dennis Brown, a lot of reggae in general, R&B (Motown, Marvin Gaye), and it was a different combination of various styles from growing up in London. I had many ways to appreciate art, and from a young age I discovered the ability to sing. I loved singing—when I was sad or happy, for any reason I would sing and find a way to get past the details and comfort myself. So it is hard to name anyone in particular. I grew up on Gospel and Reggae is my foundation, and at the same time I listened to other different styles. I was also a big fan of Michael Jackson, Marvin Gaye and everyone from Motown, Smokey Robinson, Reggae and especially Dennis Brown, John Holt, Beatles and the pop music of that time. I was born and raised in gospel. I also watched a lot of musicals on TV and learned a lot from that. Surforeggae: Are your children following in your footsteps and pursuing a musical career? Maxi Priest: Most of them sing. Marvin Priest already has a career with Sony Records, Ryan has a career with a group called Automatic Chaos and works a lot as a producer. Shae is a phenomenal singer, rapper, writer, and at school he also only gets excellent grades. Those three are the ones really working with music. I hope you hear about them. I generally do not get too involved in what they are doing; I let them grow and find their natural path. Surforeggae: It is obvious that people like Dennis Brown, Gregory Isaacs and other reggae idols were unique. Do you think that in the case of Lovers Rock, new artists will be able to maintain the style's popularity? Maxi Priest: Yes! I think all the different styles of reggae will continue to live on. There will of course be times when one is more popular than another. At the moment there is nothing very new, but rather a recreation of something that already exists. In this case, very good recreations as well. Surforeggae: We know you have come to Brazil many times. I remember your last show at the Festival de Verão in Salvador. Do you have special memories of Brazil? What is your relationship with our country and its people? Maxi Priest: Wow! You remember that show? I love Brazil! What a fantastic place! Around the world you are very well known because of football, which is something I also love and grew up playing, and I still do that today. Brazil has a wonderful, warm, beautiful people who carry the heartbeat in their music. I simply cannot wait to come back and meet all of you. Surforeggae: You were born in London, the son of Jamaican parents. We hear a lot here about a large Jamaican community in England from a few decades ago. Is that community still large? Are there new artists coming from there as we had in the past? Maxi Priest: Look, it is not as large as it was in the past, musically speaking. We live in another era, with new influences, politics, society. But it is still there, yes, and just as life is full of ups and downs, we will possibly hear about these people in the arts again. Surforeggae: Do you write your songs based on personal situations? Where does the inspiration for your lyrics come from? Maxi Priest: Some things are my own experiences, others from friends, some situations we go through in life in general. Sometimes I go into the studio and do not necessarily write about some current experience, but something from the past or from someone close to me. I write a lot about relationships, and you know... relationships... are relationships... they have ups and downs, some are smooth, good, bad, we have good times, terrible times, great times, and all of that is part of Lovers Rock. In fact, I think that is why the style is called Lovers Rock, because it is "rocky" (from English, difficult). Surforeggae: We know you were greatly influenced by a great friend of yours, Dennis Brown. Would you have any funny moment or story to share with us about him? Maxi Priest: We had many fun moments together on tour. He loved talking about the beginning of his career when he was a child and they would put a box for him to stand on to reach the microphone to sing. There were so many wonderful moments that even now, if I close my eyes, I see his smile and the genuine person he was. And he gave his life to this music, and no matter the problem he was always with a smile on his face and totally positive. Every time I saw him, he was the same person. Surforeggae: You have one of the most distinctive and famous voices in Reggae. Is music really your great passion? Do you intend to keep singing as long as you have the strength to get on stage, or have you already thought about retirement? We hope not... Maxi Priest: Man, good question! I really never stopped to think about retirement; what I want is to create a new page every day, and as long as I am healthy and can sing, I feel I will do that. I love what I do and feel truly blessed. I am really passionate about music and want to continue. It is as if it were my blood—if it stops running, my life is interrupted. Surforeggae: We would like to congratulate you on the new album "Easy to Love". It is really fantastic. When we heard you were going to work on a new record, we started expecting something good, but it went beyond expectations. How is it being received internationally? Maxi Priest: Thank you very much, truly! The album is having a fantastic reception; everyone says the same thing you are telling me now from all over the world. So for me it was also more than I expected. That makes me feel good, and it was a very genuine effort on my part, from the producers, from VP Records and from everyone involved. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the DJs, the media, people like you who helped promote it. I cannot wait to return to Brazil; I have many fantastic memories throughout the country. I had the privilege of really traveling all over Brazil. One of the most striking things I remember from there was when I was walking down the street and a football came to rest near me and a girl asked me to pass it to her. I then rolled the ball and she picked it up the way a star player would. She did not bend down to pick up the ball; she lifted it and controlled it. So when I returned to England I told everyone—Brazil is the only place in the world where you pass a ball to a woman and she does that. Surforeggae: We know you have been touring since the early days of your career and have been to many countries. Is there a special place you have not been yet and would like to perform? Maxi Priest: Definitely! India! And China too—for sure I would love to play in those places. But India is at the top of my mind. I have really traveled a lot and have not had the opportunity to perform there yet. And since I travel a lot for work, I am not much for visiting other places on vacation; I prefer to stay with my family. So for me, vacation means giving all my attention to my family, something I miss during tours. Surforeggae: If you could choose a male or female singer from any musical style to record with you, who would it be? Maxi Priest: Wow, now you got me! Well, let me see... Rihanna, R. Kelly, Chronixx and Luis Miguel. Surforeggae: Do you listen to reggae frequently? Who are your favorites from the new generations? Maxi Priest: Definitely! I really like what Chronixx is doing. I also admire Damian Marley a lot and of course my great friend Shaggy. There is a lot of good and new stuff happening. Surforeggae: We have heard here that you are a cousin of the great Jacob Miller, but unfortunately you did not have the chance to meet. Were you born into a musical family? Maxi Priest: Yes, I am Jacob's cousin and we did not meet, unfortunately. My mother sings every day and all the time. My brothers and sisters all sing too. I grew up in that environment and, for sure, I come from a very musical family. Surforeggae: You are quite versatile and sing in various styles. Do you believe that helped you go further and win fans beyond the reggae market? Maxi Priest: Yes, I believe that very much! What is necessary is for people to feel what you are doing, the vibration of it, what you are saying. So my appreciation and adventures in other musical styles make me better, and any other singer who does the same as well. Surforeggae: Maxi, thank you very much for the interview. We hope you return to Brazil soon, and please leave a message for those following our chat. Maxi Priest: First I would like to thank everyone for all the support over these years. Long road! I miss Brazil, and I wish peace and success to everyone. I enjoyed the interview, and tell the promoters who bring me that before the tour we have to organize a football match.