Maxi Priest Celebrates the Blues Aesthetic with Vibrant New Album “United State of Mind”
By Shelah Moody
“The true testimony of ‘United State of Mind’ is that when the three of us came together, we came with the same intent of wanting to create something magical as a gift to the world and not put any kind of limitation on it as to genre. We wanted to put our abilities together and come up with something good and present it to the world.” -Maxi Priest
November 7, 2020, is a good day. A white minivan pulls up to Arizmendi bakery in the gentrified part of San Francisco’s Mission district. A woman waves a single pink rose through her sunroof and blasts Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” from her car stereo.
A small, socially distanced crowd of children, women, and men gathers outside the bakery and some are cheering and waving U.S. flags and throwing air high fives to whooping, honking motorists who hang U.S. flags from their windows.
It’s a catharsis and an impromptu celebration of the victory of Democratic Presidential nominees Joe Biden and running mate Kamala Harris, who will be the first woman and person of African/East Indian descent to hold the title of U.S. Vice President.
In the year of COVID-19, quarantine, police murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and others, shutdowns, unemployment, isolation, fear, distrust, and general malaise, there is finally something to celebrate and potentially unite people across the U.S.
It is also a good day for British recording artist Maxi Priest, who is three hours ahead quarantining in Montego Bay, Jamaica. At the time of our Zoom interview, it is raining but warm, he says. It is a good day indeed for the son of Jamaican immigrants, who, like Kamala Harris, worked hard and went on to achieve great things. Today, Priest is not talking about politics; he is focused on bringing inspiration and hope to people through music.
Maxi Priest came of age during the seventies sound system culture in south London. Max Alfred Elliot, the second youngest of nine siblings, hailed from hard-working Jamaican parents; both of them died before he was 15.
Maxi Priest’s tenacity and silky tenor propelled his fame with his string of hits “Wild World” “Close to You,” “Housecall” (with Shabba Ranks), “Set the Night to Music” (with Roberta Flack), and “That Girl” (with Shaggy).
Though he has the pipes to sing pages from the phone book and turn them into a soul-stirring hymn, Priest became known for his sunny, crossover brand of reggae and lover’s rock. lt was no coincidence that Angela Basset and Taye Diggs shared their first dance in the movie version of Terry McMillan’s “How Stella Got Her Groove Back” to a Maxi Priest song, “Art of Seduction.”
In 2010, Maxi Priest became the first reggae artist to join Peabo Bryson and other leading R&B acts on the Colors of Christmas tour.
In 2020, Priest joined forces with British rock guitarist RobinTrower and producer/engineer Livingstone Browne to create his first-ever blues album, “United State of Mind.”
Why the blues? The Grammy-nominated artist tells all in the following interview.
Streetwise Radio: Congratulations on your new album, “United State of Mind!” Tell us how you are doing.
Maxi Priest: I’m doing awesome. I’m having a great time in Jamaica, chilling. I’m having a beautiful time. Obviously, a lot of us musicians are not able to travel. We can’t go and do what we love to do: perform for people around the world. Other than that, I’m good, healthwise I’m good; I’m awesome. We are having a wonderful time with this album and we’re just keeping it going.
Streetwise Radio: Now, back to “United State of Mind.” You rose to fame as a reggae artist. Why a blues album?
Maxi Priest: Because, as far as I’m concerned, I should be known as an artist. As an artist, you always start with a blank piece of paper or a blank sheet. For me, from day one, it’s always been about the music, the art, and my ability to sing. There’s no reason or any way that I’m going to limit that. I think that it is my duty to utilize my ability to its fullest. I have such a wide range of appreciation for different genres of music, but first and foremost is the art. That’s where my real passion is: the art of being able to sing; my ability to express myself and release myself through the art of singing. I never had any intention of limiting myself to anybody. I think it’s a way of keeping me down and also, keeping the next generation of people who come from a similar background as I come from, down. It is my duty to widen the playing field so that the next generation will find a better playing field.
Streetwise Radio: Talk about your two collaborators, Robin Trower and Livingstone Browne, and what they contributed to the album.
Maxi Priest: This album here is a journey that I’m taking my peeps on. I’ve had the honor and the utmost pleasure of working with a living legend, Robin Trower, and also my longtime friend and musical partner, producer Livingstone Browne. This album has been a true testimony to the term “united state of mind;” three artists who have a similar outlook, musically. Even though, before we met, Livingstone was apprehensive as to how it would work between me and Robin Trower. Robin also has worked with Livingstone Browne for some years now. Livingstone introduced me to Robin and we started to talk and I realized that he came from the same area of southeast London that I did. Since we met, we just hit it off. We said, hey, let’s just try something in the studio. The true testimony of “United State of Mind” is that when the three of us came together, we came with the same intent of wanting to create something magical as a gift to the world and not put any kind of limitation on it as to genre. We wanted to put our abilities together and come up with something good and present it to the world.
Streetwise Radio: During the virtual listening party for “United State of Mind,” you said that you have an affinity for the guitar, and during your live performances, you gravitate toward the guitar. Can you elaborate?
Maxi Priest: Oh yeah! When I’m on stage, I just like to vibe with my guitarists. The guitar is such an important instrument in music for me. When I’m on stage, the lead guitarist is someone to kick it with when needed. Also, you can kick the melodies on the microphone and the guitarist can answer back and compliment you. Sometimes changing a few colors inspires you to change melodies and bring something new to the table instead of singing the same consistent melody. On stage, my guitarist is like my right hand.
Streetwise Radio: Is the track: “On Fire Like Zsa Zsa” really about Zsa Zsa Gabor?
Maxi Priest: it is! I knew about Zsa Zsa Gabor before but never really paid that much attention to the situation. Robin and I were talking about creating a certain kind of song about a kind of mystery woman. And he said, Zsa Zsa. The lyrics started to flow from that point. “Who’s the fire like Zsa Zsa? For goodness sake heartbreaking’ mama/You got the world and then...The creatures got Diamond eyes/And a heart of cool.” (Laughs).
You know, for me, this whole album has been an inspiration and a motivation to move to another level; to just go out there and do my thing and use my ability to the max and not feel like I have to be trapped in a place that most media situations and people would like to put me in. As I said earlier, at this point in my life, I feel that it is important for me to push the boundaries as wide as possible and create a platform for generations to come.
Streetwise Radio: Tell us about a few tracks that you really love on the album.
Maxi Priest: The first that comes to mind is “Walking Wounded.” I thought about it the other day, after getting the news about all so many of our legends passing away, Toots Hibbert, Bunny Lee, Bob Andy, and Johnny Nash. I went to the album and pulled up “Walking Wounded” because that’s how I felt. On the day they announced Johnny Nash’s passing, I was like, wow. Here’s a massive legend. We tend to forget very easily the works that people like Johnny Nash have put into this wonderful industry of ours; and society.
Streetwise Radio: Did you know Johnny Nash or did you work with him?
Maxi Priest: No I didn’t. I think the closest that I got to him was meeting some of his family members at a Sunsplash gig in Montego Bay in the eighties.
Streetwise Radio: Perhaps one day, you can do a whole album tribute to Johnny Nash.
Maxi Priest: Bring it on! My doors are always open. This is my life, this is what I do, and I love what I do.
Streetwise Radio: I was listening to one of your interviews where you were talking about institutional racism in England and how Caribbean immigrants were told to go back home. You said that you could always find security at home embraced in your Jamaican family and Jamaican culture.
Maxi Priest: My parents—especially my mother—were very good at making us understand that we are just human beings. We’re all human beings. We have differences in cultural situations based on where we were born and how we were born, but overall, we are children of God. We’ve got to figure this out. Everything is not laid out on a plate. But if we leave our minds open and willing to understand, then we will finally understand. If you close your mind, there’s only one thing that’s gonna happen, you will find yourself comforting yourself in your own ignorance or misunderstanding.
Streetwise Radio: What’s the first thing that you are going to do when the pandemic ends?
Maxi Priest: I have no clue (laughs). Probably jump on a plane. I’m not in a hurry to go anywhere, I‘m not in a hurry to do anything other than what I do and what I love to do, and obviously, take care of my family and make sure everyone around me is good. I’ve got my mask, I walk with my mask and try to protect myself and protect everybody else around me. I deal with the moment. I deal with time. I deal with where I am today and let tomorrow unfold itself. I greet it with a smiling face and an optimistic, positive mind. I try to enjoy to the fullest my time here on earth.
