Out Of The Caribbean: Reggae Icon Maxi Priest Returns
Blending lovers rock, soul, and reggae while continuing a four-decade legacy on his own terms Maxi Priest, Britain’s greatest reggae export, returned this week with a new single, Touch By An Angel, released April 3 on his own Level Vibes Music imprint and distributed globally through Intercept Music. It is, in every sense, a record […]
Black News 
Blending lovers rock, soul, and reggae while continuing a four-decade legacy on his own terms
Maxi Priest, Britain’s greatest reggae export, returned this week with a new single, Touch By An Angel, released April 3 on his own Level Vibes Music imprint and distributed globally through Intercept Music. It is, in every sense, a record made entirely on his own terms.
Produced by multi-Grammy Award-winning Jamaican producer Paul “Jazzwad” Yebuah, the track moves fluidly between reggae, R&B, and soul in the classic lovers rock tradition. Priest has described the song as being about “those moments when love feels effortless, when being with someone brings a sense of completeness.” It is intimate, unhurried, and deeply assured, a sound that is deeply needed in the hurry come music landscape.
The cover art, characteristically, is drawn from an original illustration by Priest himself, a quietly telling detail about the kind of artist he has always been. One who makes things with his hands, who puts himself into the work beyond the vocal performance and executes perfectly every time.
There is a particular kind of quiet authority that comes with four decades in a genre, and Maxi Priest has earned every ounce of it. The London-born reggae and lovers rock icon, born Max Alfred Elliott in Lewisham to Jamaican parents, is also preparing a live album titled Family, an intergenerational project bringing together his sons, longtime collaborators, and a new generation of creatives across Jamaica, the UK, and the United States. It is shaping up to be a project of creative inheritance, of what gets passed down when a musician who helped define British reggae decides to gather the people around him and record what that lineage sounds like live.
Maxi Priest is one of only a handful of reggae artists ever to achieve a solo number one on the Billboard Hot 100, a feat he accomplished with one of my favourite songs, Close to You, in 1990. He has worked with Sly & Robbie, Jazzie B, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, Beres Hammond, Shabba Ranks, and Shaggy. He has toured with The Marleys, UB40, Anita Baker, and Simply Red. He has performed at Glastonbury Festival, Reggae Sumfest, Rebel Salute, and Reggae Sunsplash.
In a genre where the conversation about legacy often defaults to Jamaica, Maxi Priest has consistently held the line for what British Caribbean music can be and do on the global stage. That Jamaican lineage and influence, however, remains strong and is undoubtedly the foundation for the greatness he continues to produce.
Touch By An Angel follows his recent collaboration with Sean Paul, Feel So Alive, which marked the official relaunch of Level Vibes Music. The label was originally launched in the early 1980s, when Maxi Priest co-founded it with producer Paul “Barry Boom” Robinson. The current partnership with Intercept Music is an official relaunch intended to bring the label into the digital age with global distribution.
Maxi Priest was inducted into the Reggae Walk of Fame in Montego Bay, Jamaica, in January 2025. He was honoured in its Hall of Legends for his global impact on reggae fusion. An independent British-Jamaican artist in his sixties, building a label, releasing on his own schedule, and making records with his children, he stands as a testament to the longevity of Caribbean music and a powerful example of how legacy and livity continue.
.png)
