Maxi Priest Says Collabs With Veterans Do Not Guarantee Success For Newer Artists
Grammy-nominated Reggae veteran Maxi Priest has added his voice to the conversation sparked by the emerging Dancehall act Jahshii.
Priest, who was born in England to Jamaican parents, said that while up and coming artists may believe that collaborations with their more established counterparts are a key to guaranteed success, this is not so.
“There seems to be lots of discussion around a recent interview with [Jahshii] where he mentioned that veteran artists should give newer artists more opportunity to collaborate on songs for more exposure,” the Close To You singer began in an Instagram post on Friday.
“I’ve been asked similar questions. It’s important to understand that there are no guarantees in doing collaborations, it doesn’t matter who you are. A good song is a good song but not all good songs are successful. The audience is what dictates if the song becomes popular or not, not the artists,” Maxi said.
During an interview with Anthony Miller on The Entertainment Report last week, The First Nation artist, whom Miller pointed out was inebriated, had argued that his contemporaries, who recently got their big musical breaks, were holding their own and were destined for greatness.
He hailed Bounty Killer for always giving newer acts opportunities, but pointed out that many overseas-based Jamaican musicians were “afraid” of collaborating with younger, and lesser-known artists.
Meanwhile, Maxi Priest, in his post, added that collaborations are not merely overnight affairs and a lot has to be taken into consideration before they come to fruition.
“As someone who has done a lot of collaborations with various people (superstars and new artists) you have to like the song itself, and then you gotta ask yourself, ‘do I like the other artists’ energy, voice, etc?’ You gotta go with your gut feeling, your heart and soul and you also have to think about the marketing. You have to think about what the new artist wants, and if their expectations can be met, etc.”
Priest’s collaborations over the years include Shabba Ranks, Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Richie Stephens, Terror Fabolous, and Agent Sasco.
The Wild World artist further said that many up-and-coming acts do not fully understand the business aspect of music, so no matter who they collaborate with, the project is not guaranteed to succeed unless there’s a proper structure.
“For some newer artists, not knowing the business can also be an issue. Who’s backing the project? What’s the plan for marketing? Etc, these are the questions that need to be answered. There are so many pieces to the music business besides the song. Especially when someone has to finance the project,” he said.
“Some people can come into it with the idea that once you do a song (especially when it is with a well-known artist) that it’s a given hit and it will happen. That’s not accurate. The artist can be great but it’s still up to the people and the work & marketing that has been done around it. As I mentioned before, if you are going to have a career or just a tune.”
He reiterated that music artistry is one big game of chance.
“There’s no guarantee in anything. You pray and ask God for a way, you commit, you work hard, focus, and still the first time it doesn’t happen. As I said, there are no guarantees. Even by the sweat of your brow it doesn’t come overnight. It is truly a Wild World. But I believe if you bring a good vibe to a situation and work hard enough, you will create opportunities.”
“For success in the music business; first there’s gotta be a special love, a spiritual connection, hard work and dedication. Humbleness, humility, appreciation. LOVE! Spread some love.”
Priest earned his first Best Reggae Album Grammy nomination for Fe Real in 1994. Three years later, his Man with the Fun album also earned a nomination.
His biggest Billboard Hot 100 hit was Close To You (1990), which peaked at No. 1 and was later certified Gold in the United States for sales exceeding 500,000 units. The song appeared on his Bonafide album, which is certified Gold in the US, and in the UK.
His other Hot 100 charting songs are Set the Night to Music (1991) (with Roberta Flack) which peaked at No. 6, That Girl (featuring Shaggy) (1996), Wild World (1988), Housecall (with Shabba Ranks) (1991), Just a Little Bit Longer (1990) and Groovin in the Midnight (1992).