VP Records 35th Anniversary: Maxi Priest / Gyptian / Bunji Garlin & Fay Ann Lyons / Massive B

With over 15 million albums sold worldwide, multiple Grammy nominations and Top 10 Billboard hits (including the No. 1 smash "Close To You") - the most successful solo act in British reggae history, Maxi Priest, continues to hit the road throughout 2015 in support of his first studio album in almost a decade, Easy To Love (VP Records). Easy To Love is a fine representation of pop, reggae and R&B blended together in one set. The title track was a No. 1 hit on reggae charts last summer, evidence that Maxi Priest has a gift for staying fresh. "Hearts Across The World" is a song for our times and pleas for people of all races to love one another. The soulful "Without A Woman" features Jamaican legend Beres Hammond and even echoes the themes and intensity of James Brown's "It's A Man's Man's Man's World." Maxi continues to tug on women's heartstrings with irresistible tributes of enduring affection on "Loving You Is Easy," "Holiday" and his rendition of John Mayer's “Gravity."

His first major album was the self-titled Maxi Priest (1988) which, along with his cover of Cat Stevens' "Wild World", established him as one of the top British reggae singers.

This internationally acclaimed vocalist is one of only 2 UK reggae acts (other being UB40) to score an American Billboard Number One. That was with the song entitled "Close to You", which was released in 1990. In addition, a duet with Roberta Flack - "Set the Night to Music" - also reached the U.S. Top Ten in 1991. His duet with Shaggy in 1996, "That Girl", was another U.S. hit, peaking at number twenty.

In the latter half of his lengthy recording career, Priest has favoured working alongside other artists, both established and up-and-coming. He has worked with Sly & Robbie, Shaggy, Beres Hammond, Jazzie B, Apache Indian, Roberta Flack and Shabba Ranks.


Jamaican reggae singer Gyptian broke into the reggae scene in 2005 with his string of hits like “Serious Times” “Beautiful Lady” and “Mama, Don’t Cry.” He hit international stardom in 2010 with his critically-acclaimed album Hold You and its RIAA certified Gold title track, which featured a Nicki Minaj remix, and earned him a 2010 MOBO and Soul Train award. He is currently gearing up for a new EP Nothing To Lose. His latest fourth studio album Sex, Love and Reggae, which peaked at #1 on the Billboard Reggae Album chart, is a marked departure from his previous releases and unveils another layer of his artistry. The musically diverse set takes the listener from dancehall to soca to global pop and R&B sounds and features an eclectic mix of production from Jamaica – including Shane C. Brown. Justus Arison and Stanley “Rellee” Hayden, Russian and Linton “TJ” White – and is co-executive produced by Jerry “Wonda” Duplessis (Miguel, Mary J. Blige, Lupe Fiasco, the Fugees).


Born Ian Alvarez, the Trinidadian ragga soca star Bunji Garlin is known for blending of soca with dancehall. Hailed recently by Rolling Stone as “America’s first soca star,” Garlin has clearly taken his native country’s genre to new heights. His single "Differentology (Ready For The Road)," which was remixed by Major Lazer & Busta Rhymes, was a massive hit in North America more than a year after its release in the Caribbean. In 2013, the single received a Soul Train Award win, was featured on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, won NYC’s HOT 97 FM’s Battle of The Beats competition and was chosen by NPR as one of the year's favorite anthems as well as MTV Iggy's Song of the Year. ?Garlin introduced soca to more mainstream music circuits by performing at last year’s SXSW, CMJ Music Festival, FADER Fort, Mad Decent Boat Party and alongside Jillionaire and Major Lazer during their 2014 tour stint. That same year, he made his national TV debut on BET’s 106 & Park to perform “Differentology” and returned for their Carnival takeover episode with Fay Ann Lyons and A$AP Ferg for their “Truck On D Road” remix. In his native country, he has won multiple Carnival competitions – including the “Ragga Soca Monarch” title, the Young King title and the coveted International Soca Monarch. He has released eight albums independently and three additional albums on VP Records – Revelation (2002), Global (2007) and Differentology (2014) – the latter being a joint venture with RCA Records.


Fay Ann Lyons is already a superstar in her native country of Trinidad and across the Caribbean. During Trinidad & Tobago’s Carnival season’s annual competitions, Fay Ann has set the record as the only female artist to score the Carnival Road March title three times, taking the crown in 2003, 2008 and 2009. In 2009, she also won International Soca Monarch in Groovy, People’s Choice and Power category and is the first soca artist ever to win that soca ‘triplet’ of titles. In addition to these feats, she has taken home 17 awards between the COTT (Copyright Organization of Trinidad and Tobago), NACC (National Action Cultural Committee Trinidad and Tobago) and SAO (Soca Awards Organization). The Point Fortin native has soca in her DNA. Her father Superblue, a soca legend who has won the Carnival Road March title nine times and Trinidad Soca Monarch competition seven times, was instrumental in honing Fay Ann’s skills as a songwriter and performer. She became a front-liner for the band Invazion led by Naya George and today is an official member of the Asylum band (previously known as “Censation”), founded by her husband and soca royalty Bunji Garlin. Fay Ann continues to tour worldwide and is recording her first solo full-length album on VP Records.


Massive B was formed over 10 years ago with DJ Bobby Konders’ vision of starting his own sound system. At its start, the voice behind Massive B was none other than Jabba. There have been many additions to Massive B as it continues to grow. New members include Big Dawg, Chudney Shotta, D-Life and X-Man, among others. Massive B has toured all over the globe, playing major festivals and dances, and representing NYC along the way. Locally, Massive B is a Brooklyn staple, performing annually at the borough’s West Indian Day Parade and weekly at the Buzz Nightclub for ‘Fire Sundays,’ where they spin the hottest reggae, dancehall, hip hop, R&B, and soca music. Bobby and Jabba can also be heard on-air every weekend on Hot 97 FM.