By Shereita Grizzle—

On June 10, British reggae recording artist Maxi Priest will celebrate his 53rd birthday, but that’s not the only milestone he will be enjoying.

The singer, who has been in the music industry for more than three decades, will also be releasing his latest studio album.

Easy to Love, which is now available for pre-order on vpreggae.com, is being released by VP Records and will be Priest’s 13th album.

It will also feature a collaboration with reggae veteran Beres Hammond.

In a recent interview with Manhattan’s Source Life Radio Hip-Hop & Universal Music Station, Priest revealed it was Hammond who inspired his latest compilation.

“It was actually him who inspired this album. He kept saying: ‘You should do something with VP’.”

Having worked with Hammond on previous albums, Priest said he considers him one of the greatest voices in reggae and was honored to have him join on the track Without a Woman.

The single will be made available on iTunes and Amazon later this year.

Following last Wednesday’s exclusive album listening party at the Sirius XM studios in Manhattan, an official album release party is being planned for June 11 at the BB King Club in New York City.

EARLY BIRDS GET CD

Tickets for the event can be purchased at www.bbkingblues.com. The first 400 persons to purchase tickets will receive a copy of the new CD redeemable at the venue on the night of the show. It is expected to start at 8 p.m.

Born Max Alfred Elliott, Priest is best known for his R&B-influenced style of delivering reggae music. He lists Dennis Brown, John Holt, Ken Boothe, Gregory Isaacs, Marvin Gaye and Al Green as his music influences.

His first major album, Maxi Priest, was released in 1988. The album and his cover of Cat Stevens’ Wild World established him as one of the top British reggae singers. He is one of only two British reggae acts to have an American Billboard No. 1 hit. The other is reggae group UB40.