Maxi Priest to coast into the Box

Raised in Jamaica and London, reggae star Maxi Priest represents the world.

To Jamaicans working throughout the world, however, Priest represents a little bit of home, which he brings with him to Nantucket this week, when he performs at The Chicken Box on June 6.

"All of us are looking forward to getting to Nantucket," Priest said via a phone interview.

When not in Jamaica, Priest said, he misses his family and close friendsthere as well as football (soccer) and " being in my own space."

"Jamaica has a great culture. It represents humanity," he said. "It represents music, sports and a melting pot of different people and different cultures. We have a great saying, 'Out of many, we are one people.'"

After Bob Marley, Priest was one of the first reggae artists to cross over into the American mainstream in the 1980s, with his cover of Cat Steven's "Wild World," his Billboard No. 1 hit "Close to You", his duet with Shabba Ranks ("Housecall") and his duet with Roberta Flack ("Set the Night to Music"). In 1996, he also topped the charts with reggae artist Shaggy for the single "That Girl."

He tours constantly and worldwide. Priest will headline the St. Kitts Music Festival with Sean Paul and super-hot R&B kid Ne-Yo at the end of the month.

Island promoter Orville Butler secured the gig. "It was a show I wanted for a long time, because he's one of my favorite singers," Butler said. "The show was waiting to happen for years, as soon as he was close by Nantucket."

Butler has held a 'welcome back' party for Jamaican summer employees for the last four years. This will be his fifth summer on island.

"When I got here, I saw the need for entertainment for the large Jamaican population," said Butler, who works for Nantucket Inn during the summer months. "Last year, the non-Jamaicans felt left out, but this year, we tried to do an international show, so that everyone here knows the act."

Butler said they are only selling tickets at the door, because the show promises to have such a large turnout. The response so far has been "tremenduous," Butler said.

MAXI PRIEST When: Wed., June 6, 10 p.m.;

Party stars at 9 p.m. Where: Chicken Box, Dave Street Cost: $30; Tickets available at the door.