The art of being Maxi Priest — a swooning, crooning London-born reggae singer who approximates the simmering of Marvin Gaye with the sweetness of Gregory Isaacs — is about having a great a knowledge of pop and modern dance music as well as rock and dancehall. He is, as his newest record bespeaks, "the man with the fun," not to mention a guy with a really big family.

"I grew up with nine brothers and sisters. That's where I learned to share," says Maxi, born Max Elliot, calling from his New York City digs.

"My mother's a Pentecostal minister, so we grew up with a lot of gospel. Church is about singing. Five of my nine brothers and sisters were born in Jamaica along with my parents. It was very much a West Indian home area in the middle of London where, of course, you'd hear everything from country to R&B, as well as pop radio. That's where the mix comes from."

Being part of the British streets also meant being part of the reggae subculture of sound system parties — not unlike that of hip-hop scratching/rapping block parties in the Bronx or Bensonhurst — and the DJ. "The DJ is still way important to my stuff as well as the culture," says Maxi. "It's an integral, motivating factor."

"I got my first sound system passed down to me from my brother-in-law," Maxi says. "I used to build my own speaker boxes as well as selling them to others. Then Saxon International [he performed live dancehall parties for them] asked me to join full-time and we wound up performing everywhere, creating big audiences in clubs." This success with his party peers, as well as his work with legends like Smiley Culture and Paul "Boom Boom" Robinson, led to his eventual 1986/87 albums Intentions and the Sly & Robbie-produced Maxi. They were chock full of soul, dance and pop cover classics like Van Morrison's "Crazy Love," Robert Palmer's "Some Guys Have All the Luck," and Cat Stevens'"Wild World." Priest entered the smooth-sounding pop arena and immersed himself deeper and deeper in reggae's grooves.

"I love all types of sound dearly. I'm mad like that. Everything from jazz, R&B to roots/reggae and lovers' rock. When I was in England doing my own music, a lot of people made a point of saying I'd sold out. When I went to Jamaica though, and worked with Sly & Robbie — true hardcore reggae music — and put my vocal on, it became Maxi Priest. Nothing else."

The new record, Man With The Fun, with its dedication to all points on the reggae/R&B map (from the sly "Green Onion" groove of his duet "That Girl" with tour partner Shaggy to the breezy pop of his Police cover "Message in A Bottle"), the disc is more Maxi for your buck.

"I was bursting to record all this material I had. It has an energy that I just can't describe. I think I found my voice as a singer four years ago or so. On record, I still think there's so much to explore."

Maxi has a great ear for textures, and partners himself with artists who flow with his own smooth style — people like Buju Banton and Beres Hammond, who he played with on Man with the Fun, as well as Roberta Flack and Shabba Ranks with whom he created some mega-dynamic duets.

"I think each person is superb in their own right. I'm looking to bring a unification with the reggae industry. It's a movement as well as something to groove to."

The Reggae Madness Tour featuring Maxi Priest, Shabba Ranks and Shaggy at the Robin Hood Dell East, Belmont and Parkside Aves. Mon., Aug. 12, 7 p.m. 477-8810.

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