Sugar Minott
(born Lincoln Barrington Minott
, 25 May 1956, Kingston) is a Jamaican reggae singer, producer and sound-system operator. [1] [2]
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SUGAR MINOTT TICKETS
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Biography
Early career
After working as a selector on the
Sound of Silence Keystone
sound system, and then his own
Gathering of Youth
system, he began his singing career as part of
The African Brothers
in 1969, along with
Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard.
The group released several singles in the first half of the 1970s on labels such as Micron and their own Ital label, and were an early example of the
Rastafari movement's influence on the
Jamaican music scene, taking a clear lead from
The Abyssinians.
After recording "Mysterious Nature" for producer
Rupie Edwards, the group recorded 1974's "No Cup No Broke" for
Studio One, breaking up shortly after.
Minott then teamed up with the producer
Clement "Coxsone" Dodd, as studio apprentice at Dodd's Studio One, working as a singer, guitarist and percussionist, and soon began recording his own singles.
Minott developed a talent for writing new songs to fit over existing rhythms (which at the time was common when singers performed live, but rare in the studio), often proving more popular than the original songs, pioneering an approach that would be central to the emerging
dancehall style.
After a number of moderately successful hits for Studio One, such as "Vanity", "Hang On Natty", "Mr. DC", and "Jah Jah Children", his debut
LP Live Loving
made his name and increased his popularity, and is regarded as pioneering the dancehall style that would dominate the early 1980s.
It was followed in 1979 with a second album,
Showcase
, which included his singles that had been omitted from the first album.
The
Bittersweet
album followed, and then the third album of 1979,
Ghetto-ology
, which saw a return to
roots reggae.
Roots Lovers
(1980) saw a move towards
lovers rock, which was a
UK hit. He became a bigger star in the
UK than in Jamaica, his self-produced "Hard Time Pressure" being a major UK reggae hit in 1980, leading Minott to relocate to the UK, where he became a focus for UK reggae.
Singles such as "Run Come", "Not for Sale", "African Girl", "Lovers Rock", "In a Dis Ya Time", "Africa" and "Make It with You" (with
Carroll Thompson) were hits in the years that followed. "Good Thing Going" (a
cover of a
Michael Jackson song) was picked up for distribution by
RCA and reached Number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart in March 1981, leading to an album of the same name. The
Herbman Hustling
album saw a return to dancehall and
roots reggae.
He released an album of recordings from
Channel One Studios,
With Lots Of Extra
in 1983, collecting several hits from his time working with
Winston Holness. While Minott was in
England he discovered the group
Musical Youth and released a number of successful
Lovers Rock singles.
Returning to Jamaica, his
Youth Promotion
sound system performed regularly in Kingston's Maxfield Park, featuring
Jah Stitch and newcomers who had been nurtured by his organization such as
Ranking Joe,
Captain Sinbad, and
Ranking Dread. His Black Roots label featured his productions of these artists plus others such as
Barry Brown,
Tenor Saw,
Little John,
Tony Tuff,
Barrington Levy,
Horace Andy, and one of his discoveries from England,
Trevor Hartley.
Minott also produced early works by
Nitty Gritty,
Junior Reid,
Yami Bolo,
Colourman,
Daddy Freddy and
Garnett Silk, who recorded his first song for Minott.
Throughout the 1980s the hits kept coming. Able to encompass different styles from rough roots to sweet lovers, through to classic dancehall, he was an artist of some influence. In that period he was working for all the top producers in Jamaica including,
Mikey Dread,
George Phang,
Sly & Robbie,
Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Channel One,
Prince Jammy, and
Donovan Germain, as well as recording for
United States-based Lloyd "Bullwhackie" Barnes (the
Wicked A Go feel It
album from 1984).
His biggest hits included "Herbman Hustling", "No Vacancy", "Jamming In The Street", "Rub A Dub Sound", "Buy Off The Bar", "Rydim", and "Devil's Pickney".
He linked up with
Sly & Robbie for 1984's "Rub a Dub Sound Style" single, which is regarded as a prototype for the
ragga style that developed in the mid-1980s.
The 1990s and beyond
Sugar Minott continues to record on his Black Roots label, Youth Promotion Label and for Major and Independent labels. His albums receive increasingly exciting reviews.
He continues to record and tour across the globe. He has released over 60 albums and hundreds of singles.
Sugar is one of the artists who appeared on the (2006) record,
Radiodread
, released by the
Easy Stars label, he provided the guest vocals on the song "Exit Music (For a Film)".
Black Roots and Youth Promotion
Minott's desire for independence led him to leave Studio One in 1978
and form his own
Black Roots label and Youth Promotion organization, the latter with the aim of helping young singers from the same ghetto background as himself.
Minott also runs the Youthman Promotion sound-system, giving many young performers their first public exposure. Youthman Promotion again is on the rise, with a strew of new vibrant selectors working alongside the veterans Major Stitch, Ragga Steve and Drifter. The new selectors added to the sound are Starry B, DJ Steewy and DJ Kaos in JA and Empress Skortcher and Poochiny in the USA.
Albums
- Live Loving
(1978, Studio One)
- Showcase
(1979, Studio One)
- Bittersweet
(1979, Ballistic)
- Black Roots
(1979, Black Roots/Island)
- Ghetto-ology
(1979, Trojan)
- Roots Lovers
(1980, Black Roots)
- Give The People
(1980, Ballistic)
- African Girl
(1981, Black Roots)
- Good Thing Going
(1981, RCA)
- Dancehall Showcase
(1983, Black Roots)
- With Lots Of Extra
(1983, Hitbound)
- Herbman Hustling
(1984, Black Roots)
- Slice Of The Cake
(1984, Heartbeat)
- Wicked a Go Feel It
(1984, Wackies)
- Leader For The Pack
(1985, Striker Lee)
- Rydim
(1985, Greensleeves)
- Time Longer Than Rope
(1985, Greensleeves)
- Inna Reggae Dance Hall
(1986, Heartbeat)
- Sugar & Spice
(1986, Taxi)
- Jamming In The Streets
(1987, Wackies)
- African Soldier
(1988, Heartbeat)
- Buy Off De Bar
(1988, Sonic Sounds)
- Sugar Minott & Youth Promotion
(1988, NEC)
- Lovers Rock Inna Dance Hall
(1988, Youth Promotion)
- Sufferers Choice
(1988, Heartbeat)
- Ghetto Youth Dem Rising
(1988, Heartbeat)
- The Boss Is Back
(1989, RAS)
- Ghetto Child
(1989, Heartbeat)
- Smile
(1990, L&M)
- A Touch of Class
(1991, Jammy's)
- Happy Together
(1991, Heartbeat)
- Run Things
(1993, VP)
- Breaking Free
(1994, RAS)
- International
(1996, RAS)
- Musical Murder
(1997, VP)
- Easy Squeeze
(1999, World)
;Split albums:
- Rockers Award Winners
(1985, Greensleeves)
- Double Dose
(1987, Blue Mountain) (Sugar Minott & Gregory Isaacs)
- Showdown Volume 2
(Channel One) (Sugar Minott & Frankie Paul)
;Compilations:
- With Lots of Extra
(1983, Hitbound)
- Best of Vol 1
(1988, Black Roots)
- Collectors Collection Vol 1
(1996, Heartbeat)
- RAS Portrait
(1997, RAS)
- Sugar Minott's Hidden Treasures
(1999, Easy Street)
;With the African Brothers:
- Collector's Item
(1987, Uptempo) (Sugar Minott & the African Brothers)
References
- Barrow, Steve and Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", Rough Guides, 1997, ISBN 1-85828-247-0
- Thompson, Dave (2002) "Reggae & Caribbean Music", Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-655-6
- Larkin, Colin: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, 1998, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9