Everything about Sugar Minott totally explained
Sugar Minott (born Lincoln Barrington Minott,
May 25 1956, in
Kingston) is a
Jamaican
reggae singer,
producer and
sound-system operator.
Biography
He began his career as part of
The African Brothers along with
Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard. The group released several singles in the first half of the 1970s, and were an early example of the
Rastafari movement's influence on the
Jamaican music scene, taking a clear lead from
The Abyssinians. Minott developed a talent for writing new songs to fit over existing rhythms, 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.
This is often credited as the first dancehall album and was followed in
1979 with
Showcase.
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 ran the Youth Promotion sound-system, giving many young performers their first public exposure. He became a bigger star in the
UK than in Jamaica, his self-produced "Hard Time Pressure" being a major UK reggae hit in 1979.
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.
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 proceeding years. "Good Thing Going" (a
cover of a
Michael Jackson song) reached Number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart. The
Herbman Hustling album saw a return to dancehall and
roots reggae. "Rub a Dub Sound Style" is sometimes considered the first
ragga recording.
He cut a set for
Channel One,
With Lots Of Extra; and also one for
RCA,
Good Thing Going, which capitalised on the success of the UK pop chart hit of the same name. Minott's popularity in the UK led to him spending a lengthy period there, becoming a focus for UK reggae.
. While Sugar was in
England he discovered the group
Musical Youth and released a number of successful
Lovers Rock singles.
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
George Phang,
Sly & Robbie,
Philip "Fatis" Burrell, Channel One,
Prince Jammy, and
Donovan Germain. 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".
Though he continued recording throughout the
1990s, his albums received increasingly mixed reviews. There were some exceptions, such as
Happy Together (
1991) and
Breaking Free (
1993). He continues to record and tour across the globe. He has released over 60 albums and hundreds of singles.
Minott visited the Third Eye Studio in the spring of 2002 to record dubplate specials, and also to sing "It Takes Time", a new song produced by Rootsman. This track has been voiced over Rootsman's vintage "Intifada" rhythm.
As well as producing his own material Minott produced a number of established artists alongside up and coming artists such as
Barry Brown, Tony Tuff,
Little John,
Captain Sinbad and
Tristan Palmer. Later on with the advent of Youth Promotion he discovered and produced such artists such as
Tenor Saw,
Nitty Gritty,
Junior Reid,
Yami Bolo,
Colourman,
Daddy Freddy and
Garnett Silk, who recorded his first song there.
Selected album discography
- Live Loving (1978, Studio One)
- Showcase (1979, Studio One)
- Black Roots (1979, Island)
- Bittersweet (1979, Ballistic)
- 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)
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sugar Minott'.
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