Sugar Minott
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Sugar Minott | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Lincoln Barrington Minott |
| Born | May 25, 1956 |
| Origin | Kingston |
| Genre(s) | Reggae, dancehall |
| Website | http://www.sugarminott.com/ |
Sugar Minott (born Lincoln Barrington Minott, May 25, 1956, in Kingston) is a Jamaican reggae singer, producer and sound-system operator.[1]
Contents |
[edit] 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.[1] After 1974's "No Cup No Broke", the African Brothers broke up.
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.[2] 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.[2] 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[1] 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.[1] 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.[2]
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.[2]. 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.
[edit] 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)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d Barrow, Steve and Dalton, Peter: "Reggae: The Rough Guide", Rough Guides, 1997, ISBN 1-85828-247-0
- ^ a b c d Larkin, Colin: "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Reggae", Virgin Books, 1998, ISBN 0-7535-0242-9
