Lincoln Sugar Minott
Sprinter, stayer... long distance runner
Lincoln Sugar Minott was born in Kingston on May 25, 1956. He virtually grew up in a dancehall, living next door to a sound system on Chisholm Avenue. Graduating from Kingston College Extension School at the age of 19 after attending Melrose Primary, he actually believed that football would be his calling as he was an excellent goal keeper. After a stint at electrical engineering, which he quickly abandoned opting to follow his love for music, he followed various sound systems and eventually became a selector for a small sound system called Sounds of Silence Keystone.
Joining Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard to form the group African Brothers, Sugar stepped out into his musical career. After competing in several talent contests, the African Brothers went on to record several cultural and conscious songs for different producers including Sir Coxone Dodd. Although the African Brothers never had a major hit the experience of singing taught Sugar much about harmony and melody which he successfully utilized in his solo career. His introduction to Studio One resulted in him becoming a studio apprentice, quickly learning the art of record production. He was eager to voice new tunes on the timeless rhythms in Coxone's vault.
His new interpretation of these rhythms breathed new life into the Studio One camp circa 1977, which was fledgling at this time having been left in dust by more progressive producers. 1978 saw the release of his first album Live Loving considered by many to be the blueprint for dancehall music as we know it today. Following up with Showcase, he stamped his class scoring with hits like Vanity and Mr.DC. It was that same year that Sugar started his own label, Black Roots, and his sound system Youthman Promotion, and in 1979 he released the first albums on that label, namely Ghetto-ology and Black Roots. Sugar is quick to credit the people who gave him a boost when he was starting out with Black Roots. One such person was Big Youth who gave him a guitar, as Sugar says "cause he saw that I was trying".
That ability to give and to encourage youngsters in the music business came to the fore in Sugar's bold move to streamline the Youthman Promotion Sound system and recreate it as Youth Promotion Organization. Sugar has done quite a bit of giving back and has honed Youth Promotion into a virtual talent bank. Youth Promotion has been responsible for unearthing some of the major talent in Jamaica, artistes like Triston Palmer, Yammie Bolo, Trevor Junior, Junior Reid and the late Tenor Saw to name a few, are examples of Sugar's ability to galvanize and encourage youths to manifest their talents in a big way.
Sugar, in fact, is so committed to assisting youths in the business that in 1980, having hit the British Top Ten with his cover of Michael Jackson's Good Thing Going he gave up many lucrative contracts and deals because he was not able to bring his stable of young artistes with him.
Speaking of hits, Sugar continued to reel them off ruling the 1980's with songs like Never Give Jah Up, Lovers Race, Rough 'Ol Life, No Vacancy, Dance Hall Style, Herbman Hustling, Pon di Level, Level Vibes, Buy out The Bar, and returning in the nineties with Sprinter Stayer, Run things and Tune in featuring Bounty Killer.
Although he could have conceivably continued recording exclusively as a self-produced artiste, Sugar Minott has actively recorded for other producers ranging from the big names like Sly and Robbie to smaller, part-time producers just trying to get their feet into the business. Of the many producers he has worked with some of his most interesting material has come from his collaboration with Bronx based Lloyd "Bullwackies" Barnes, songs like the original Herbman Hustling, Hi Hello, Wicked a go feel it, Jamming in the Street and Sometime Girl. Around this time Sugar met up with Producer Tad Dawkins and what resulted was the hit singles Dance Hall Style and Level Vibes. The seminal album, The Best of Sugar Minott also resulted from that collaboration.
Sugar Minott is credited with originating what is now known as Lovers Rock and also Dancehall style and with his repertoire of Roots Rock, Culture Message along with Religious and Social commentary, he remains one of the most versatile artistes of the Reggae genre. A prolific song writer, Sugar is ever current, always at the cutting edge of the new trends and riding the new "riddims" sometimes in collaboration with the newer artistes.
A slick performer on stage, Sugar knows how to vibe and to use his years of experience and vast catalogue of hits and crowd favorites to keep any stage show lively and have the patrons literally eating out of his hands.
Despite all these achievements the man remains humble and is very focused on Youth Promotion as his vehicle for charitable works which he continues to do in ever increasing ways each year. To quote the man: "Nuff tings a gwaan but I don't brag and boast and say 'Oh I do this, I did that. I'm not that kind of person, I'll be humble with what I do 'cause I'm afraid I might lose the vibe or the gift."
If Sugar Minott has his way, Youth Promotion will blossom into a full fledged music and media school where aspiring youths from all walks of life can come and realize their dreams and Sugar fulfills one of his driving passions. (Excerpts from Full Watts)
