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Over the past few years, several reggae luminaries have passed on, each a significant and sometimes devastating loss. But the news of Sugar Minott’s passing on July 10 meant a little more, and it went beyond the music. You see, Sugar was an institution. It wasn’t just that sugary, sweet voice that could express ghetto suffering or aching heartbreak at every turn, or the hundreds of songs he produced by scores of artists. It was instead the community element that he brought into everything that he did.

Minott grew up in the same tough areas of Kingston in which so many reggae artists arose. As a youth he and some friends – Eric Bubbles and Tony Tuff – got a little vocal group together, calling themselves the African Brothers. As Minott told it to this writer about a decade ago, they would practice daily to achieve the same tight unison and minor key harmonies made most famous by the Abyssinians. Despite receiving little love from the local scene at that time, early efforts such as “Lead Us Father” and “Righteous Kingdom” are supremely excellent and dearly loved by the roots reggae fraternity.

After recording a dozen or two of the best roots vocal records of the period, the group split up and Minott wisely ventured down to producer-extraordinaire Coxsone Dodd’s Studio One recording facility. The African Brothers had already recorded one early song for Dodd, “No Cup No Bruk”, which made little to no impact, but it did expose Minott to the fertile recording scene of what effectively was Jamaica’s Motown. Once again welcomed in, he immersed himself in the studio’s culture and quickly developed into one of the best lyricists on the island, feeling equally at home with lovers or cultural material.

Minott’s skills were finally put on display for his sublime first solo album, Live Loving, released in 1977.  On each of the ten songs, Minott was given an original Studio One rhythm from the late 1960s to voice over, rather than a re-cut of these same classic rocksteady and early reggae sides. The result was the first dancehall album, in the truest sense. Minott wrote and sung new lyrics over older rhythms, which up to that point had only been done by deejays like U Roy. This notion of voicing over the rhythm in the studio is as close to reproducing a live dancehall scene as had been done, mimicking singers and deejays would nightly add fresh lyrics and showmanship at dances all over the island, and thus breathe new life into the classic, stripped-down instrumental tracks.

At this point, Minott became a veritable star. He did one more superb album for Dodd, Showcase, before venturing out on his own. He quickly scored with numerous singles and put out album after album of top-shelf material, such Black Roots and Ghettology. Key in his newfound success was the setting up of his Youthman Promotion sound system. Through this outlet, he ran dances all over Kingston, eventually using it as an outlet to play his newest productions and to introduce up-and-coming artists. During the 1980s, he was easily one of the most prolific and well-regarded singers and producers not only in Jamaica, but – just as importantly – also in England.  Any stage show was guaranteed to be an energetic affair, with Minott running around, changing directions on a dime, jumping on speaker boxes, talking directly to the cute girl in the audience with quick joke that would have everyone laughing.  He was a natural performer. /p>