The Jamaican reggae singer Sugar Minott, who has died unexpectedly aged 54, had a prolific solo career from the 1970s onwards. He scored his biggest hit with Good Thing Going, a cover version of a recording by Michael Jackson. Minott's single reached No 4 in the UK in 1981 and prompted a well-received follow-up album of the same name. Minott worked with many of Jamaica's leading producers, including Coxsone Dodd, Mikey Dread and Sly & Robbie, and also nurtured younger artists through his Black Roots label and his company Youthman Promotion.
He was born in Kingston, Jamaica, and began working with local sound systems (groups of disc jockeys and MCs) before he reached his teens."I started singing when I was about 12, in an amateur talent festival near where I lived in Maxfield Park in Kingston," he recalled. "I reached the final with two others, but didn't win. It gave me some encouragement to go on, really." He cited as his musical inspirations Ken Boothe, Delroy Wilson and Dennis Brown.
After a stint as a selector with the Sound of Silence Keytone outfit, picking records for the sound system and "toasting" (chanting) over them, Minott teamed up with Derrick Howard and Tony Tuff to form the African Brothers, which gave him his first experience as a singer. The trio recorded for the Micron label as well as for their own Ital imprint, working with producers including Keith Weston, Winston "Merritone" Blake and Rupie Edwards.
In 1974 the African Brothers cut No Cup No Broke for Dodd's renowned Studio One, the pioneering black-owned music studio in the Caribbean. When the group split up shortly afterwards, Minott stayed on with Dodd and worked as a singer and guitarist at Studio One. He began recording his own singles, notching up successes with Vanity, Mr DC, House Is Not a Home and Hang On Natty, and followed these up with his first solo album, Live Loving, in 1978.
It was during this period that Minott earned a reputation as a pioneer of reggae's dancehall style, in which he would lay new vocal tracks over original 1960s backing tapes instead of using a live band. Other artists had done this in live performance, but Minott brought the technique into the recording studio, triggering a revolution in Jamaican music. His efforts helped to boost the fortunes of Studio One at a period when the company was reeling from the defection of artists such as John Holt and Alton Ellis to other labels.
Earlier this year Minott cancelled concerts in Canada after complaining of chest pains. He was due to perform in California later this week.
Minott is survived by his wife, Maxine Stowe.
• Lincoln Barrington ("Sugar") Minott, musician and producer, born 25 May 1956; died 10 July 2010
Kartel's five-day detention order came to an end yesterday, but was extended a day earlier, on Thursday, when he was served papers informing of his further detention, attorney Christian Tavares-Finson told the Observer.
Tavares-Finson, however, said that the legal team would be seeking the entertainer's release at the Emergency Powers Review Tribunal, set up in the wake of the May 23 State of Public Emergency to combat criminals loyal to accused drug lord and former Tivoli Gardens strongman Christopher 'Dudus' Coke.
"We will be going to the tribunal to get him released," Tavares-Finson said. Tavares-Finson said the legal team was preparing papers to secure a hearing on Monday. Kartel was detained last week Friday and underwent intense questioning some three days after the police named him and five other men as major persons of interest.
The artiste, whose given name is Adijah Palmer, was questioned in relation to criminal gangs in Portmore, St Catherine. Due to the extension of his detention, the artiste will now miss several bookings, both local and overseas, including the annual summer show Reggae Sumfest due to start on July 17.
When Kartel turned himself in last week, his detention was extended from 24 hours to five days.
Chezidek sings always the same positiv message of life: Love, justice and equality for all humanity.
JULY 17th, 2010 4:00pm • Öland Festival, Sweeden • SWEDEN
JULY 24th, 2010 4:00pm • Festijam, Arrens marsous • FRANCE
JULY 17th, 2010 7:00pm • Reggae Sun Ska • FRANCE
JULY 24th, 2010 4:00pm • Ostroda Fest, • POLAND