Levi Roots to serve up some sauce
LEVI Roots, British-Jamaican musician, plans to serve up some sauce for his fans.
The Clarendon-born Roots will be launching his Reggae Reggae Sauce at the opening of a store at Devon House in St Andrew next Tuesday.
“We chose Devon House, a cultural symbol of Jamaica’s diversity, which is patronised by both local and foreign shoppers,” said the 55-year-old in a release.
Roots, whose given name is Keith Valentine Graham, migrated to Britain in the early 1970s and has been a recording artiste for over 30 years.
He gained widespread popularity after appearing on the British television show Dragons’ Den. The show allows entrepreneurs to present their business ideas with a view to seek funding from a panel of investors. The reggae singer received £50,000 following his presentation.
Sainsbury’s, one of the largest supermarket chains in Britain, bought distribution rights from Roots for sale of the Reggae Reggae brand of products in its more than 600 outlets in Britain.
In 2011, Roots was in Jamaica to launch his products in the Loshushan and Hi-Lo supermarkets. At the time, he said he planned to do similar promotions throughout other parts of the Caribbean.
As an entertainer, Roots made his name as an underground roots-reggae singer in the 1980s and 1990s and recorded three albums.
He was nominated for a Best Reggae Act MOBO Award in 1998.
Another high point of his career came in 1992 when Roots performed Happy Birthday Mr President for South African president Nelson Mandela during his visit to the UK.
