Bittersweet for Sugar’s Day
DESPITE a minor incident between members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) and sound system selector Ricky Trooper, organisers of Wednesday’s ‘Sugar Minott’s Day Tribute’ are hailing it as a success.
The event was staged at the late singer’s base on Robert Crescent in Kingston.
“I wasn’t upfront when the incident occurred, and I would’ve gone and addressed the matter if I was. I heard that they [the police] came on the premises and they were trying to be acknowledged, and they weren’t. The police was trying to confiscate Ricky Trooper’s laptop and he held on to his hand, and I guess that’s why things escalated. I saw when he [Ricky Trooper] was in the vehicle and they were going to let him go after I went to talk to this police, but I guess he said something that the police didn’t like and they ended up carrying him to the station. But, he was released after that. It was a big misunderstanding,” Daniel Minott, Sugar Minott’s son, told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash on Thursday.
“People came after. They didn’t even know that anything happened. It was like a rough patch like when you’re flying in the air and experience turbulence. It didn’t dampen the mood,” he continued.
Billed for the occasion were Blaw Minott, Sizzla Kalonji, Errol Dunkley, Earl “Chinna” Smith & Inna Da Yard, Pashon Minott, Tampanae, Egg Nogg, The Silvertones, Nana EQ, Shemana, Daddy Shark, Ashanty Minott, Kerry Lopez, Kimio Reid, Kenneth Culture, Benzly Hype, Horace Andy, Mikey General, and Horace Martin.
Amidst the celebration, the Minott family is also grieving the loss of Sugar Minott’s grandson, David Minott, who drowned on May 22. The fourth-form Wolmer’s Boys’ High School student died during a beach trip at the Sommerset Falls in Hope Bay, Portland.
His uncle added that Wednesday’s event helped to lift their spirits.
“The turnout was fairly good amidst the loss of our nephew and the emotional trauma that it brought. We got a fairly good turnout and it really helped,” he said.
According to Daniel Minott, a cameo by Lone Ranger was the highlight of the evening.
“I was very busy behind the scenes. I didn’t get to take in the show like a regular spectator but at one point, Lone Ranger mek the crowd buss bare blank. Ken Boothe was among the people singing. I feel that because of the COVID lockdown people are hungry for live entertainment, and the artistes presented well. It electrified the crowd,” Minott said.
Sugar Minott was one of reggae’s hottest acts during the 1980s. He had a big hit song in the United Kingdom in 1981 with a cover of Michael Jackson’s Good Thing Going, at the height of the lovers’ rock craze in that country.
Minott had numerous chart-riders including Herbman Hustling, Lover’s Race, No Vacancy and Tune In.
As a producer, he helped develop artistes such as Tristan Palmer, Little John, Tenor Saw, Junior Reid, Yami Bolo, Garnet Silk and Steve Harper (aka Shalom) through his Youthman Promotions label.
He died in July 2010 from a heart-related illness. He was 54.