Kings Music International is now booking the Godfather of Dancehall, reggae legend Sugar Minott, along with Admiral Tibet, Fire Pashon and The Black Roots Productions house band, Rasta Uprising. Sugar has recently released a new CD called Tribute to Studio One on the Tads Records label. He continues to produce hit records such as the 2002 INDIE winner for Best Reggae Album, “Rare Gems”. Sugar Minott ruled the dancehall for a decade from the mid 70’s to the mid 80’s. Admiral Tibet was strong in the dancehall later on in the 80’s as a conscious singer.  Tibet is known for his hits such as “Babylon War” and “Leave Peoples Business”. Pashon, Sugar’s daughter, does some songs of her own, and then sings harmony for her father. These three artists make a great tour package, all hard working conscious roots acts. Also, the Rasta Uprising Band does some songs to open up. 

Last year Sugar did the Sierra Nevada World Music Festival in California, and then did a similar tour from San Diego through LA, the four major Hawaiian islands, and up the west coast to Canada and then down through Montana to Colorado. The shows were successful in bringing out a lot of roots people, and there is a lot of interest for him to come again. Now a year later, Minott again brings a style he created in the early days of Jamaica’s dancehalls in the 70’s and 80’s, when he defined sound system performance and elevated singing and deejaying to new heights with his Black Roots record label and the Youthman Promotion sound crew.  Sugar’s crew offered more lyrical variety and talent than virtually any other sound system then or since.  He helped mentor and give experience to many of the artists that were later to become trendsetters in their own right, such as Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty, Junior Reid , Frankie Paul, Michael Palmer, Half Pint and Little John. Wherever he performs, Sugar plays to a solid base of loyal fans, whether it be in the clubs of London, the dancehalls of Kingston or the nightclubs of New York City.   

For bookings contact Peter Wardle of Kings Music International at (510) 326-8445 or e-mail reggaeangl@aol.com

BIOGRAPHY:  LINCOLN “SUGAR” MINOTT

Sugar Minott is one of the best-loved performers from Jamaica.  He has helped many young artists come up in the music business and produced numerous memorable recordings.  Sugar Minott is one of reggae dancehall’s foundation artists.

 From the onset of his career in 1969 in the African Brothers (with Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard), Sugar Minott has released hit tunes like “No Cup No Broke” in 1974 and his first major hit, “Vanity” in ‘78.  Sugar’s 1979 debut album – Live Loving, has often been called the first Dancehall album.

Hit after hit followed with songs like “Run Come”, “Not For Sale”, “African Girl”, “Lover’s Rock”, “Africa”, “In A Dis Ya Time”, and “Make It With You”.  A cover of Michael Jackson’s “Good Thing Going” was his first number one hit in England.  He returned to Dancehall and Roots Reggae with the album Herbsman Hustling.  Sugar’s Rub A Dub Sound Style album is considered by many to be the first Ragga recording.

Sugar Minott is without peer in the Reggae music industry.  He was born and raised in Kingston, Jamaica.  After finishing school he began selling records and formed his own sound system, Black Roots, from which the internationally acclaimed Youth Promotion evolved.

Among the artists Sugar is known for producing and mentoring are Yami Bolo, Tristan Palmer, Little John, Captain Sinbad, Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty, Junior Reid, Colourman, Daddy Freddy and Garnett Silk – who recorded his first song for the Black Roots label.

With over sixty albums and hundreds of singles to his credit, Sugar has over thirty years of hit-making experience and has performed all over the world.  He has worked for all of Jamaica’s top producers such as George Phang, Sly & Robbie, Philip “Fatis” Burrell, Channel One, Prince Jammy and Donovan Germain, to name a few.  His biggest tunes include “Herbsman Hustling”, “No Vacancy”, “Jamming In The Street”, “Rub A Dub Sound”, “Buy Off The Bar”, “Rydim”, “Devil’s Pickney” and “Hard Time Pressure”.  Sugar Minott is the truly original Reggae Dancehall superstar who continues to shine and inspire more and more youth coming into their own. 

BIOGRAPHY: ADMIRAL TIBET

Kennel Allen aka Admiral Tibet was born in the parish of St. Mary where he attended the Free Hill Primary and Port Maria Secondary Schools respectively. As a young child growing up, he always had a keen interest in music. He started performing on sound systems in and around his vicinity at a tender age.

Having listened to a wide variety of music, he credits veterans Dennis Brown and Gregory Isaacs as being his greatest influences.

At the urging of family and friends who recognized his talent, he worked diligently to develop his music skills.

In 1985, Tibet did his first recording for producer Sherman Clacher, entitled “Babylon War” on the Arabic and King International label. This recording  gave him  recognition locally and internationally. Another single “Leave People Business” produced by Winston Riley on the Techniques label, was an instant hit, followed by “Serious Time” which was recorded for producer Lloyd James on the King Jammys label and was later remixed with two times Grammy winner Shabba Ranks and the Don Gorgon Ninjaman on the MPLA rhythm. This song was also a major hit. Following these hit songs, in 1989 Tibet performed on Jamaica’s biggest stageshow, The Reggae Sunsplash, where on Dancehall Night he thrilled thousands of spectators and was recognized as a top performer of the night. Soon after, Tibet was awarded by The Rockers Awards- “Performer of the Year”.  Having gained this status, Admiral Tibet was now booked on most of the major shows in Jamaica, such as Rebel Salute, Sting and The Reggae Sumfest.

In the following years, Tibet recorded for several producers a repertoire of original music reflecting a conscious roots, cultural awareness with social commentary. In the year 2000, he recorded “Gone Crazy” for producer Bobby Digital which was a chart mover for several weeks, followed by “Couldn’t Believe It” for artist/producer Sugar Roy on the Fireball label, which also hit the charts. To date, Tibet has recorded nine albums including “Coming to the Light” in 1987 for King Jammys, “Babylon War” for producer Sherman Clacher and “Leave People Business” for producer Winston Riley.

Admiral Tibet has toured extensively in the United States, Europe, Japan and the Caribbean. With a message of unity and love, Admiral Tibet continues to captivate audiences and leave them craving for more.

BIOGRAPHY: FIRE PASHON

Jamaica’s rich musical history has often been characterized by large families in which heredity plays a significant part. There is now a female progeny of a prominent performer making her mark on the scene as an artist – Fire Pashon, the daughter of Reggae music legend Lincoln “Sugar” Minott. Fire Pashon has a new CD out on The Black Roots label called Flames that is currently creating disturbance.

Born Tamar Minott in Kingston, Pashon’s exposure to the music world began at a tender age in the stimulating atmosphere of her father’s fame and profile in their community.  Her dad operated a small studio from their home and also owned a sound system called Youthman Promotion, which would play in their yard every Thursday night.  Growing up in this environment gave Pashon the opportunity to witness artists like Junior Reid, Yami Bolo, Tenor Saw, Tony Rebel and Garnett Silk in performance firsthand on and off the stage.  Early exposure to the music business and the entertainment world helped to nurture her talent. At age eight, she recorded her first single, “Reggae the Beat” with her brothers and younger sister.  She has continued to record and   recently voiced a song on the ‘Chrome’ riddim entitled “Real Fire Woman”.  The video release for this song is getting rave reviews and is doing well.

No stranger to the stage, Pashon has performed on major shows in Jamaica including Sting, Reggae Sumfest, Sashi, CME, Reloaded, East Fest and Spectrum.  This high-spirited Aries attributes her success to the influence of her father, as well as Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Wayne Wonder, Sister Carol and Lauren Hill. Pashon is blazing the path for a new generation of loyal fans by expressing uplifting themes of heartfelt unity in her music. Pashon is coming on strong as a female artist in this time.