Sugar Minott emerged from the West Kingston ghettos in the late '70s, almost single-handedly building the template for smooth dancehall with his honeyed vocals and sleek, simple production approach.
A gifted guitarist and drummer, a sound system operator, and a shrewd songwriter, Minott wears a lot of hats awfully well, as this collection of some of his biggest hits makes clear.
Included are the Coxsone Dodd-produced "Vanity" from 1978, the Niney the Observer-produced "No Vacancy," a definitive lovers rock version of the Jackson 5's "Good Thing Going," and several Minott-produced originals like the beautiful "River Jordan" and the set opener, "Ruff Ole Life." Minott was among the first Jamaican artists to make use of syndrum technology in the late '70s, and one of the few to use it with careful precision, giving his productions a flowing, airy dynamic feel which, when his sweet-as-sugar vocals are applied, makes for an easy, crystal-clear sound.
At 18 tracks, Nice It Up is a generous introduction to this phenomenal artist.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ruff Ole Life | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | River JordanL. Minott, Sugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | Herbsman HustlingSly Dunbar, Sugar Minott, Robbie Shakespeare | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | Never Gonna Give Up JahSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:01 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Every Little ThingJohn Lennon, Paul McCartney | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Dancehall Stylee | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Good Thing GoingSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:40 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | Lover's RaceSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 02:54 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | No VacancySugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:39 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Slice of the CakeSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:45 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Nice It UpSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Buy Out the BarSugar Minott, George Phang | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | Tune InL. Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:41 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | Riddim | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:30 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | VanityClement "Coxsone" Dodd, Sugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 02:53 | 6 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | Give Thanks & PraiseStuart Matthewman, Sugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | My Love Is True | Sugar Minott | Play | 04:05 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | Run ThingsSugar Minott | Sugar Minott | Play | 03:36 | 8 MB | 0 MB |
| 62 mins | 142 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Black Roots | Producer |
| 2 | Philip "Fatis" Burrell | Producer |
| 3 | Christopher Chin | Associate Executive Producer |
| 4 | Joel Chin | Associate Executive Producer, Mastering |
| 5 | Clement "Coxsone" Dodd | Composer, Producer |
| 6 | Sly Dunbar | Composer, Producer |
| 7 | Donovan Germain | Producer |
| 8 | Balford Henry | Liner Notes |
| 9 | Brian Jahn | Photography |
| 10 | John Lennon | Composer |
| 11 | Stuart Matthewman | Composer |
| 12 | Paul McCartney | Composer |
| 13 | L. Minott | Composer |
| 14 | Sugar Minott & Dance Hall Crew | Executive Producer, Producer |
| 15 | Sugar Minott | Composer, Executive Producer, Primary Artist, Producer |
| 16 | Niney the Observer | Producer |
| 17 | George Phang | Composer, Producer |
| 18 | David Sanguinetti | Project Coordinator |
| 19 | Robbie Shakespeare | Composer, Producer |
| 20 | Paul Shields | Mastering |
| 21 | Sly & Robbie | Producer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |