Jeremy Freeman, owner of Deadly Dragon, wrote these thoughts about the sad passing of reggae legend Sugar Minott.

A few days ago, the singer, producer, label-owner and sound-system operator Lincoln “Sugar” Minott passed away at the age of 54. When I heard this news it truly left me with a pit of sadness deep in my stomach — a feeling of loss, as if the world was simply not as good as it was in the minutes before Sugar passed away. This was a different feeling for me as when, say, Alton Ellis passed away. With Alton, my sadness was based in losing an artist, a vocalist, someone with a unique tone. With Sugar passing, I felt like an ethic has gone, a spirit, a morality — something beyond just a sweet voice singing timeless songs.

True, Sugar had a great voice and has a catalog of tunes that will always have a place in my box, but my admiration for Sugar went way beyond the music. First off Sugar holds the history of Jamaican music inside him — he started in the late 60s, worked with Coxsone Dodd and took those lessons of the 60s and 70s and seamlessly brought them into the Dancehall through his forays into Lover’s Rock, rub a dub, digital and beyond.

But more than all of that, Sugar was a true champion of the ghetto — a stone-cold believer in the power to uplift the people around him. He simply did not stop — in the 80s he formed the Black Roots Label and Youthman Promotion and reached out to his community and brought up the youth around him to grab a mic and deejay and sing and express themselves….and what expressions!!!! Little John, Tenor Saw, Junior Reid, Sinbad, Nitty Gritty, Garnett Silk!!!! And that is just the beginning!!! And when I say he did not stop, he didn’t…right up until he passed he was ALWAYS involved with music, ALWAYS in studios working with young artists and producers and sound men and anyone at all who loved the music. From all that I can gather, he was the type of person that would get paid for something and take that cash and immediately flip it into pressing some tunes, getting studio time, something to uplift the people around him….And the point of this is that Sugar was not doing this for any holier than thou reasons — he wasn’t a social worker! — but because he loved it, because he thought it was great fun to be involved in music every day!! He loved to sing, to perform, to be around people who loved music — this was JOY to him. He sang about suffering, but having the ability to express sufferation, gave the man JOY!!!! And when you were around him or saw him perform, you felt that joy. And what a loss!!! Who else is stepping up to the plate anymore with JOY in their heart for music? Can you imagine Sugar Minott saying he was cross, angry, miserable because he got to make money by singing songs and playing music rather than by digging a ditch or working at a bank????? NOT A CHANCE!!

So….what can I say? I am going to mourn Sugar’s passing. And in honor to him, to his spirit, my mourning is going to take the form of making absolutely sure that I remember just how lucky I am that my life is surrounded by music, by people who love that music and share that passion with me. Bless…..To the memory of Sugar!!!