Sugar Minott spent his youth hanging around the legendary "Studio 1" listening to the artists that recorded there, such as Alton Ellis, Ken Boothe, The Heptones, Dennis Brown and others.
Sugar began his career with the formation of the African Brothers, along with Tony Tuff and Derek Howard (and later Triston Palmer) in the early 1970s. The African Brothers were a harmonious roots act, of which Sugar became the most popular member. By 1979, Sugar had been invited by Studio 1 to record a solo album.
When recording at Studio 1, he chose not to use a backing band as in conventional recording, but elected to sing over instrumental versions of old Studio 1 classics. This is considered to be the birth of "dancehall," which lead to countless artists making new hits out of old classics, a tradition that continues in Jamaica today.
Sugar was also well-regarded for hard work on his Youthman Promotion sound system and Black Roots & Youthman Promotion labels into the 1980s, which brought forth such artists as Tenor Saw, Nitty Gritty, Yami Bolo, Junior Reid, Tony Rebel, Garnett Silk, and many more to the industry. Up until his death, he was still working with young artists both in Jamaica and the US, including his daughter Pashon Minott.
Rough Ole Life
Sugar Minott Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Que tu novio es un insípido aburrido
Tu que eres fogata y el tan frio
Dice tu amiguita que es celoso
No quiere que sea tu amigo
Sospecha que soy un pirata
Y robare su flor.
Si una noche entro a tu cuarto
Y nuevamente te haga mía
Bien conoces mis errores
El egoísmo de ser dueño de tu vida.
Eres mía, mía, mía
No te hagas la loca eso
Muy bien ya lo sabias.
Si tu te casas el día de tu boda
Le digo a tu esposo con risas, que solo es prestada
La mujer que ama
Porque sigues siendo mía.
Gostoso!
Dicen que un clavo saca a otro clavo
Pero eso es solo rima
No existe una herramienta que saque mi amor.
No te asombres
Si una noche entro a tu cuarto
Y nuevamente te haga mía
Bien conoces mis errores
El egoísmo de ser dueño de tu vida.
Eres mía, mía, mía
No te hagas la loca eso
Muy bien ya lo sabias.
Si tu te casas el día de tu boda
Le digo a tu esposo con risas, que solo es prestada
La mujer que ama
Porque sigues siendo mía.
Te deseo lo mejor...
Y lo mejor... soy yo!
The King
No te asombres
Si una noche entro a tu cuarto
Y nuevamente te haga mía
Bien conoces mis errores
El egoísmo de ser dueño de tu vida.
Eres mía, mía, mía, mía
No te hagas la loca eso
Muy bien ya lo sabias.
Si tu te casas el día de tu boda
Le digo a tu esposo con risas, que solo es prestada
La mujer que ama
Porque sigues siendo mía.
The lyrics to Sugar Minott's reggae song, Rough Ole Life, tell the story of a possessive and jealous former lover who is still in love with his ex-girlfriend. The song starts by him acknowledging that he has heard that her current boyfriend is boring and not exciting enough for her. He believes that he is the perfect match for her because she is fiery while her boyfriend is cold. Her friend has informed her that her ex-boyfriend is jealous of their friendship, thinking that he is a pirate who will steal his lady away. Despite this, the ex-lover tells the girl not to be surprised if he enters her room at night and makes love to her again because she is still his. She belongs to him, and he is possessive and selfish enough to want her for himself.
The lyrics continue, and the ex-boyfriend goes on to say that if the girl gets married to her current boyfriend, he will tell her new husband that she is only borrowed because she belongs to him, and he loves her. He is not willing to let her go, even if she moves on with someone else. The song ends with the ex-boyfriend reassuring the girl that he wishes her the best in life, but he knows that the best is him.
The song highlights the flaws of toxic relationships, where one partner feels entitled to the other person and disregards their feelings and decisions. Sugar Minott's lyrics send the message that controlling and possessive behavior is not love and can be harmful.
Line by Line Meaning
Ya me han informado
I have been told
Que tu novio es un insípido aburrido
That your boyfriend is a tasteless boring person
Tu que eres fogata y el tan frio
You are a fire and he is very cold
Dice tu amiguita que es celoso
Your little friend says he is jealous
No quiere que sea tu amigo
He doesn't want me to be your friend
Sospecha que soy un pirata
He suspects that I am a pirate
Y robare su flor.
And I will steal his flower.
No te asombres
Do not be surprised
Si una noche entro a tu cuarto
If one night I enter your room
Y nuevamente te haga mía
And make you mine again
Bien conoces mis errores
You know my mistakes very well
El egoísmo de ser dueño de tu vida.
The selfishness of owning your life.
Eres mía, mía, mía
You are mine, mine, mine
No te hagas la loca eso
Don't play dumb about that
Muy bien ya lo sabias.
You already knew it very well.
Si tu te casas el día de tu boda
If you get married on your wedding day
Le digo a tu esposo con risas, que solo es prestada
I will tell your husband with a laugh that you are just rented
La mujer que ama
The woman that he loves
Porque sigues siendo mía.
Because you are still mine.
Dicen que un clavo saca a otro clavo
They say one nail takes out another nail
Pero eso es solo rima
But that's just a rhyme
No existe una herramienta que saque mi amor.
There is no tool that can take my love away.
Te deseo lo mejor...
I wish you the best...
Y lo mejor... soy yo!
And the best... is me!
The King
The King
Writer(s): Lincoln Barrington Minott
Contributed by Ava Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
andrew castellano
thank God for original artists like sugar minott . truly spiritual lifting
Stackz Vuitton
Love it
Sherry Garaway
Nothing beats the original, it's a classic, wicked
Clive Temple
What a vibe. Sweet sweet Sugar.
Scary Things Are Real
This song give me big chills. Sacred song
Michelle Singleton
Feeling good.sugar minott voice is like silk
Lawrence Njawe
This one featured in the first ever video I downloaded from Sugar Minott. Great stuff!
Ginio Lamy
Reggae for life🇨🇬🇨🇬
Frank Chavez
San Diego love . Sugar lives
G. Jones
Saw him live when I was 17 in Brixton London, he had the voice and the Style! More Style Sugar RIP