Bittersweet anniversary

The family of the late Sugar Minott has been making preparations to celebrate what would have been his 66th birthday today, with the annual Sugar Minott Day tribute at his Robert Crescent headquarters in St Andrew. But they are also now plunged into mourning following last Sunday’s drowning death of 16-year-old David Minott, the singer’s first grandson.

A series of photographs and videos of David at various stages of his life now adorns the Instagram page of his aunt, Pashon Minott, and in her Instagram Stories, she asks “Why?” Pashon stated that her heart has been shattered by news of David’s drowning last Sunday in Portland.

“I’m so lost for words and don’t know what to say. I hope you knew how much I love and adore you. You’ll always be in my heart my sweet, loving, talented boy,” Pashon wrote.

Maxine Stowe, who was married to Sugar Minott, also paid tribute to the brilliant Wolmer’s Boys’ School student on social media. “[A] brilliant Minott mind has left us a legacy, a lesson #gonetoosoonbutneverforgotten. Slated for scholarships & head boy. Rest In Power! #davidminott Condolences to the Minott family & the world at large!”

Heartbroken too, as well as bewildered and confused, is David’s grandmother, Sharon Miller, the mother of Sugar Minott’s first son, Lincoln Minott Jr, who is David’s father. Miller didn’t talk much about her son, but explained that her grandson had been living with her. She has been staying at the Robert Crescent location since Sunday because she cannot go home without David.

“Everybody know how much David loved his grandmother. At Wolmer’s, David is always talking about me. That is a little boy who would come and hug me and kiss me and rub my head. I have not been to my house since the incident, and I don’t know when I will be going home. As I enter the house, there is David’s desk with his computer and everything. I cannot go back there without David,” Miller said firmly.

She confirmed that the preparations are still under way for the free concert, which will see performances from a host of big-name artistes who were all influenced by Sugar Minott and his Youthman Promotions outfit.

“They are here fixing up the place for the birthday, and they will also be paying a special tribute to David,” Miller told The Gleaner.

She was present at Somerset Falls last Sunday, waiting for him to return from the other side, when she got the shocking news.

“After I go and look for myself and see that it look safe, I tell David to gwaan. The last thing I said to him was, ‘David, be careful.’ And half-hour later my grandson dead, and nobody can’t tell me anything that mek sense,” Miller lamented.

David was a sub-prefect, a peer counsellor, and an executive of the Inter-School Christian Fellowship group at Wolmer’s, and his impact was so positive and far-reaching that Miller has been getting a string of calls and visits from the school community. “I never know that is so much things David was involved in. He was even being considered as a candidate for head boy,” she shared.

Like his grandfather, Sugar Minott, he loved to sing, and Miller noted that “one of David’s songs is changing lives”. Over on YouTube, there is a video of David singing a song which he wrote, titled Eternal Life, and another one titled Many Works, using his moniker Davydyy Minott.

“Gratefulness unto God Christ the true vine our lifeline … Davydyy Minott,” he says in the intro to Eternal Life, after which he segues into the chorus. “Thank you God you called my name you bore the pain you felt the shame eternal life for me to gain. David, I answered, he entered …I’m telling you today to get connected…”

Many Works, a powerful stay-in-school song, is chockful of encouraging words, as he points out the benefits of a good education. It is accompanied by visuals of David graduating from Maverley Primary and Junior High, where he was one of the top five GSAT students and the 2018 valedictorian. “Education a the key to a great humanity ..so pon di corner yuh nah go see me,” David raps in Many Works.

Miller shared that David’s older sister, with whom he was extremely close, is beside herself with grief.

“She is dying with pain. She just text that she knows that David would want her to be strong for me, so that is what she is doing,” Miller said.

Reports are that David was a member of a church group which had visited Somerset Falls in Portland last Sunday. Some time during the afternoon, David, who had just completed a boat ride, exited the vessel and reportedly sat on a rock. When he was not seen by the group, a search was conducted and he was discovered at the bottom of a stream. He was rushed to the Port Antonio Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

yasmine.peru@gleanerjm.com