Sugar Minott was a reggae artist and a pioneer in dance-hall style music in Jamaica. (Sugarminott.com)Sugar Minott was a reggae artist and a pioneer in dance-hall style music in Jamaica. (Sugarminott.com)

Jamaican reggae artist and producer Sugar Minott died Saturday at age 54.

His wife Maxine Stowe said he died unexpectedly in a Kingston, Jamaica, hospital after complaining of feeling ill earlier in the day. No cause of death was released.

Minott had cancelled a string of Canadian concerts in May because of health problems, reported to be angina.

The smooth-voiced singer helped popularize reggae in the 1970s and 1980s with hits such as Good Thing Going, Vanity and Mr. DC.

He also was a pioneer of the Jamaican dance-hall scene, and known as a mentor to young Jamaican artists.

Born Lincoln Barrington Minott on May 25, 1956, in Kingston, he was involved in local sound systems (groups of disc jockeys and MCs) from his youth.

In 1969, he joined Tony Tuff and Derrick Howard to form the African Brothers, and recorded the album No Cup No Broke.

In the early 1970s, the African Brothers broke up and Minott went solo. He built his reputation by laying vocal tracks over backing tapes, instead of using a live band, a style that would be adopted by Jamaican dance-hall stars.

After recording Live Loving and Showcase, albums that were considered dance-hall breakthroughs, he left the Studio One label to form his own Black Roots label. The label worked with his Youth Promotion company to advance the careers of young artists, including Ranking Joe, Captain Sinbad and Ranking Dread.

Minott had U.K. hits with Hard Time Pressure and River Jordan in 1979 and relocated to Britain for a few years.

In 1983, he returned to Jamaica for a performance at Reggae Sunsplash, an annual festival he would help anchor for several years.

Through the 1980s, he continued to experiment with his musical style and perform live, as well as producing extensively.

He also performed with former proteges, Junior Reid on Wah Them a Do and Shaggy on Chow.

His albums from the 1990s include Happy Together, Easy Squeeze and Breaking Free. A last album, New Day, is scheduled for release in the next few weeks.