by Howard Campbell
SOUTH FLORIDA – When Andrew Minott decided to write his memoir with Kevin E. Taylor, there was some apprehension about going into some of the challenges he faced before getting his life back on track.
But it was all smiles for the Jamaican show promoter on February 1 at Wynwood Miami where he launched Prove ‘Em Wrong, his autobiography.
It took place on the start of Black History Month in the United States and Reggae Month in Jamaica and South Florida.
Members of Minott’s family — including his wife Ravina, sons Andre and Derek, and cousin Devona — and a number of his schoolmates from Cornwall College in St. James, Jamaica attended the event.
“To tell the truth, it’s very surreal, I never dreamt in a million years I would have written a book. Never,” said Minott. “Initially, it was kinda crazy and that’s why I probably stalled and it took so long because when I was reading it I was saying, ‘man, the whole world is going to know my life’, and I’ve always been a private person. Always.”
Minott has lived in the United States for almost 40 years, most of that time in South Florida where he moved to in the early 1990s after graduating from college in North Florida.
He began establishing himself as a promoter of dancehall/reggae shows in South Florida during the late 1990s. Those events featured top acts including Beenie Man, Bounty Killer, Buju Banton and Capleton.With the assistance of Taylor, the dreadlocked Minott revisited that period of his life, as well as growing up in rural Jamaica, migrating to the US and serving in the military and raising a family.
“I just hope people will learn from some of the mistakes I made and it will inspire a lot of people like single fathers who are there for their kids. I hope I accomplished that,” he said.
