Condition Mint (Gatefold Sleeve)

Description
From the label

Phillip “Fatis” Burrell had the uncanny ability to find young artists and groom them to become some of Jamaica's most popular musical acts. These artists were held to a high standard of integrity where no foolishness or bad behaviour was tolerated. Fatis commanded respect. He was a devout Rasta and the principles of Rastafari were tantamount in his life and how he car-ried himself and his artists knew these ideals were to be respected. Artists like Luciano, Sizzla, Capleton, Mikey General, Sanchez, and many others came under his tutelage as he advanced their careers to great heights. I first met Fatis at a reggae media event put on by Reggae Report Magazine being held in Mi-ami, Florida in approximately 1987. He had just completed a Yellowman album titled “Yellow Like Cheese” and I had the fledgling reggae label RAS Records. We immediately hit it off. We talked about my vision for taking legitimate reggae artists with something significant to say and spreading this music as far and wide internationally as possible. He talked about working with artists in Jamaica who also had the integrity necessary for them to be heard and respected worldwide. He told me that he did not know many people yet in the reggae business but that he felt he could trust me, and that he would give me a try. A type of bond and partnership was created that night. As I would go to Jamaica on a very regular basis, Fatis and I got closer and closer as friends and bredrin. He had me put out the first LPs by both Luciano (“Moving Up”) and Sizzla (“Burn-ing Up”). Little did either of us know at the time that both of these artists would go on to be-come some of the biggest artists in Jamaica's music history. And there were many more that Fatis brought to the RAS label for release and international distribution.

He had started the Exterminator label back in the mid-1980s just as RAS was beginning to grow in stature. Exterminator became Xterminator, having the E removed. His label had a rep-utation for putting out tough music with a passionate side as well. Sly and Robbie, Dean Fraser, Earl ‘Chinna’ Smith and The Firehouse Crew were the musicians that provided Fatis with his riddims and, as I have mentioned before, the artists needed to be spot-on with their lyrical presentations. His reputation as a producer of calibre grew and grew and many of his artists were now being signed to bigger labels, and Fatis was becoming well-versed in the ins and outs of the music industry at large, but he always held onto his core Rasta beliefs and main-tained his integrity with his artists