Magnum All-Star Sound Clash off to a fiery start

Last Friday, scores of onlookers turned out to the All-Star headquarters on Olympic Way for the first official night of the Magnum All-Star Sound Clash. The heated engagement saw Five-Star General coming out victorious after going up against their fierce competitor Unruly Stumpy in their first warm-up round of the competition.

The Magnum All Star clash will run for 11 weeks. For the first four weeks two sounds will compete weekly in a series of warm-up clashes to showcase their talent for the judges and a live audience. The knockout round begins in week five and will see one sound being eliminated each week until the semi-finals.

Five-Star General kept the winning formula simple last Friday by pulling the right dubs and getting the most forwards, but an equally talented Unruly Stumpy did not go down without a fight, in front of judges Oral Tracey, Admiral Bailey and DJ Banka.

DJ Banka shared that he was looking for the main elements such as creativity, interaction and juggling.

“When it comes on to a sound clash I’m looking for creativity, how they use up the stage, how they react and gravitate to the crowd, how they have fun with the crowd. No ego, just non-stop juggling, no negative energy, just positive vibes,” he explained.

DJ Scrappy who was on the scene to observe the clash opined that Five-Star General deserved the win because of their confidence.

“The clash was nice for me, a Five-Star. Unruly Stumpy dem do dem ting but they aren’t comfortable. From a sound perspective the first sound [Five-Star General] dem come, dem comfortable, them believe inna themselves. Respect to Unruly Stumpy but they need to believe inna themselves and Five-Star believe inna sound clash,” he remarked.

The competition is aimed at highlighting some of the nation’s most talented sound systems in dancehall culture and to place Kingston 13 on the map as the birthplace of the sound system in Jamaica.

One community member, Shay Powell, remarked that the activity was great one for community-building.

The competition features eight sound system groups vying for the $1 million dollar cash prize, a trophy and the winner’s title. The sound systems include: Ruff Cut, Twin Star, Five-Star, Rode Code, Black Magic, Echo One, Unruly Stumpy and Rispec Jam.