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November 18, 2008
Rebel T crowned the greatest sound
By: Ricardo Bailey
Last Saturday night Rebel T was crowned ‘The Greatest’ at the Guiness Sounds of Greatness finals that rocked Kingston’s Mas Camp in what was definitely the most intense showdown since the competition began. Rebel T and Bodyguard were the major players, as they battled for the grand prize of a J$250,000.
Scheduled to begin at 8:00pm, the event got underway around two hours late and by then Mas Camp was tightly packed with patrons grooving to the early juggling of Turbo Crown from Spanish Town and one of Portmore’s best, 876AreaCode. Setting the mood with some 1990’s dancehall and reggae selections, the two moved the crowd for about an hour.
At 11:00pm it was clash time with the first round of 30 minutes showcasing each sound system’s ‘juggling skills’. Rebel T won the toss and chose to have Bodyguard begin; and their introduction was quite a fine start as they threw down some vintage tunes from artists like bounty Killer and Super Cat; that got the crowd hyped up.
Rebel T took their turn after an excellent Bodyguard round and they certainly stood their ground. Coming on strong with the same flavor, Rebel T managed to conjure up more audience response and as a result they were chosen as winners of round one by the judges.
It was then on to round two and the ‘tune for tune’ set, during which each sound could only play ten tracks. Bodyguard was a bit sloppy in this round, but that resulted from some unfortunate technical difficulties brought on by some faulty equipment provided by promoters. There was no sympathy in store for Bodyguard as judges gave Rebel T the second round despite the technical hitch that was out of Bodyguard’s control.
‘Dub for dub’ was the theme of round three and dubplates were flying from each sound, but the highlight of the night was a Bodyguard exclusive from Michael Sharp of TVJ; dissing Fire Ras of Rebel T.
The ‘dis’ spoke of Rebel T and some connection to the raping of the farmer’s pigs in the Maypen area. Rebel T walked onto the stage and said, “Dat bad, but hear wah, di people dem a country seh yu lame cause mi get more date a country dan yu.” As Rebel T’s next tune began, the crowd went ‘beserk’ – with torches and cheers going off at just the introduction of his dubplate.
Played by selector Fire Ras the dub was from Chi Ching Ching, and it declared, “Rebel T don’t need no bodyguard, a di girl dem guard we.” The dub continued in dissing mode to say “Bodyguard get buddy everyday.”
A Vybz Kartel special ended the clash with the song titled, “My Place A My Place,” played by Rebel T; and causing a super pumped Fire Ras to jump off the stage in excitement.
Judges, Jack Scorpio and Lain had a difficult time choosing a winner, but the crowd had already indicated their choice. Bodyguard was evidently displeased by the choice made and they walked out of the park.
