It was dub plate madness at the Folly Oval, Portland on Saturday night, November 28 as four sounds vied for a coveted spot in the semi-finals of the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition.

Portlanders came out in droves despite the damp due to earlier showers to witness “juggling” at its best, as Sound Trooper went against Jamrock and Bass Odyssey up against Flava Unit. The two juggling rounds were well received by the enthusiastic crowd while the Tune for tune segment showed the skill of the selectors.

Sound Trooper dominated the contest with Jamrock from the outset. In the ‘Tune for Tune’, Ricky Trooper gave his competitor a lesson in foundation music and had no shortage of dub plates. His first tune of the night, a special by Freddie McGregor, Trooper kill Jamrock ah Folly Oval, elicited thunderous cheers.

Trooper followed with another dub plate by Merital Laugh and kill jamrock ha ha! which caused the place to erupt.

Jamrock made a good counter with Einstein’s Dead Easy but could not get on top of Trooper, as he continued to unleash dub plate after dub plate.

After three rounds, it was clear who the obvious choice was and Sound Trooper was declared winner by emcee Johnny Amsome.

The second face-off, was tainted by sadness as Bass Odyssey observed a moment of silence for its fallen selector and dedicated its set to the late Squingy. In his memory, Bass Odyssey went above and beyond, not disappointing the crowd once. After playing Demarco’s Fallen Soldier it was a complete round of dub plates for Bass Odyssey, ‘I come fi kill sound, so is strictly dubplate!’ declared mic man Damian.

Flava Unit came on stage dressed in red and black biker uniforms and did its own tribute to Squingy, with candles and lighters. Flava Unit’s juggling segment was littered with dance tunes, a few dub plates and a hot segment on the ‘tripple bounce’ riddim. Vybz Kartel’s bicycle and Mavado’s Hope and Pray got the biggest crowd response for that segment.

The ‘tune for tune’ started with a host of Bounty Killa tunes. Flava Unit played Beenie’s Gwan Go Bury You Dead and Bass Odyssey replied with Supercats We Dem Want. The final segment started with a toast to the elders, including several dub plates from foundation artistes including Freddie McGregor, Garnet Silk and Beres Hammond. Flava Unit struggled to stay on top as they pulled Kartel’s Kill Dem. It was a fight to the finish by both sounds, but in the end, Bass Odyssey outclassed Flava Unit.

Both Sound Trooper and Bass Odyssey walked away with cheques for $125,000.

The semi-final round kicks off on Saturday, December 12 in Ewarton, St Catherine where Bass Odyssey will go up against Black Widdo.