WITH a mere four years under its belt, two-man Fire Shane team of Kadeem Morgan and Dwayne Chambers secured its chances to be among Jamaica’s top sound systems after winning the opening round of Guinness Sounds of Greatness 2016, held at Red Stripe Oval in Kingston, last Friday.

“It was a great feeling and was unexpected,” Morgan told the Jamaica Observer.

Fire Shane received $100,000 out of the $1,000,000 available prize fund and will join the other three finalists on December 2.

The fledgling sound system went up against a diverse group of rivals: Royalty Sound, Uncontainables, and Baby Wayne. They made their impact immediately in their first 15-minute session, setting themselves apart and getting the crowd going. By the time Fire Shane faced off in a seven-song dub-for-dub battle with Canada’s Royalty Sound, there was little doubt who the victor would be based on audience feedback.

“In all honesty, we didn’t have any dubplates,” Chambers explained.

And despite not having their dubplates, Royalty Sound was quickly dispatched by Fire Shane.

“We’re planning for the finals,” said Chambers and Morgan.

Baby Wayne was first to exit the competition. Their hypeman, dressed for war, couldn’t deliver after a strong start. Uncontainables were the only sound to come close to Fire Shane in terms of energy and an understanding of what it means to clash, but too many mistakes sent them home packing.

— Rory Daley