KEVIN Barrett, owner of Ruffcut International Sound System, is confident that the popularity of the “sound” will continue to grow despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The pandemic has impacted the sound system business very negatively but I haven’t allowed that to stop the growth of my sound system. We’re still cutting a lot of dubplates and we’re participating in online events – this has helped us to keep the momentum going for Ruffcut,” said Barrett.

Currently, there is ban on all entertainment events, and for gatherings – whether public or private – these should accomodate no more than 15 people at a time.

Barrett, who hails from the breadbasket parish of St Elizabeth, said online events are now the mainstay for sound systems.

“Online events is the thing that’s keeping the sound system business alive because the COVID-19 restrictions have made it almost impossible for promoters to keep regular events. As a sound system operator and a music lover, I long for the day when things will get back to normal and we’ll see a lot of events taking place again,” he said.

Ruffcut recently won the popular online 45 Shop Lock clash series in December, walking away with a cash prize of $200,000 and a the first-place trophy.

“Ruffcut is not an easy sound to beat – we go hard when we enter a clash. Our most recent victory was against Q45 sound and Super Bass sound in the second staging of the 45 Shop Lock competition. I have to big up my selectors Fire Blacks, Unruly OJ, Juice, Fabby, Marvin, Grafix, Fire Pirate and the rest of this team for winning the competition,” he said.

Barrett added, “We’ve only been in the business for five years and we’ve come along way. I don’t see us stopping anytime soon; this sound is going to keep growing as we go on to bigger and better things.”