With Masicka and Tommy Lee Sparta having released “diss” tracks aimed at each other, dancehall’s “war season” has officially begun.

In less than 24 hours, the entertainment space has been ignited by a potentially explosive lyrical showdown between the Genasyde boss and the Spartan after Tommy Lee fired shots at Masicka through his single, Control.

Control, released on Monday afternoon, warned Masicka not to “size up wid di Gaza don (Vybz Kartel)”, after recent chatter in the music sphere that Vybz Kartel and Masicka have been at loggerheads. Though the latter has not been confirmed or addressed by either Kartel or Masicka, Tommy Lee’s track takes direct aim at Masicka, whom he referred to as a mosquito with no real “street cred”.

That track gained early momentum, especially among dedicated Gaza fans who lauded Tommy Lee for seizing the opportunity to put Masicka in his place.

Tensions have been running high between Genasyde fans and Gaza loyalists since Reggae Sumfest, where Vybz Kartel was officially crowned King of the Dancehall. Masicka, who declared that it would be his last appearance at the summer show, made reference to himself as the “greatest of all time” as he urged promoters to put some respect on his name.

The Triumph deejay did not mention Kartel directly during that time and even said his onstage comments were aimed at show organisers; still, the ongoing war of words over titles may have led to the current feud between Tommy Lee and Masicka.

This was seemingly confirmed when Masicka returned lyrical fire early Tuesday morning. In his song Vain, Masicka delivered a potent response to Tommy Lee as he declared, “mi say mi a di GOAT a who fi vex” even while making it clear, he doesn’t make a habit of mingling with “demons”. The latter was a direct aim at Tommy Lee, who, at the earliest stages of his career, referred to himself as “uncle demon”.

Masicka, in his five-minute-long lyrical onslaught, accused Tommy Lee of piggybacking on Vybz Kartel’s post-incarceration wave. Masicka shared that as someone who made it up the ranks of the dancehall hierarchy solely on his own merit, he is in a league of his own. He went on to share that during Tommy Lee’s incarceration between 2021 and 2023, the Sparta boss reached out for a collaboration but shared that he declined. He then went on to state that with a “watered-down” career, even his teenage son is living better than the Sparta boss.

Both artistes are being praised for their lyrical potency by each of their fan bases and have been encouraged to continue the showdown so long as they do not get physical. Listeners have also declared the war of words as a good look for dancehall, as the space needed some excitement, especially going into the Christmas season.

“This makes me smile, dancehall needs some sense of humour sometimes, 90s baby, stand up. Fi we type a war this,” one user commented under a post of the Masicka diss track on Instagram.

“Big people segment yah now mi love. This is dancehall,” another wrote.