Rankin Pumpkin gets strong support from Japan - deejay to clash Suspense; Vanzo and Symatic to face off

Rankin Pumpkin's manager, Desmond Harvey, says Japan has been supporting the artiste and supplying her campaign with money and phone credit.

According to the manager, based on the strong support from her homeland, Rankin Pumpkin should not lose the Magnum Kings and Queen of Dancehall 2017.

"Rankin has never taken a pan on the road to beg money because our support is strong in Japan. Her family sells cars in Japan and own a car company. So they are also motivating their customers to vote for Rankin Pumpkin," he said.

They have also been sending credit to her phone number. Sometimes so much credit comes in that phone signal just block out. Japan is a unified community, and if a vote alone Rankin Pumpkin can't lose."

Impressive showing

Rankin Pumpkin has advanced to the finals of the Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall competition where she will face-off with fellow Magnum princess, Suspense, tonight at the Police Officers' Club in St Andrew.

On the men's side, Symatic will go up against crowd favourite Vanzo.

The Japanese deejay's rise to the top of the competition came as a surprise to many because she lacks clarity and her lyrics are mostly repetitive. She has also been harshly criticised by even show judge Skatta, who believes she cannot deejay and should not have gotten this far in the show.

Nonetheless, she is still in the finals, and despite her less than impressive showing at last Saturday's pre-clash, Harvey insists that the display was just practice.

"We have been writing songs, and we will be going 1,000 per cent harder than last week," he said.

The manager also revealed that Rankin Pumpkin has a strong following in Montego Bay.

"People think it's only Japan, but we have nuff support from Jamaicans especially in Montego Bay because she lives here. We have been in the craft markets and people have been giving us positive feedback. We have been teaching adults to vote as well because many adults are drawn to her, but they don't really understand how to vote," he said, noting that Rankin Pumpkin is already racking up bookings for events both locally and internationally.