TROOPER MAKES WINNING START

Ricky Trooper was at his best Thursday night, when his sound demolished veteran sound system Silver Hawk, headed by Richie Pooh, as the 2018 edition of the Boom All Stars Sound Clash got underway in Olympic Gardens, St Andrew.

"This is just a normal clash for Sound Trooper. We used experience and beat Silver Hawk. They were no match," Ricky Trooper said after his team won all four rounds of the sound clash.

However, Richie Pooh, while not protesting his loss, said that the judges were unprofessional during the clash. He said that they overreacted whenever Trooper played a 'big' song.

All three judges, Nigel Staff of Ruff Cut band, Rodney Campbell, and Esco, agreed that Trooper won the clash.

Throughout the clash, Ricky Trooper, who was attired in camouflage, was in a no-nonsense mood. He threw jabs at Richie Poo and his son Giggy B, referring to the lad as a 'jacket'. this caused quite an uproar in the venue. A Shabba Ranks dublate, None a dem nuh bad like Ricky Trooper, played by Trooper's sound system, got the biggest 'forward' of the night.

Eight sound systems are vying for a million dollars and bragging rights. Two more sounds will square off next week.

Japanese sound system Yard Beat Sound walked away the winners over Jamaica's Bass Odyssey in last year's final.

Patrons and practitioners attending Thursday night's event said that sound clashes bring necessary excitement and rivalry to the dancehall genre. DJ Banka, a hardcore disc jock and a runner-up in the inaugural Boom All Stars Sound Clash, said that "sound clashes are very important to dancehall, because they show how versatile a selector can be."

DJ Banka, who played for Della Soul Sound against SK International in the final, said that a foreign sound has the ammunition to win a sound clash in Jamaica.

"To be honest, it wouldn't surprise me if a foreign sound wins this year, because the overseas-based sound systems spend a lot of money on dubplates, which keep them competitive with our local sounds. Sound clashes are the root of where dancehall is coming from, and people should love and appreciate them."

Ming Khaotic, manager of No Limit International, which is based in Clarendon, said that sound clashes are important to the livelihood and existence of sound systems in Jamaica.

"The music actually draws tourists to our shores and is a good foreign exchange earner. It promotes all aspects of our culture, and sound clashes bring out the versatility in selectors," she said.