Mel Cooke, Freelance Writer

A scuffle between dancers and a few gunshots put an end to Bounty Killer's birthday celebration, 'It's Tha Party', at close to 7:00 a.m. on Sunday morning.

The end came after Alliance selector Foota Hype had whipped the substantial audience at the Rockfort Mineral Spa, St. Andrew, into an early-morning frenzy with a combination of music and commentary, then turned over to selectors from the Fire Link's Fire Squad.

As Hype played, the declarations "we no waan no fren from dem" and "top shotta no miss" from the turntables hit hard, hands going up for 'forwards' in the early morning light, while Munga Honorebel's Bad From Me Born tore the house down.

Sizzla's lyrical 'big long gun' rang out; Busy Signal informed "we not going down", but when Foota Hype delivered Step Out the dancers, already in a frenzy at the front of the audience before the small stage, ran through the crowd at his urging.

One went high on a speaker box to drop legs, seven went in a line high on a ledge above and behind the selector for coordinated hand and foot-swinging moves and yet another set stepped hard on top of a truck, to the extreme delight of the patrons.

No artistes advertised

However, when Foota Hype invited the Fire Squad to play again at 6:30 a.m. and said that he would play after them, then another sound would play, then him again, many persons, who apparently expected performances, left.

No performances had been advertised.

Going well past 3:00 a.m., Stone Love played a trio of Bounty Killer songs on a night when his and musical son Mavado's got the most and many times repeated rotation.

Area Code went roots reggae with Natural Mystic and Dennis Brown's Wolves and Leopards, Tarrus Riley's Beware getting a restart as the crowd cheered.

The party cooled off until Sizzla rasped "no no no way" to turn the Spa over, Full Clip doing the same thing before Area Code went into speech and selections for the women.

Nasheem Fire dropped R&B for the ladies before going yard and hard.

However, there was a commotion and a few gunshots just outside the gate and the sound system was turned off at 6:44 a.m., while a young man holding a bottle of Guinness was restrained near the gate inside the party venue.

At 6:47, after another round of gunshots, a car alarm went off, the sound providing a soundtrack for those who were making measured tracks out of the Mineral Spa.

It was the end of a long night hosted by MC Nuffy, where the sound system improved signifi-cantly from a substandard state in the early going, to acceptable as it heated up.

Gunshots sounded as Bounty Killer intoned "nutten no change a de Killer same one", and there were more when Panther of Black Kat went to Bad Man Place, Nuffy saying before Top Secret played that "de general sey him no want no more a de corn dem".

And in the much earlier going, the gate to the venue, away from the main road, was pushed open and a security guard was given a slap that resounded over Akon's Don't Matter.