GT Taylor (right), media personality and preliminary judge of the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition share a moment and a few drinks with Wayne Lawrence (left) marketing director, Red Stripe, at the recent launch event, held at Backyaad on Constant Spring Road in St Andrew. - contributed

The Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition will kick off this Saturday at Ken's Wildflower in Portmore with some of Jamaica's best competitive sound systems vying for the ultimate prize of a quarter million dollars.

In what is expected to be an exciting showdown, the sound system Firesound, which includes popular selector Firelynks, will challenge Rebel T, while Area Code is set to sound off with Black Cat for a shot at the top prize.

Winner by applause

The night's winners will be determined by crowd applause in addition to an assessment by the judges. The top sound systems on the night will receive a cash prize of $130,000.00 each and the opportunity to move to the next round of the competition.

Over 20 of Jamaica's top sound systems were invited to participate in the tournament, which is now down to eight contestants, who have been selected by leading dancehall personalities such as Isaiah Laing, GT Taylor and DJ Liquid.

According to brand manager Gareth Geddes, the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition is the perfect avenue to highlight the positive aspects of dancehall music.

The best way

"Guinness knows dancehall and what works for a great dancehall event. A sound system competition, which honours the origin of dancehall, is definitely one of the best ways to celebrate this," Geddes said.

"The appeal of the dancehall comes from what these selectors do at a session, just imagine when two sound systems meet to see who can do it best; partygoers will love it," he added.

On September 27, the remaining four contestants will face off in Cambridge, St. James, when Bass Odyssey takes on Bodyguard and Swatch International will face Pisces.

Following that, the top four who will form the semi-final round, are set to meet on October 19 in Highgate, St. Mary and on October 25 in Wakefield, Trelawny, with two sound systems facing off at each location.

November 1, 2008 is the final day of competition and the top two coming out of the semi-final round will face each other at the Kingston Waterfront, where the battle for supremacy will leave one standing.