Guinness brand manager, Gareth Geddes (left) presents Rebel T selectors with their cheque after they defeated Pieces to advance to the finals of the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition scheduled for November 15. - Contributed photos

The Alexandria Marketplace in the district of Alexandria, St Ann, was the backdrop for the second semi-finals Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition. The show, held last Saturday, saw the Rebel T and Pieces sounds going head to head for the opportunity to walk away with $100,000 in cash and the right to compete against Bodyguard at the finals, scheduled for November 15 at Mas Camp in New Kingston.

Judges for the night were sound system- great Jack Scorpio and popular radio disc-jock DJ Smurf. The two had to consider tune consistency and versatility, toasting ability and tune intro skills, and crowd support and response when scoring the two sound systems in the three challenges - 30-minute straight jugglin', 'tune fi tune', and a dub plate contest.

Straight Jugglin'

It was clear that Pieces came to St Ann to impress, and started their 30-minute set with a dub of Stephen and Damian Marley's The Mission. They then blessed the crowd with The Lord Is My Shepherd. With only 30 minutes to impress the crowd, they enjoyably raced through some real Reggae music, with Bob Marley and Dennis Brown tunes getting the crowd excited.

When Rebel T took control of the turntables, their set started with a dub, explaining, "If you violate Mad Ras, Rebel T gonna cut you down".

Rebel T then got down to business, and easily ignited the crowd with Jimmy Cliff's Rebel In Me and again with Change Is Going To Come. The crowd illuminated the sky with lighters when Sizzla's Rise To The Occasion started playing, and Rebel T rode the wave of 'forwards' until their birth into current chart riders, using Richie Spice's De Plane Land to make their presence felt even more.

Tune Fi Tune

Both sound systems were given 15 selections to challenge their opponent, with Pieces going first again. Their first tune was Jimmy Cliff's The Harder They Come, which got the crowd mildly excited. However, when Rebel T sounded the gospel tune, Fire, the audience almost erupted with excitement and left Pieces to fire back with Admiral Bailey's God Pickeny.

Dub fi Dub

The dub selections from Pieces did not impress Alexandria in the least. The crowd stood still as they dusted off archaic dubs from artistes like Garnett Silk and others.

Rebel T, however, came prepared with dub tunes to "kill", and Pieces felt the brunt of it when the crowd responded vigorously to each of the 12 dubs Rebel T played. With artistes like Konshens, General B and Monster Shack, Tarrus Riley and Jigsy King lending their voices to send Pieces packing. Rebel T could not be held back.

And the winner is ...

After the two judges came onstage and disclosed their tally, which had Rebel T leading in all three rounds of the contest, the crowd needed to vote.

With the immense response from the near 3000 patrons inside the Alexandria Marketplace, it came as no surprise when comedian Elva announced the winner of this semi-final round clash in the Guinness Sounds of Greatness clash to be Rebel T.

A smiling Mad Ras declared that Bodyguard had better watch out. Rebel T played 24 songs in the first round, compared to Pieces' 37, while the victors got positive (and loud) crowd response for 11 of the tunes they selected in the tune for tune segment, more than double Pieces' five. They also got high points in the dub for dub segment, and were congratulated by both Jack Scorpio and DJ Smurf for Mad Ras' toasting ability.

The patrons were then treated to jugglin' by the winning sound until early Sunday morning, something that they thoroughly enjoyed.

The Guinness crew will roll inside the Mas Camp for the finals of the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition, when Bodyguard will take on Rebel T for the title, "Greatest Sound".

An excited section of the crowd obviously enjoying the jugglin' onstage, during the second semi-final match in the Guinness Sounds of Greatness competition between Pieces and Rebel T in Alexandria, St Ann.