Scores of onlookers turned out for the first official night of the Magnum All-Star Sound Clash last Friday (March 3).

The clash will be held weekly at the All-Star headquarters on 153 Olympic Way.

The heated engagement saw Five-Star General coming out victorious after going up against their fierce competitor, Unruly Stumpy, in their first warmup round of the competition.

The Magnum All Star clash will run for 11 weeks. For the first four weeks, two sounds will compete weekly in a series of warm up clashes to showcase their talent for the judges and a live audience. The knockout round begins in week five and will see one sound being eliminated each week until the semi-finals.

Five-Star General kept the winning formula simple on Friday by pulling the right dubs and getting the most forwards, but an equally talented Unruly Stumpy did not go down without a fight. In the end, judges Oral Tracey, Admiral Bailey and DJ Banka declared Five-Star General Sound the winners for the first arm up clash.

Every judge had their own metrics but, having been in the business, DJ Banka was looking for the main elements such as creativity, interaction and juggling.

“When it comes on to a sound clash, I’m looking for creativity, how they use up the stage, how they react and gravitate to the crowd, how they have fun with the crowd – No ego, just non-stop juggling, no negative energy just positive vibes,” he explained.

DJ Scrappy, who was on the scene to observe the clash, shared that Five-Star General deserved the win because of their confidence.

“The clash was nice for me, a Five Star. Unruly Stumpy dem duh dem ting but they aren’t comfortable. From a sound perspective the first sound [Five-Star General] dem come, dem comfortable, them believe inna themselves. Respect to Unruly Stumpy but they need to believe inna themselves and Five Star believe inna sound clash,” he remarked.

The competition is aimed at highlighting some of the nation’s most talented sound systems in dancehall culture and to place Kingston 13 on the map as the birthplace of the sound system in Jamaica.

One community member, Shay Powell, remarked that the activity is a great community-building and celebratory event.

“So far the clash is good vibes and energy, everybody is into it, people are celebrating and I really like that.- It brings out the essence of the event and I love that,” she said.

Patrons could be seen dancing, cheering and waving lighters in the air throughout the night in support of the two sound groups. At the same time, dancers from Romeich Entertainment kept patrons entertained with their rehearsed choreography.

The competition features eight sound system groups vying for a $1-million cash prize, a trophy and the winner’s title. The sound systems groups include: Ruff Cut, Twin Star, Five Star, Rode Code, Black Magic, Echo One, Unruly Stumpy and Rispec Jam.