The Ron Nelson Review – Fully Loaded Metamorphosis 2013 @ On The Rocks 12.06.13 — First off, a special thanks to all the Sounds who participated in Fully Loaded Metamorphosis – you had the guts to show up and not back out of the war – I respect that! And a special thanks also to all my staff and Judges for this event – you all did an excellent job in ensuring the smooth running of a pivotal event. Last but not least – thanks to all the fans who showed up to support Fully Loaded and cheer for their favourite Sounds. The audio will prove just how exciting this night was for true clash fans! (BTW – Apologies for the weak pics, hard to take pics and run a promotion same time!).

So the entire plans to split 12 Sounds into a Black and Red Division had to be scrapped when three Sounds failed to show up for the event – with no advance notice that they would be running from the event. Missing at the time of the draw for playing positions was Starkade, VIP, and Illmatic. So with nine Sounds ready to go, the draw took place, and after a bit of confusion and a 30-minute delayed start time, nine Sounds were ready to battle it out for the 2013 Fully Loaded title, the trophy, and $3,000 in Cash Prizes courtesy of Ron Nelson Promotions.

Newby was the MC (replacing Prophet who had to attend to a personal matter in Yard. Nicole was on the Time Clock and Big G was on the Video. Fat Kat was controlling the Audio Recording and Power Point and Shakey was on the Engineering tip. Lisa West, Roger, Chocolate and Plucky occupied the Front Lines. Judging the event would be Chris Dubbs (CIUT), Randy (Rootsman), Big Roy (Sniper Sound), Fouti Rankin (Don Rankin Sound), Blaxz Dun Da Place (Super Gold Sound) and “judgemaster” Jr. (Twin Star). Most of the people in the place at this time were Soundmen and their friends, and not too many women to start things off.

ROUND ONE: FULLY LOADED METAMORPHOSIS

SOUND O1: Brimstone Gold

The first Sound up was Brimstone Gold – a Sound from Scarborough who had parked their Sound for about 5 years until making their return in Fully Loaded. Nobody quite knew what to expect from Brimstone, but selectors MC Nolan and DJ Roach seemed hyped and ready to start things off, and doing so appropriately by dedicating their first tune (Luciano – Never Give Up The Fight) and speech to the late great Nelson Mandela. This was a solid Round for Brimstone, who delivered Dubs featuring artists the likes of Bushman, Bounty Killer, Cobra-Sizzla (combination), and more. The Brimstone MC sounded quite confident, and their dubs sounded good on the system. Brimstone used the Round as a warm up opportunity (as did most Sounds in the first Round), and called out Cumtraxx’s name.

SOUND 02: Cumtraxx

Cummtraxx was second up to bat, and just like with Brimstone Gold, they paid tribute to Nelson Mandela at the start of their set. Their choice of song was Jah Bouk’s “Angola”, perfect for the Mandela tribute but perhaps not good news for Klymaxx who is known for playing that dub hard. Aside from a slight audio glitch, the Cummtraxx set was a good warm up session for the Sound, who seemed to play things conservatively with downbeat dubs featuring artists such as I Octane and Terry Ganzie (Prepare Fi War). Brimstone had called their name in their set before, so Cummtrax dissed them back.

SOUND 03: Mystic

Mystic started off their set by bigging up God – a good speech, followed up by a beautiful Luciano accapella. DJ Fabian and MC Tyrone were confident from the beginning and they would gain more confidence as the night went on. It was a good Round for Mystic, and the tempo of the dance showed it’s first signs of increasing. They ended their set with Bounty Killer’s “Just Mek A Duppy Wid Mi Nine”.

SOUND 04: Klymaxx

Klymaxx started off with strong confidence and energy, bragging that as a nineties Sound, they were going to destroy all of the new millennium Sounds in the building. MC Squidley and DJ Specialist went hard for the entire first Round, and made some good speeches, calling our Soul Survival’s name in the process stating that they were going to “eliminate” certain crucial tunes from their box. Dubs played included Vybz Kartel, I-Octane and Dennis Brown. Klymaxx dissed Cummtraxx, calling them “internet bad boys” while Klymaxx were still “bad boys pon waist”!

SOUND 05: Eclipse

Eclipse’s first Round was okay, selector-MC Megga can throw the badman talk, and made some comments about not having to “box a bwoy in his face” cause his face is “mash up already”, and about how Sounds were bigging up themselves despite nobody being in the dance yet. Mystic was also on Megga’s list of Sounds to diss. One problem – Megga played on stage right, and appeared hidden behind his laptop-stand during his set, taking away from the badman threat a bit as there was no stagemanship, and the eye contact with the audience was missing.

SOUND O6. Black Magic

Black Magic came ready to war, their only problem seemed to be having to re-adjust after dropping their laptop on the venue floor minutes before the clash started. Fortunately for Black Magic, they had a second laptop on the premises. Black Magic was quick to diss Eclipse, using the very recently passed Junior Mervin “Cool Out Son” dubplate to make their point (“Sound don’t put your hat where you can’t reach it”…). After being off to a decent start, Black Magic suffered from an audio glitch or technical difficulty that people in the audience automatically assumed was as a result of the damaged laptop they thought was being used by Black Magic. MC Cutthroat seemed rightfully disturbed by the sound popping down (my guess is their laptop crashed), but he recovered a bit with a joke about not being an “electrician”, because his “profession is forklift”. I-Wayne and Chris Martin were some of the artists played on dub during this Round.

SOUND 07: Kevlartone

Kevlartone came ready to war, and was the only Sound to incorporate their own SFX-sampler with their dub plate deliveries. Kevlartone was the first and only Sound to prematurely “touch” the Fully Loaded trophy, stating during their set that it would be going to Weston Rd and Finch by nights end while parading aRound on stage with it (a no-no). Kevlartone had an okay Round and dissed Black Magic and Cummtraxx (calling their selector a “deportee bwoy”) in the process. Newby picked up off their vibe at the end of their set, bigging them up and encouraging the audience to support their local sounds instead of being bias and only choosing to listen to them in their basements.

Sound 8. Studio Mixx

Studio Mixx has reappeared on the clash scene after being missing for a few years. DJ Tony Killa and MC Shawty Glock were now running a Sound that had some of their best times when Rida, Barba and Jr. D (Fully Loaded clash head judge) was playing the Sound. Known for having some of the best cut dubs ever featuing Buju Banton and Bounty Killer, Studio Mixx stated that they came to “kill everything”, but that their first Round would be a “creep before you walk” Round, and that any Sound built after 2004 couldn’t kill Studio Mixx. This was an okay Round for Studio Mixx, but despite using strong dubs and racing out of the gate, there were sound problems that threw off their momentum (dunno who to blame for those sound problems). They would have to come better on the next Round.

Sound 9: Soul Survival

Soul Survival, the Fully Loaded defending champions, came into the event to win it, and despite DJ Jr. Selector’s absence (he’d been away attending university and did not play the Sound this night), this Sound delivered a solid Round, starting things off with a counteraction to Cummtraxx’s “Angola” (Jah Bouks) with their own specialized Jah Bouks Soul Survival version, and following this up with big dubs featuring artists the likes of Barrington Levy-Bounty Killer (combination), Bounty Killer (Guntown), Busy Signal and more. It was a good set, just too short. Soul Survival’s MC Bumpy Rage appeared sharp and confident, definitely more composed than he’d ever sounded in the past.

1st Round Analysis:

It’s hard to tell who’s leading the dance at this point, but the weak links are starting to stand out. I would say it looked good for about four out of the nine sounds. People were slow to come in, and the large venue created a big space between the performers and audience. The first Round was no elimination so Sounds were expected to bring up their level in Round Two.

ROUND TWO: FULLY LOADED METAMORPHOSIS ( 2 Sounds Must Go…)

Sound 01: Brimstone Gold

Brimstone Gold attacked Black Magic to start off their second Round, stating that they already popped down by dropping their laptop, and earning crowd support by coming hard with dubs by Capleton, Kabaka Pyramid, Cobra-Busy (combination), more Cobra and Bounty Killer. Many dubs were new (previously unheard) and the string of dubs were mixed well helping to keep the vibe up. The Brimstone MC’s mic need to be louder as many of his speeches were smothered somewhat by the music, still, an overall good Round for Brimstone.

Sound 02: Cumtraxx

Another good Round for Cumtraxx, dissing Black Magic by stating that the Sound had “worked magic pon itself”, and dissing Brimstone Gold by stating he’d heard of all kinds of Gold but never “Brimstone Gold”. The Cumtraxx MC started strong and had a good clear vocal presentation, keeping their Round exciting and increasing the vibes in the dance as people had started coming into the venue now armed with their free whistles. Their mixing was very choppy at times but it was a nice Round with big tunes by big artists including Jah Vinci, Beenie Man and Cocoa Tea.

Sound 03: Mystic

This was not Mystic’s best Round musically, and it’s at this point where people began to suspect that Mystic was going to follow the Sky Juice strategy used by Metromedia in the recent 2013 USA World Clash victory. MC Tyrone stated at the start of his set that “his mother’s TV wah change”, saying that “she have di big Round one” and that he wants to buy her the “flat screen” one. He did get a few laughs for this, whether it was a true statement or not never really mattered. Tyrone also dissed Cumtraxx by stating “Ah you grab Ron Nelson lox, battybwoy”. Tyrone’s antics however wasn’t enough to cover up the lack of quality tunes delivered by Mystic in this Round. Brimstone had just unleashed a string of new dubs freshly cut, but Mystic on the other hand, were exposed as more outdated, as several of their Mavado dubs were not new enough to get the crowd’s respect, and other Mavados sounded very out of tune with a mixing presentation of dubs that was erratic. I suspected Mystic was sitting on tunes at this point, hoping that in the end poor performances by other sounds would help them squichee through. The Sound got little ray-ray at the conclusion of their set from the fans, but when all was said and done it wasn’t a terrible Round for Mystic, but it wasn’t the best one either.

Sound 04: Klymaxx

Klymaxx started by dissing Cummtraxx, stating that they “already pop down”, then dissing Mystic by referring to them as “a thing of the past” with “a selector named Fairyland” (referring to Fabian). Klymaxx said they wanted to “kill everything”, following up with dubs by Freddie McGregor, Pinchers (Return of the Don), Beenieman, Panhead-Buju (combination), and more. They told Kevlartone they would show them how to play Bounty on “badbwoy riddims”, and also dissed Mystic. The mixing was not tight in the Round but the speeches were clear and consistent. Like many of the Sounds who played before them, Klymaxx was guilty of not watching the scoreboard clock.

Sound 05: Eclipse

Megga had a good idea by attacking Black Magic, stating that they “come from America” yet should be ashamed because they had to “run lef it and come a Canada”. Unfortunately when it came time to follow up the speech with tunes, the audio problems began, and the audience heard an irritating buzz but not music. Some time went by before the problem would be resolved. Eventually, with some help, Megga’s music once again was audible and dubs were played by Sizzla (Holding Firm), Chronixx (No Giving In) before his audio problems returned, the buzz was back. Megga waved the white flag at this point, giving in when instructing sound engineers to “turn everything down” so he take over two minutes to properly big up his King of the Ring clash event that he was promoting for the following Friday. Eclipse blamed sound engineers for his audio problems, but knows deep down he only had himself to blame. A couple of Kabaka Pyramid dubs ended the Eclipse set.

Sound 06: Black Magic

Black Magic acknowledged to the crowd that technical difficulties had impeded their first Round performance, but that in this Round, the would redeem themselves. Again, Megga and his Total Eclipse Sound was their target, as Cutthroat got a few laughs when stating that Megga was a “pussy” wearing his “Michael Jackson pop down jacket”, and that he was ready to “send dem to the cemetery”. He anchored his speech by later stating to Megga (promoter of the upcoming King of the Ring clash) – “any dance you a keep, only five people attend dat!” (followed up by “Every Man Has A Right To Decide It”).

Black Magic’s set was choppy musically and their audio levels were erratic, some smoother mixing is needed by this Sound. Many of Cutthroat’s speeches were out of sync with the music and did not register with any lethalness, yet this MC still brought some creative points of view vocally to this clash, and may be guilty of getting tired half way through the Round. Still, Black Magic played some good dubs after by Buju Banton, Mad Cobra “Hunt Seek and Find and Kill”, and a out-a-tune Beres (Sound From Dying) dub. Time ran out to conclude the end of Black Magic’s second Round.

Sound 07: Kevlartone

Big up Kevlartone for their customized dubplate which almost single handedly got them through this second Round. This dub clearly and concisely called out the names of competitors in Fully Loaded – Klymaxx, Mystic, Soul Survival, Starkade, Studio Mixx, Black Magic, Brimstone, as well as no-shows (VIP, Starkade, and Ilmatic). It was not just that the dub was played either, Kevlartone had the stagemanship to back it up. Their upbeat selection of dubs following was also refreshing compared to everything previously heard, and good speeches were delivered by the Kevlartone selector, who called out Klymaxx about Bounty Killer. The SFX-Sampler unit also added a little flare to the Kevlartone set, and made their style unique. Kevlartone dissed Mystic for not having any “new” Mavado dubs, and for not having any money, then followed up the speech with Mavado’s “Steppa” dub. A brave Round for Kevlartone, even though the fans were mediocre in their after-Round response.

Sound 08: Studio Mixx

When Studio Mixx was ready to start their set, unlike in their previous Round, only one member of the Sound was standing to defend it. DJ Killa, who had previously just been that, a DJ, was now DJ and MC, was now defending the Studio Mixx Sound by himself. Stated Killa in referring to former members of the old version of Studio Mixx, “Jr D and Barber – big respect”, then in a classic turn of direction with his next breath, proceed to diss his missing MC Shawty Glock; stated Killa, “ a pure coward a Round Studio Mix, yuh nuh see mi selector run lef me…man a nuh bloodclaat coward, but me stand up a defend this, any day, any hour, any second”! Killa anchored his speech by again dissing his runaway MC, stating “Shawty  – you’re a pussy!”.

The audience loved this, and the place got loud with cheers and whistles of approval for Killa’s warrior spirit. Beres Hammond’s “One Dub, One Life” followed up the speech. It was a good moment, Killa bragged that he could “play Bounty and Buju all night”, but then technical problems made his dubs inaudible, and a great start was staggered by a negative momentum shift. Killa would return with some Tarrus Riley, bragging that “A Galloway mi born and defend”, and that at the end of the day you would see that he’s “a bloodclaat warrior”! Big up Killa for this Round, he got big forwards, making people get off their chairs and “two-tiles” and move towards the stage for the first time in the dance, including an excited and jubilant Fire Kid Steenie who just couldn’t resist jumping on the stage to personally deliver his forwards to Killa. Killa anchored his Round by stating that “Nobody can talk to Studio Mixx when it comes to Bounty Killer”, and got very good cheers, whistles and applause by Round’s end.

Sound 09: Soul Survival

Again confident right out of the gate, Bumpy stated to Klymaxx and Traxx, “You a play splice tune, your Cocoa Tea dem a John Mouse”. Soul Survival then played one of my personal favourite dubplates, Jah Cure’s “That Girl” (Let Me Kill Soundboy). The vibes were now official in the clash. Bumpy then dealt with Kevlartone, who had paraded the trophy earlier in the clash; “Kelvartone, next time you come up yah, don’t touch mi bloodclaat trophy”. Again I must state, big dubs were dropped in this Round by Soul Survival, I-Octane (Bus A Blank), Mavado (At The Top Its Jus Us). There was a short computer glitch which stalled the Soul Survival performance but Survival came back with a strong ending with their Cobra “Mek Another Duppy” dub. Cobra was working in this clash, along with Buju and especially Bounty. This was the end of Round 2, time to eliminate two sounds.

END OF ROUND TWO – Eliminated Black Magic and Eclipse

ROUND THREE: Fully Loaded Metamorphosis ( 2 Sounds Must Go/7 Remains…)

Sound 01: Brimstone Gold

Brimstone addressed the low mic issue by demanding that the engineer turn up his mic becaue “the people can’t hear him”. Brimstone played the Brimstone style in the Round, doing what they wanted, showcasing new quality dubs featuring Spragga, Beenie, Bounty-Sizzla (combo), and more, but not over-concentrating on killing any particular Sound. Stated MC Megga – “Brimstone has played the best combinations, the newest Bounty Killers so far”. They played a Capleton called “Wah” that bigged up all the Toronto garrisons, and again used the Round to rub Cobra in people’s faces with more new Cobra dubs. Brimstone ended their set by stating, “Remember Brimstone gave you your money’s worth – new music”.

Sound 02: Cummtraxx

Cummtraxx has about eight people in their crew, and the MC for the past two Rounds it appeared was made to sit on the bench as a new MC talked the mic for Cummtraxx in this Round. Cummtraxx, one would have thought, would come hard this Round, but their presentation was more of the early juggling nature during this critical time. Dubs included Luciano (Serve Jah), Tarrus Riley (Beware), Bushman (Fire Pon A Weak Sound), Bounty Killer (Fren Fish), Steven Di Genius McGregor and Tommy Lee. Cummtraxx musical set was choppy in this Round, meaning the tempo of their music went up and down without smooth MC transitions as the glue. This change of MC in my opinion backfired (slightly), it’s not that the MC wasn’t good, but just not appropriate for clashment, and lacking a killer throat-cutting instinct in his vocal style. He even politely ended the Cummtraxx set by giving props to Soul Survival for counter-acting their “Angola” Jah Bouks dub with their own, and then proceeded to play their Jah Bouks version called “Sound Bwoy Obiah”. Overall a Round that didn’t say much for Cummtraxx, and in the case of the MC’s, why fix something if it ain’t broke?

Sound 03: Mystic

Tyrone’s first point in Round Three – “Dem run outta bloodclaat tune”. He then responded to an earlier “toilet” aruguement dub with his own Bounty response (Your Mouth is A Toilet/Clappa Clappa Clap), another Bounty (Lodge dub), then a Ras Demo (England born–now living in Canada) dub that bigged up every single Metro Toronto garrison, which got Mystic nice forwards. Tyrone stated to Soul Survival – “You spend your money and bring a busload a bloodclaat people, but see this sound Mystic..”. After that came some Bounty Killer. Mystic then went back to his Sky Juice antics, stating to the crowd, “Dem say mi nuh have nuh money, but mi a play some bloodclaat tune fi uno”. Mavado’s “All Dem A Talk” followed, then the level was upped with another more up to date and better sounding “March Out” Mavado dub. A great turn-a-round Round for Mystic, with lots of noise form the massive at the conclusion of the Round

Sound 04: Klymaxx

Squidley started his set by addressing the Soul Survival style he’d heard during their end-of Round Two set which was in his opinion, the wrong style to bring to a clash. Stated Squidley, “I can’t understand why certain Sounds come here a play Top-40 tunes on jiggi-jiggi Riddims”. He continued; “Di man dem fi voice artists on some bad bwoy riddims, we nuh come here to make friends”. Klymaxx followed up with big dubs by Buju, Beenie, and Bounty. Squidley stated; “We a go show Soul Survival how to voice bad artists on bad riddims”. Squidley referred to Tyrone (Mystic) tune about “shit” then played a Beenie counter action, “Toilet Mi Come”. I’m not sure how to call this Round for Klymaxx, who got a good applause at the conclusion of it. Personally, I felt that they were holding back tunes, and playing conservatively in the process perhaps in part because they would be clashing one week later, and after measuring their level of competition, would not expose all critical tunes in their box. Of course, this was just in my head.

Sound 05: Kevlartone

This Round was not great for Kevlartone who took a slight shot at Mystic before playing dubs featuring Sammy Dread, Pinchers (Meggamix), Mavado, Bounty Killer, Major Makerel, and Vybz Kartel. Unfortunately, the Kevlartone MC really had nothing piercing to say in this third critical Round, there was no favourable response from the crowd, almost as if they didn’t bring any fans. Kevlartone needs better stagemanship, and has to learn how to draw the crowd into loving them by directly communicating with the audience. Some of this will come with more experience, but for now, despite how hard they tried, it didn’t look good for Kevlartone.

Sound 06: Studio Mixx

Solo DJ-MC Killa started his set by thanking the people for their patience, then went on to diss Kevlartone, stating that they “run out of Bounty”. Stated Killa-“Kevlartone, you a call out Studio Mixx name like you have Bounty like Studio Mixx….Bounty!” Then came Bounty (Tell Yuh Modda Bawl Whose Dem Fi Call), then another Bounty (War!). Studio Mixx seemed to be targeting in particular, the Kevlartone Sound because they had called his name. They played Jr. Demus and a couple of Mad Cobras and criticized a “certain sound” for being so “dumb” to play Tommy Lee inna “bloodclaat war”, and bigging up all the Christians and “church-going people”. Killa ended his set with Buju on the Mission Impossible Riddim, and got a slight response at Round’s end.

Sound 07: Soul Survival

Soul Survival started this Round with confidence, stating that they were now ready to “lock off all of dem”, and they played the dub Admiral Bailey “Tek Yuh Mind Offa Mi-Tin Pan Sound Tek Your Mind Offa Mi”. Bumpy then called all the Soul Survival girls to step up, bragging to the audience and other Sounds “A we bring di most girls come a dance”. Bumpy then took a shot at Klymaxx, stating to them – “Klymaxx, you hava a bag a man a blow whistle”. Big dubs came next by artists like Jah Cure (Inna Dis ya Soundclash Region-Pain Riddim), Junior Reid (“Dem a Use Dem Brain – It’s shame when a sound is feeling pain”. Bumpy then attacked Mystic having played insincerely, a dub that bigged up all the Toronto garrisons. Stated Bumpy, “Dem a big up di place and don’t mean it. When mi say Jane and Finch, Flemo, Scarborough, mi mean it from mi heart, run tune”.

This was a good speech, and got the crowd going. Jane Street, Flemington, Galloway were also bigged up (Damian Marley-Set Up Shop Dub). Soul Survival brought it this Round, bringing the clash to a high level with all their fans (and mostly female) parading on a dancefloor that for the most part, had been abandoned throughout the night. Soul Survival had come hard this Round, and was not holding back tunes. They stated to the crowd that “Klymaxx played three tunes on the riddim and it bloodclaat pop down”. A good Round for Soul Survival.

End of Round 3 — Eliminated from this Round is: Cummtraxx and Kevlartone

ROUND 4: Fully Loaded Metamorphosis ( 2 Sounds Must Go/5 Remains…)

Sound 01: Brimstone Gold

Brimstone Gold couldn’t hide their grin, obviously happy they’d made it this far after being away from the clash scene for so long. MC Nolan stated to the crowd, “Brimstone still inna di dance cause dem is bloodclaat creative youths”. They played solid dubs featuring Bounty, Beenie Man, Vybz Kartel and even Method Man (to end their set), but it was apparent now that Brimstone’s box wasn’t deep enough to take them through the next Round, even though they got a decent applause after. Their Round was highlighted by a couple of memorable speeches, where MC Nolan stated, “Some man only bad when dem beat up dem gyal”, and by telling Mystic’s MC Tyrone, to “stop drink or he’ll fall of the bloodclaat stage”.

Sound 02: Mystic

Mystic bigged up the Soul Survival crew in their start, congratulating them for bringing to the dance “one busload a people”. Tyrone actually bigged up the fans, before responding to Bumpy’s (Soul Survival) earlier antics where he stated that it was he who was bigging up the Toronto garrisons truly from his heart. He also announced to the fans that it was Mystic who had “won” Rounds One, Two, and Three. Tyrone was his acrobatic self, jumping on and off the stage and at times running into the audience. Dubs by Luciano and Barrington Levy (My Woman – No Sound Can Give Mystic Problems).

 Tyrone appeared to be running out of breath in this Round, and using his Skyjuice vibe, thanked “Spyda” for always supporting his barber shop which was needed to help him pay his rent. He was succeeding in getting the crowd on his side, although the music at times smothered his vocals a bit. Tyrone stated, “Dem say mi bruk and mi nuh have nuh money, but I’m gonna play tune”. He told Soul Survival he was going to “write them off” and followed with Harry Toddler (Certain Bwoy) and Shabba (Powder) on dub, then a Baby Cham after (War Dem Forever) and then a Bugle (Nuh Compatible) dub. Tyrone to me, got the best stagemanship award for the night.

Sound 03: Klymaxx

Klymaxx referred to the Sounds left in the dance and Soul Survival in particular as “one bag of jump up hype up”, and stated that they could “defend themselves”. A Super Black dub was a highlight (All Di While Dem Come Inna Di Dance A Gwaan Like Dem Big and Dem Broad – Wi Ago Bury Dem). Squidley stated, “the race is not for the swift”, because in the previous Round, “mi give it to dem easy, trick dem”. Some Sugar Minott came after that (Dem a Gwaan Like a Dem alone Run Tings) and some Shabba (Punnaney Haffi Kill mi Dead) for the ladies. Klymaxx had good fan support for this Round, but they did get some boos which they neatly smothered. They performed with confidence in this Round, perhaps knowing that they “deserved” to move forward.

Sound 04: Studio Mixx

Killa seem a bit dazzled that he had made it this far in the clash. Looking for a forward, he again chose to diss his selector who had ran out on him, stating that at the moment, his selector was “walking back to Brampton” and asked if anyone could “pick him up” because he “needed a ride”. Killa played more nicely cut Buju on big riddims, although this was the Round where the audience started leaving him. It was now clear that while Brimstone was running Cobra in this clash, it was Studio Mixx who had the wickedest Buju. I was a bit confused as to the “test” that Killa gave to the Soul Survival fans, asking them if they would “bus their bloodclaat gun anywhere dem go”. He played Sizzla afterwards (Badman Bus Dem Steel Anywhere They Go”. Killa’s tempos swung up and down during this Round, and some of his selections may have been more appropriate for earlier. Tony Killa exited himself by announcing his “last tune”, a Buju, proving perhaps that his box at this time lacked the variety to move him forward. The crowd was getting quiet on Studio Mixx, despite thier classic Buju’s and Bounty’s.

Sound 05: Soul Survival

Soul Survival pointed out to the crowd that Klymaxx had already waved their flag of surrender because they had come to the clash wearing full white. Bumpy told Mystic “You ago dead, Mystic, you a baby bum flick”. He bigged up the Sounds in the place, and artist Exco Levi, who he proceeded to play his customized dub where he took out competing sounds Black Magic, Brimstone Gold, Mystic, and Klymax. Bumpy had learned how to get the dance on his side, and had performed with much more depth and substance compared to his last championship Fully Loaded performance. Chronixx, Capleton and Bounty were played on dub (Kill Dem Pussy Kill Dem Fi Fun), and there were some cries about playback tune, which Bumpy heard and denied on the mic (listen to the audio – judge for yourself). There was lots of noise after this Round, fans were fully charged.

END OF ROUND 4: At the conclusion of the Round, the Judgemaster (Jr) announced that there were Playback tune issues, and that more time was needed to tally up the scores. A few minutes later, it was announced that despite any playbacks, Brimstone Gold and Studio Mixx was gone!

ROUND 05: Fully Loaded Metamorphosis ( 1 Sounds Must Go/3 Remains…)

Sound 01:  Mystic

This was an interesting Round for Mystic who kept trying hard to win the crowd over with big dubs like Freddie McGregor (Longing to Murder Sounds – The whole world is talking about Mystic Sound – Kill Dem Kill Dem Kill Dem), Marcia Griffith’s (Killing a Sound is So Easy To Do), Sugar Minott’s “Oh Mr DC” – (Sound Bwoy Come Inna Di Dancehall With Their Tin Pan Sound), and more. Tyrone worked the crowd, encouraging them to make noise if they thought Mystic was gwaaning good, and criticizing anyone who was accusing him of having a Sky Juice style and saying he would “beat and kill” them. More dubs came from Richie Stevens (Sound the shit you’re in…), Wayne Wonder, and then a Buju that was cut off when time ran out, allowing Tyrone to use the mic (still live) and personally DJ himself the lyrics to the Buju tune (Top a Top) he wanted to play but could not. This earned him a big unforgettable forward, man have talent! A sweet way to end the Round.

Sound 02: Klymaxx

Klymaxx’s fifth Round performance was designed to take away any advantage that Mystic had gained in their earlier Round, Squidley pointing out the the crowd, still buzzing from the Mystic performance, that Tyrone “haffi sidung pon chair” to get forwards, and that “dem fi lock off and go home now” because that was the only forward he got in the clash so far and that Tyrone “haffi turn DJ to get forward”. In reference to Soul Survival’s statement about wearing white, Squidley said just wait till “blood splash pon it”. As for Soul Survival, Squidley stated, “You a champion, and a play the most playback tune from night!”, then delivered so Lindo P., Dennis Brown, Cobra, and more. Klymaxx was hi energy in this Round, almost as if they’d reserved their best performance and biggest tunes exclusively for this time. Klymaxx played a nice Spragga Benz (Hearse/Cold Hearted and Dangerous – Diss Klymaxx Sound and yuh brains ago spurt). Mystic again took some boos in this Round, but Squidley was on such a hi-energy that the boos didn’t phase him. His mic sounded clear and proper, as he bigged up “all original gangsters”, dissed the Soul Survival “man gang” that he said was booing them, and then still bigged up all of the fans and competing sounds for their support. Another good Round for Klymaxx who proved that tunes talk!

Sound 03: Soul Survival

Soul Survival started off by stating “Klymaxx you pop down”, and also dissed Mystic for having to DJ to get a forward. Bumby’s mic was clear, and this would be a killing Round for the Fully Loaded defending champs, playing dubs by Baby Wayne, Capleton (Battyman Fi Get Boom), Cobra, Barry Brown, Jr Reid (One Love – Dead Sound), Culture (Jah Jah See Dem a Come), Anthony Red Rose (Trouble Again Soundboy A Get Nervous) and getting cheers and whistles during most of it. Despite strong on-floor crowd support, the momentum went up and down in this Round for Soul Survival, and this is the first time in the clash that I believe the Sound missed Jr. Selector the most. Besides, some people in the crowd were again shouting “playback”, insinuating that for a second time, Soul Survival may indeed have played back a tune (check the audio – judge for yourself).

END OF ROUND 5: One Sound Has To Go – Gone is Soul Survival

Promoter Ron Nelson took the mic and for the second and final time during the clash, informed the massives about judging form before used by the night’s 6 judges. There was some hushing and booing and whistling from the crowd moments afterwards when it was announced by Jr. D (judgemaster) that Soul Survial had gotten the exit. Jr. D went as far as to announce on the mic that Soul Survival had “got by last time, but not this time”, and that if this was the old Zone One clash days, the “red light woulda tun on” (meaning the sound would be eliminated on the spot for playing back). Bumpy then said some unsportsmanlike things on the mic, which he had grabbed out of Newby’s hands. Stated Bumpy – “A Fuckery Dat – me mek mi go a fifth Round, seh mi play back tune, so why di bomboclaat you tek off points again, dat nuh mek nuh sense, a me and Mystic fi battle this out, Klymaxx dead already”. The judgemaster’s response – “In this Round, you play back two songs, and you played back the round before too”. Newby wanted to stay clear of any personal blame, reminding Soul Survival that it’s “not just one judge”, and then said, you “gwaan wicked, you tek di dance by fans”. End of argument.

Advancing to the Tune-Fi-Tune finals would be Mystic and Klymaxx, a best out of 7, meaning the first sound to win 4 Tune-Fi-Tune Rounds would be the 2013 Fully Loaded Metamorphosis champion.

ROUND 6: Fully Loaded Metamorphosis – Mystic vs Klymaxx in a best of 7 Tune-Fi-Tune

SONG O1:

Mystic bigged up all of the sounds, Tyrone saying on this night, him “nah lef his manners”. They then played the Sugar Minott “Never Gonna Give Up Jah” dubplate (Can’t Test a Mystic sound, No Matter What You Say”).

Klymaxx responded by stating that in a Sound Clash, “you have to play tunes with understanding and meaning, every tune counts”. The called Mystic a “duppy sound”, and played Alton Ellis “Rock Steady” (Better get ready, Klymaxx rock steady”. Say Squidley with confidence, ”klymaxx a mi name, killing is mi game”.

WINNER: Klymaxx (1-0)

SONG 02:

Mystic stated that as a “rude bwoy sound – no man can clash me and him have on him pants and him buckle deh at di bloodclaat back”. The tune that followed was weak like the speech however, and the Bunny Wailer “Soundbwoy” dub failed to work (Champion Mystic Come Fi Kill Sound Bwoy).

Klymaxx, not threatened by the Mystic tune, called Mystic a “sound of the past”, unlike themselves who were “over seventeen years in the business”. He told the crowd that as for Mystic, “every clash that Mystic enters they back out”, and that Klymaxx hasn’t seen any Toronto sound they were “afraid of”. He again reminded the crowd that Tyrone had to “DJ to get forward”. Klymaxx then played their own Bunny Wailer, “Jah Gonna Keep On Moving” (a long intro – Dibbi Sound Bwoy You Better Keep On Moving). This Klymaxx tune sounded almost as obscure as the one played previously by Mystic.

WINNER: Klymaxx (2 – 0)

SONG 03:

Mystic had run out of speech by now, saying “No long talk!” and “Klymaxx, a yuso it deh!” before dropping their tune, which was as weak just like the lack-of-speech, a Ken Booth “Forever” dub (When We Kill Your Sound We Will Kill You Forever). There was no crowd response for this tune. Says Klymaxx – “A joke ting dis, bwoy, know you size”. Squidley was getting confident now, smelling victory being oh so close on Mystic’s “judgement night”. He then played the original Errol Dunkley “Black Cinderella” cut on the original Black Cinderella Riddim (You Cannot Find A Black Cinderella to Kill Klymaxx). Surprisingly to some, Klymaxx would win this Round, but there were immediate accusations form people in the house that they had played back that Errol Dunkley chune. The judgemaster squashed the argument by stating that the tune “never play”.

WINNER: Klymaxx (3 – 0)

SONG 04:

Mystic stated his belief that the last Round was stolen from him, then bigged up Jane and Finch, Scarborough, Brampton” – that’s it, no speech in a crucial tune-fi-tune, no MC depth when it was needed most. Mystic played Alton Ellis (Mystic In The Dance Is Gonna Kill You), then stated “the race is not for the swift”. He got a bit of a forward for that tune.

Klymaxx told Mystic to “stop live inna man bloodclaat shadow”, obviously pissed that Tyrone had exited with a statement that he (Squidley) had echoed throughout the dance. “A me tell u the race is not for the twist” claimed Squidley, “Mi a kill him, and mi a laugh”. The tune that followed was “Smile”, a Sugar Minott classic “Dance This Reggae Music” (I Must Kill A Sound With A Dubplate To His Face, All Idiot Sound have To Run Leave This Place).

WINNER: Mystic (3 – 1)

SONG 05:

Mystic needed tunes they didn’t have in their box at this point, but Tyrone stated that “him nah give up”, and “a yaso di dance reach”. He followed up the lack-of-speech with a Courtney Melody – ”Dangerous” dub (Some Believe They Are Rough, Believe They Are Tough, Anytime Mi Come Mi Come Dangerous). This tune got some boos afterwards. People cried “playback”! Check the audio, judge for yourselves.

Klymaxx criticized Tyrone and Fabian for playing Courtney Melody ina a tune fi tune. Knowing that all he had to do was win this current Round to win the clash, Squidley somewhat cockily stated that he was going to play his “last tune”, cause he realized “dem bwoy run out of bombaclaat tune”. He played Dennis Brown’s “Weeping And Moaning”dub (Sound Bwoyu Dem A Weeping). This would be the final dub for the night. Klymaxx had won the Round, and would now be crowned Fully Loaded Metamorphosis 2013 Champions.
WINNER: Klymaxx (4-1)

CHAMPION: Klymaxx!!!

Congratulations to the new 2013 Fully Loaded Champions!!! Klymaxx. Here is a Sound that is on the rise – I personally would like to congratulate them on this victory, which will be significant in the long run, as every Fully Loaded champion has gone on to make noise in the industry. Klymaxx will be invited to play on Sound System Fridays next Friday December 20th an we can celebrate their victory all over again. For those who missed the clash, things ran smooth partly because of the lack of hitching due to a judging sytem being in place.  Thanks also to Jill and Skully for my Soundclash Lifetime Achievement Award trophy, although you gotta exchange it for a new one casue they spelled “reggae” wrong LOL.  Thanks to everyone who helped, supported and participated in Fully Loaded Metamorphosis 2013, and once again, congratulations to Klymaxx for their victory, won by dubs, speech, strategies, and brains!