Night Two of the 3-Part ReggaeMania.com Fully Loaded 2017 Sound clash Eliminations took place inside Whitehaus on Saturday July 8th.  The much anticipated event would feature 10 Sounds clashing but only the top three of them advancing to the September 30th (new date) Championship Finals where $2,000 is up for grabs for the winner and $500 for the runner-up.   The winners of each preliminary night would get a trophy and a cool $1,000 cash, but only after being one of the final two Sounds left standing (Round Six) and then win a seven-song tune-fi-tune showdown against the next Sound.  The top 3 Sounds from Night 2 would now go on to join the ranks of Night One (June 24th) winners Outlaw (winner Night One), Don Rankin (runner-up), and Turbalance (3rd). 

Sounds Clashing On Night 2-Saturday July 8/2017: Black Lion |  Kat Attack | Killa Instinct | King Vower | Noble Works | Royalty | Tap Shatta | Zone Warrior | No Limit Intl | Silver Bullet | Insurgency (withdrew)  | Typhoon (withdrew)

Moving on, it’s important for the massive to know that Fully Loaded does not follow typical clash structures.  This event incorporates a point system as well as the employment of a series of nine extremely credible Judges who score each Sound in each Round with a 30-point scoring system that rates a Sound’s performance on several factors;

MC Performance (5) | DJ Performance(5) | Musical Selections(5) | Crowd Response(5) | Playbacks(5) | Like/Dislike(5) | Total: 30 Points

Judges surrender individual score sheets to our Judgemaster after every two Sounds play, who then delivers them to the Accountant for the final scores and tabulations.  After a Round’s conclusion, the Judgmaster receives the final numbers from the Accountant and then delivers them to the MC who makes the announcement to the crowd as to who has earned how many points and which Sounds are eliminated and which ones advance. 

As you can see on the Fully Loaded Structure Chart (left), Rounds are short, between 6 – 8 minutes, and Sounds can incorporate 45’s during the first three Rounds.  But don’t get it twisted, short Rounds do not necessarily ensure a lower level of difficulty when 9 other Sounds play before you, and Sounds are penalized and frowned on for playing back tune!

Worse is the elimination structure – unmerciful! Sounds face eliminations first if they are late for an early 9:40 PM Draw for Numbers (FL Clash starts at 10:00 PM, Doors open 9:30 PM) preceding the clash, and the  three lowest scoring Sounds out of the 10 are forced to exit the event after the completion of the first two 6-minute Rounds! After Round 3 is done, another 2 Sounds are thrown out, then another 2 after Round 4,  then one more after Round 5 before there is a tune fi tune to determine the winner of the knockout event where the judgement is given back to the people who determine the tune-fi-tune winner by voting with their show of hands.

At the end of the 3-Night Preliminaries, three champions will have earned three trophies from 3 different nights and each awarded $1,000 as a prize jackpot.  And be aware – the winner of the clash may not be the Sound with the highest points; a Sound can win every Round leading up to the tune-fi-tune but if we can compare this to professional sports, that would be the equivalent of winning the regular season.  When the playoffs begin – it’s a knockout competition, just like the final tune-fi-tune Round of Fully Loaded.

There may be an additional Award for the Sound with the highest points, as this may or may not be the same Sound that has won the tune-fi-tune hence winning the event, trophy and prize money.  Also, a 10th Sound will be allowed to enter the finals as a “Wildcard” Sound – the Sound with the most points after 3 nights that are not among the nine that have won their positions live to clash again September 30th!

The event got off to a good start because all Sounds showed up for the draw of numbers so nobody had to be eliminated at that stage despite running about 15 minutes behind schedule.  Everyone seemed ready and hyped, and it appeared that Night Two was building off the momentum of a smooth running and exciting Night One, so more people were likely to be in attendance. When things finally got on the way it would be Zone Warrior coming out of the gate first.  The order of Sounds for the night’s first tw0 Rounds would be;

ROUND ONE- 6 Minutes (No Elimination):
1. Zone Warrior
2. No Limit
3. Noble Works
4. Kat Attack
5. Killa Instinct
6. Silver Bullet
7. Top Shatta
8. Black Lion
9. King Vower
10. Royalty

ROUNDS TWO – 6 Minutes (3 Sounds Gone):
1. Zone Warrior
2. No Limit
3. Noble Works
4. Kat Attack
5. Killa Instinct
6. Silver Bullet
7. Top Shatta
8. Black Lion
9. King Vower
10. Royalty

After Round Two – the Judges awarded the lowest points to Kat Attack, Zone Warrior and Killa Instinct.  These three Sounds were the first to be eliminated from Night 2, leaving 7 Sounds going into Round 3, Noble Works, Silver Bullet, Top Shatta, No Limit, King Vower, Black Lion and Royalty.

ROUNDS THREE – 6 Minutes (2 Souns Gone):
1. No Limit
2. Noble Works
3. Silver Bullet
4. Top Shatta
5. Black Lion
6. King Vower
7. Royalty

After Round Three – the Judges awarded the lowest points to No Limit and Silver Bullet.  These two Sounds became the 4th and 5th Sounds to be eliminated, leaving 5 Sounds going into Round 4, Noble Works, Top Shatta, King Vower, Black Lion and Royalty.

ROUNDS FOUR – 7 Minutes (2 Sounds Gone):
1. Noble Works
2. Top Shatta
3. Black Lion
4. King Vower
5. Royalty

After Round Four – the Judges awarded the lowest points to King Vower and Top Shatta, so things were now cut down from 5 Sounds to only 3 standing – Noble Works, Black Lion and Royalty.

ROUNDS FIVE – 8 Minutes (1 Sound Gone):
1. Noble Works
2. Top Shatta
3. Black Lion

After Round Five – the Judges awarded the lowest marks to Black Lion, who was now out of the night’s event having earned a birth as the 3rd place Sound,  into the Fully Loaded September 30th championship night.  Noble Works and Royalty would now clash it out in a controversial yet exciting tune-fi-tune format where voting takes place after each sound has completed playing their seven songs, not after each pair of songs as seen in traditional clashes. Night One proved this to be a faster moving system that was better for the fans, and it would be the case on this night also.

Round Six – Tune-fi-Tune: According to the point system and the general vibe in the dance, Royalty was leading up until the tune-fi-tune where points are in effect thrown out in a winner takes all 7-tune knock out round.  Noble Works, who most people left alone most of the night, were able to edge out Royalty in a close showdown and when the votes came in, they would be declare the night’s winner.  Congratulations to Night 2 Winners Noble Works, and to Royalty and Black Lion for making it into the finals.

The audio will speak for itself – I haven’t given you all my usual extended review – there is no need – the event audio speak for itself.  Listen to it – download it – enjoy the event, and don’t forget to check out Night 3 on Saturday July 22nd @ Whitehaus. Big up to the participants, the fans, the Judges and Staff, sponsors, everyone who has worked hard to make this event the success that it has been. Feel free to visit this page again and leave your comments. I may ad more to this article as time goes on.

Ron Nelson | Pics by Ron Nelson and Lisa West