My question is who really won the clash, was it Mavado or is it Vybz Kartel? I was at Sting and I watched two of Jamaica’s best deejays battled. However, at the end of the day no one seems to can identify who’s the victor. Some people saying it’s Vybz Kartel and by the time I reached the exit another bunch of people saying Mavado kill the deejay. I am not a fan of Vybz Kartel or Mavado so I should be able to give my honest opinion about what took place at Sting.
Before I even go any further, hats off to Mavado and Vybz Kartel for making the battlefield crowdy and to also demonstrate to the world that we can once again have lyrical face-offs without physical action. Mavado is to be further commended for taking up the task of a Dj in battling Vybz kartel- a man known to know no lyrical boundaries, a man who feels that ‘all is fair in love and war’!
Now lets talk about who won the clash, Mavado or Kartel, yeah man it’s Kartel, nooo man it’s Mavado, okay it’s a tie. I know Vybz Kartel’s fans or Mavado’s fans might not agree but as you read on you will understand what I am suggesting. Fans need to put aside their personal likes for each artiste and admit the fact that both artistes did exceptionally well to have their fans going home confused wondering who won the clash.
One Man's Victory Merciless’ victory against Bounty Killer and Ninja Man at Sting 2000 is what you called a 100% win. Everyone left the venue complimenting Merciless for dismantling Bounty Killer and Ninja Man.
The first half of the clash definitely went to Vybz Kartel AKA Adi Di Techa, it’s also evident that Mavado became a bit nervous. Even though he was, being lyrically punished by Vybz Kartel the Gully Gad stood his ground and managed to propel his self-back into the clash.
The first artiste to get boo was Mavado but after holding his own for several minutes the boos started going both ways. By then Mavado was already back in the clash getting as much forward as Vybz Kartel.
When Vybz Kartel told Mavado that he f**ked his mother, you could tell that Mavado was really hurt by those lines and decided to do his last song, “Mi aggo kill him and cut.” It was also downfall for Vybz Kartel as the audience booed him for disrespecting Mavado’s mother in the clash.
The clash could have been a better one only if the audience weren’t booing so much this is when it becomes confusing, not knowing which of the artistes the boos were really targeting.
Battlefield Was Not Level
The audience was also a bit bias in the first half and the fact that the clash took place in Vybz Kartel's back yard (Portmore) this is something one should also take into consideration. In other words, if the clash had happened in Cassava Piece then you would definitely have a repeat of a bias audience.
Interesting to note was that the backing Band was Mavado's, which gave him an incredible advantage in a subtle way. Mavado also had the advantage of being the underdog and no matter what - every body loves to see an underdog win, who wouldn’t want to see the man that everybody doubted- winning?
One of the most interesting things that I noticed about this clash when compared to all the others that I have witnessed in the past was the rapid pace in which the songs were delivered. In Clashes of the past, the audience listened keenly for the toasting artists’ lyrical content and then rewarded them with a ‘forward’ or boos. The clash last night showed that the pace of dancehall songs has changed significantly over the years with dancehall rhythms becoming faster and more intricate, the artist has to be able to keep up so in the clash situation neither Mavado nor Kartel could squeeze more then four lines of their songs before the crowd responded.
So this is what I am suggesting lets go for part two - Laing and Heavy D, we can discuss the time on place of the next clash early Monday morning so look out for me.
-Raphael
Readers give us your views on this contributed letter.
MAVADO aka gully god won to me..he brought himsrlf baq from loosin like a real champ....and by th fans reaction at the end wen ninjaman came one he won
LETTER OF THE DAY - Mavado-Kartel clash: Filthiness unlimited
Published: Tuesday | December 30, 2008
The Editor, Sir:
The Mavado-Kartel clash at Sting's 25th anniversary left me with an even stronger feeling that this country urgently needs a quality shift in its moral and spiritual fibre.
Kartel dressed in military-style attire and Mavado dressed like a policeman fed the crowd a toilet bowl mix of unlimited filth consisting of personal insults, expletives that would empty Ping's fabric store of its inventory, rabid disrespect for mothers and women in general, absolute disregard for the law, and violent language.
Stage presence
All this in front of a strong police presence on stage, obviously powerless and helpless to effect any semblance of order or decency. Perhaps its time for Colonel Trevor MacMillan to really retreat to the golf course where he can effectively knock some balls about the green.
Symbolically, that Kartel-Mavado dress code and behaviour adequately reflect the state of the nation, its politics, Church, and police force in terms of the profanity, corruption, violence, and abject lawlessness that exist, albeit in different ways. Are these not corrupt and depraved authority figures?
My two colleagues and I walking through the crowd at Sting praying against the strongholds of wickedness in our society, observed the youthfulness of the crowd and the diet of debauchery and debased presentations by some male and female artistes, and wondered about this nation's future.
Is the meteoric falling of the moral and spiritual ethos of this nation not the root problem for Bruce, Portia and the church? Fix them and true change will begin to manifest. How?
Both church (spiritual) and state (physical) governors are the Almighty's representatives and ministers to the nation (Romans 13). It behoves them to repent jointly (reconsider, change course) on behalf of the people acknowledging sin and full responsibility for the mayhem, carnage, and waste of the country's resources that have epitomised our 46 years of independence. Repentance, truth, and reconciliation with God bring life, not icy cold death.
Kartel and Mavado are but small tips of the iceberg. It is time for real de-icing.
