Guyana's three top sound systems pit their skills against each other in a long awaited musical competition
On March 4, 2023, Silver Tec Sound System, The Mighty Sound Power, and Rude Boy Sound International headed off in an epic face-to-face battle for the title of number one sound system in Guyana for a year.
The competition consisted of four rounds of fierce competition, culminating with a sweep that is reminiscent of the 2007 NBA Championship, where the San Antonio Spurs defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers four games to zero. Fyah Wail and General Giddings of Silver Tec imposed a similar assault on RudeBoy Sound, defeating them in the Dub-for-Dub round. In this third round, Silver Tec defeated their opponent four to zero (4 - 0).
Four rounds of sound clash later, Silver Tec sound system was crowned the 2023 Road to Body Bag champion. They played a near-perfect selection of songs, winning three rounds (the first, third, and fourth) and losing the second round due to a technicality. The clash rules stipulated that a sound system cannot play a previously played dubplate. As such, Silver Tec lost round two for violating this rule. Nonetheless, in the end, Silver Tec won bragging rights, a trophy, and $200,000 in prize money.
The Road To Body Bag clash was not without controversy. The sound equipment (controller) needed to support the dub-for-dub format was inoperable and did not adequately support two devices simultaneously. Additionally, much time was wasted debating whether the final round should only play foundation music or follow the anything-goes format. The organizers could have easily avoided this cacophony with proper planning and setting the rules for the clash in stone way in advance. Instead, Silver Tec argued for the anything-goes format, while Rudeboy sound preferred playing foundation songs. It is unknown if selecting the anything-goes design was a form of reverse psychology by Silver Tec because, in the end, they slaughtered Rudeboy Sound with a series of foundation dubplates.
The Road to Body Bag Clash is a relatively new movement in Guyana, and the organizers should be commended for putting it together. This form of competition must be supported and encouraged as it is a desired form of entertainment in and out of Guyana.
Congratulations to Silver Tec Sound System, The Mighty Sound Power, and Rude Boy Sound International for putting on a remarkable battle, and much respect to Rudeboy Promotions for putting the event together.