Mario James, Gleaner Writer

Damian Chue with his '95 Ford Ranger 'Sound Stream' - 10,000 watts.- Continued photos

IT'S LONG overdue. Long gone are the times when Gary Sailsman, Craig Lue and 'Gaza' of Spanish Town used to build and campaign immensely powerful mobile sound systems, some pumping out more than 10,000 watts of audio at unheard volume levels. Automotives remembers back in the day when these rolling effigies of sound were loud enough to kill rats; they were lounder than even trailer-brought sound systems!

Now, these gargantuan stage-show-on-wheels are gone, a victim of their own complexity and hard times that have befallen us.

Kingsley Scott, an entrepreneur from Montego Bay, has seen it fit to 'raise the machine'. Next Sunday, Jarrett Park will again serve as a conduit for loud sounds as the likes of the tallawah lady from Kingston, Yumiko Gabe, the Oriental, and May Pen's own Dean 'Sniper' Reid play alongside Damian 'Sound Stream' Chue and 'AudioTech' from the second city.

MoBay competitors 'Notorious B.I.G.' and 'Gotti' have a score to settle and will juggle for top honours. 'Naseeve' from Portmore will also be in the hunt.

fewer segments

This is a grudge-match style showdown of 45 specials and dub plates!

Many persons are a bit upset about the previous showdown held by Scott, as the 45 segments could not make the card. Too many competitors turned up for the event, forcing the contest to go past its midnight cut-off time.

As a result, this latest event, dubbed 'Sound Ruption 2.0', will not have the categories that usually are a staple of events like this, according to Scott. 'Cleanest Sound', 'Loudest Sound' and 'Best Installation' segments will not be a part of the fare offered there.

Scott said that 'Sound Ruption 2.0' is the keeping of a promise to patrons and competitors from the meet in May.

Gates open at 1:30 p.m., competition starts at 2 p.m. The Noise Abatement Act dictates that everything ends by midnight.

He had promised that there would be a competition that just showcases their 45 and dub plate skills, and here it is.

Mobile sound system competitions had their heyday in the late '90s, when pickup trucks such as Ford F150s, Dodge Rams and the like were outfitted with 100s of speakers and went up against the likes of Stone Love and Metromedia.

Dean Reid and Sniper - a 1991 Toyota Forerunner fielding more than 8,0000 watts.

Yumiko Gabe and her 2003 Toyota Ipsum pushing more than 8,000 watts.