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On the judges’ scorecards, Trooper’s only bright spot in his match-up with Redd Heat in the ongoing Magnum All-Star $1,000,000 Face-Off came during the opening juggling round – and it was a narrow victory, at that.

Container Boss Ian scored the round two points to one in favour of Trooper, while Cool Face had it at two points to one and a half, also in favour of Trooper. The third judge, Supa Hype, scored it even at two points each.

That apart, it was all Redd Heat. And it did not help Trooper’s case when, in no uncertain terms, he told Redd Heat’s selector for the night, who uses sticks to assist him in walking, that his physical condition would not earn him any mercy. The boos resounded throughout the club.

As the selector often left the sticks with another member of Redd Heat and used a hand on the console to steady himself, the yellow and black supports were hoisted in the air several times to signal that a tune had hit home. It was the same for some of Redd Heat’s speeches, such as when he demanded why Trooper wore the same camouflage outfit at all times.

And, despite a generally low-key encounter, there were several moments which called for the sticks to be pointed towards the Famous roof, as did the patrons with their hands.

surprise forward

In the challenge round, when the contenders were asked to play three songs from an artiste who has won a Grammy Award in the reggae category (but not necessarily a song from the winning album), Trooper included Jimmy Cliff’s Many Rivers to Cross and Buju Banton’s Destiny. But when Redd Heat dropped Shabba musing“oonu tink oonu having it all”, the tempo went up. And then they followed with the surprise forward of the night, dedicating Black Uhuru’s Plastic Smile to Trooper.

They closed the round with Buju instructing “no disrespect”, for four points on each judge’s scorecard. Trooper earned two points on two judges’ cards, while the other awarded him three.

In the 45 round, Trooper went the memorial route, with I-Octane’s Lose a Friend and the hip hop remake ofBroken Wings. In Redd Heat’s round, the selector expressed his disappointment, asking if this was “good good Trooper”. And he said, “a no bad you bad Trooper, a ugly you ugly”, even as the songs hit home. Redd Heat took two of the judges’ scorecards by a point, with one having Trooper ahead by a point.

In the dub for dub round, Trooper started with Ikaya. And by the time he got to a Gaza shot, the writing was on the wall. “Him dis di Gaza boss,” the Redd Heat selector said. “Him can play dat a Portmore an’ no get no forward?”Jah Cure was their reply and when, in the end, Trooper stuck to his Gaza guns and went for Gaza Slim, Redd Heat’s Mavado reply (“on the top it’s just us/Trooper cyaa stop it, jus cuss”) it helped put the lid on the matter.

Still, at the end of it all, Redd Heat’s selector said publicly that when their sound system was started, Trooper was the first person to put them on their feet. And in a longstanding business relationship, he spoke about their manager booking Sound Trooper.

“Sometimes yu haffi push dung people fi reach whey u a go. An when yu reach, yu pull dem up,” the selector, now back with his sticks, said.

Scenes from Redd Heat and Ricky Trooper clash. – Anthony Minott photos

Voltage scores big with ‘Harden’
VoltageYou may have heard deejay Voltage’s excellent hit song, ‘Harden’, which has been a big favourite of street mixtapes this year already. But dancehall fans are just beginning to put a face to the song because the deejay, whose real name is Devario Anthony Jones, just released a video for the popular song last week. “The video was a great move, and I believe that this will only enhance the popularity of the single and allow people to put a face to the song. The feedback has been good so far, and I am aggressively seeking interviews to get my music out there,” Voltage said. Born in 1984, in Kingston, Voltage grew up in the gullybank side of Queensborough, St Andrew, with his mom and sister. He attended Jose Marti High School, then he started writing music at the age of 11 and recorded his first single, Bad Name, when he was 22 years old. Following the advice of his mother, music producer-artiste manager Blooming Rose, he began studying audio engineering at the Anchor Recording Studio, where he remained for four years. Afterwards, he landed a job with Beres Hammond’s Harmony House, where he has travelled with the crooner as his engineer for seven years. The multitalented Jones did most of the recording on Beres Hammond’s Moment in Time and One Love, One Lifealbums. solo career With the blessing of Beres Hammond, he began to once again pursue his solo career, and he recorded singles such as Give Thanks Mama on his own Arkitech Music Group; but it was the breakout song, Harden, which caught the public’s imagination. Harden was produced under the label Bena Production. “The song was first played by Calico from Sun City, then Big A from Irie FM has given me a huge push, and also Digital Chris from Irie FM. Much respect to Fire Wayne from Sun City as well, because he gave me a good strength on this song,” he said. The song has gained a lot of fans because of Voltage’s low-key, fatalisticdelivery, which sums up the quiet desperation of the Jamaican society. Voltage intones: “thoughts and hearts are harden/caan beg no chance because yu nah go get no pardon/sometimes mi feel like mi lock up inna prison/because the system ah beat me like the warden“. He performed the song and earned rave reviews at a recent Western Consciousness event. “The Harden song has a definite energy in the streets. I just gave the song to two mixtape selectors and it spread like wildfire. Boom Boom give a strength, and Dwayne Pow also gave me a strength in the dance, so the ting a pick up,” he said. In the meantime, Voltage’s Half and Half mixtape is doing well in the streets. He plans to make it available online for download soon. He has continued to work on the engineering side of the business as well, working with other established acts such as Horace Andy, Luciano, Beenie Man, Sizzla Kalonji, Capleton, Lutan Fyah, and several other young, up-and-coming acts. He has also rented studio space in Cross Roads for his Arkitech Music Group label, where he spends countless hours working on his craft. ” I have a lot of belief in my work, and very soon the world will come to admire, appreciate, and later remember.”