When two sounds go to war: David Rodigan details his life as a sound clash King

The hot dancehall producer Dave Kelly, who runs the Mad House studio in Jamaica, was crucial to me beating Waggy T. He arranged for a killer dubplate to be delivered, literally on a plate, in the wings of the auditorium just before the ‘one for one’ finale. A guy gave it to me and said, “This is for you, from Dave Kelly”. The dub was ‘No Retreat, No Surrender’ by the hot dancehall artist of the moment Daddy Screw. And it won me the clash.

That was the night when I first started to experiment with recorded sketches and the theatrical side of my sound clashing. It helped me get the upper hand – even though Waggy T is a great selector and a tough opponent. I recorded a newsflash in BBC style saying Waggy T had died in a sound clash at Mahi Temple. It was so well received that I started writing more funny scenarios that I would use in clashes.

I used a similar newsflash theme a few months later in Washington DC when I clashed with Emperor, the ruling sound from the American capital. When I beat them it caused a sensation in the Reggae sound clash world and people really started to take me seriously. My clashes with Barry G and Bodyguard had been friendly affairs but taking on Emperor was different. This was a hardcore ghetto dance with no prisoners taken and Emperor had a big reputation.

I flew out there on my own and the club was absolutely packed. Clash audiences are highly knowledgeable and there are strict rules – you automatically lose if you play a song already played by your opponent. When I beat Emperor everyone who followed sound clash culture knew it was a big deal.