Red Bull Music Academy Culture Clash

Have you ever had one of those days where you actually wished that you were somewhere else? I did, on the 17th of February (I wished that I was at) in Camden, London, to be precise. You see, what went down in Camden was considered (by me, at least) the most monumental and historic event of this new decade yet. It was a sound system battle unlike any other. It was a sound system battle of the decade that represented the decades.

On 17th February 2010, the good people of Red Bull Music Academy held an event called 'Culture Clash', at The Roundhouse in Camden, hosted by the legendary Don Letts. Four different sound systems, each representing a part of music history as pioneers or legends, came together to battle it out the old school way. The four prolific and heavyweight sound systems were the mighty Trojan Sound System, Funki Dred Jazzy B's Soul II Soul, Goldie's Metalheadz and Coki & Mala representing DMZ (Digital Mystikz). This was history in the making as four relatively different genres, Rocksteady/Reggae, Funk/Soul, Drum & Bass/Breakbeat and Dubstep, went head on in a sound system battle.

The start of the 'Culture Clash' was great with the sound systems dropping the essential classics and things began to go up a notch when MC Sgt Pokes, from DMZ, decided to take potshots at the rest of the systems, while claiming that he had not come to this clash to make friends and that he wanted to 'bury the old sounds'. All of his comments were taken in good faith except a comment along the lines of how 'shit' the sound of Trojan, Soul II Soul and Metalheadz were, which got GQ from Metalheadz all riled up. In the next set GQ set out to put Pokes in place, by saying: 'I love you to the bone Pokes, but don't be calling none of these sound systems shit. If it wasn't for Trojan, there would be no dubstep!', which was followed by a unanimous cheer from the crowd. However, my favourite line from the whole event was from the Trojan camp. They started their set in the second round spreading the message of love and peace and saying: 'Remember, reggae is love-making music. So be careful when you go home tonight'. True classic reggae style. Sweet. In the end, Metalheadz took the top spot, although in my opinion, I had preferred the sounds of Trojan and Soul II Soul much better. Well, you just gotta listen and you be the judge.

Even though I was not present, judging from the pictures I saw and the audio recordings of the event on RBMA Radio, I could only imagine the amount of energy and hype that was going on. I strongly recommend that you listen to the whole battle if you had missed it too.

The Warm-Up


Round 1 - Selection Round


Round 2 - Entertainment Round


Round 3 - Mixed-Up Styles


Round 4 - Final Round (The Decider)