Gold Rush Cup 2013: Lion Scratch takes the cup!

First round (20 min)

Lion Scratch won the toss and decided to go first. They start with a good speech right away,aggressive from the beginning, and play some nice tunes on a Bob Marley instrumental, Assassin, big Sizzla's, Aidonia, Sanchez and a Johnny Osbourne that gets a big forward. Good first round, got the vibe al round long. Only the MC was talking through the tunes too much sometimes. Still he has some good speeches, ofter referring to the cemetery across the street.

Heartbeat kicks of with Sammy Dread's M16 and a counteraction selection on the Throw Mi Corn riddim that Lion Scratch played before. A lot of Bounty's, Ninja and Merciless pass through while Ricky and Skatty both handled the mic. Good Sluggy and Capleton. Good round by Heartbeat, but they didn't catch the crowd like their opponents did. Even though no points are counted and the clash will be decided after dub fi dub, this round goes to the French sound.

Second round (20 min)

They start their second round with Joseph Cotton on the Bam Bam riddim, followed by a speech how Ricky moves like he's on drugs with the right tune behind it, catching a huge response. New Sizzla (Nah Bow) and an Assassin – Burro combo on the Sound Exterminator (Koloko) riddim. Less consistent then their first round but good round still. 

Heartbeat juggles on the Far East riddim, nice Barry Brown. A nice King Kong, and Simpleton. Playing dubs at a high tempo; Assassin, Busy, more Bounty's, Cobra, Merciless. Good round, but they were juggling rather then clashing. Hard to tell who won this one, I'd say it was a draw.

Third round (10 min)

Third round starts with a good Carl Meeks, and a very nice Bangarang by Anthony Redrose. Counteraction on HB's King Kong. Start good again but boil down a bit at the end of their set, ending the round with a pale hip hop riddim.

Heartbeat begins their final round by digging up some singers and foundation artists. Finally, you might say. Turns it up a notch later, and ending with Cobra, Bounty and Sizzla on Nas' Hate Me Now instrumental, tunes the massive was well familiar with and got big forwards. Sticky still, but I'd say Heartbeat had the edge this round.

Dub fi Dub (10 tunes)

There were no votes after each tune and all went down pretty fast, so it was hard to tell who won the tune and I didn't get all dubs but here's a go at a rundown still:

01 - LS: Johnny Osbourne vs. Marcia Griffiths for Heartbeat. HB takes it.
02 - Ken Boothe vs. Leroy Sibbles, HB again.
03 - Stone by Prince Allah vs. Mighty Diamonds, Lion Scratch takes this one.
04 - Horace Andy vs. Puddy Roots Trying to Conquer. Close call, but LS I think
05 - Ken Booth vs. Black Cincrerella from Errol Dunkley. Couldn't tell.
06 - Lone Ranger & Carlton Livingston combo vs. Lloyd Parks Officially. LS.
07 - Lion Scratch plays a wicked tune, but the intro is way too long and bores the people. Still HB's Jays can't take the point.
08 - Keith & Tex with Tonight vs Cornell Campbell? Lion Scratch again.
09 - Horace Andy against the Slickers, undecided?
10 - U-Roy combo vs Cornell Campbell

After the dub fi dub we get a vote to won the whole clash. Both sounds got a lot of noise, but Lion Scratch clearly had the upper hand. A second vote confirmed this: Lion Scratch takes the trophy home to Paris.

Again, the crowd was fair (even though there were some speeches about bias from both sounds, I couldn't see why) and Lion Scratch had original dubs, good speeches all night and an aggressive approach that got the massive on their side. Congratulations on the well-deserved victory. Heartbeat put up a good fight, but like I said before, seemed more in hardcore dubplate juggling mode then in war style and ran into a stronger opponent. There's no shame in that when you play good still, so big up sameway.

Big up Silverbullet for putting this up and all clash massive present for keeping soundclash alive in Belgium !