The sound system scene has become incredibly lucrative. It supports not just sound crews, but security details, drivers, venue owners and more. Economic survival was wrapped up in who was going to eventually win a clash. Fruit and fish hawkers, jerk chicken vendors, all sorts of people dependent on this homegrown scene would flock to the gates of the dance. King Speakerwires are starting fights just to derail the competition.
Jamaica is famous around the world for its music, including genres like ska, dub, and reggae. It’s tempting to think that the powerful amplifiers and giant speakers at the dance parties were designed to perfectly capture Jamaica’s indigenous sounds. But it’s actually the other way around. Those speakers and amps came first. And the electricians, mechanics and engineers who built and adapted that technology would then play a decisive role in the creation of Jamaica’s modern music. They helped pioneer approaches to making and performing music that would spawn whole other scenes from the Bronx to the UK.
Wickedest Sound