We all tend to have a bit of flair for the dramatic ingrained in us from birth, so not too many of us bother to venture any further than the City Hall stage in search of a spotlight.

That kind of cultural reservedness is about to be obliterated in a few years, because there are a lot of young people on this island who have a lot of big talent! A few of them were at the New Clayhouse Inn on Saturday night laying down oodles and oodles of lyrical murder in an effort to walk away with the crown (until the next battle at least).

The battlefield was set, complete with barricades and bombastic backdrops. DJ Kid Fresh dropped the hot tunes for a good three hours while we waited for the fireworks to begin.

The vigil was long and we lost the will to go on many times, but we endured, and were awarded richly for our efforts. Fifteen armour-clad warriors emerged from the night somewhere around 2 a.m., and it was on! Rappers battled rappers, Deejays battled Deejays (Reggae artists as opposed to Disc-Jockeys Herman!) and the respective battles alternated.

First up were Prophesy and the much-revered Scrappy on the Hip-Hop tip.

Prophesy showed quite a bit of promise, but the crowd seemed a bit insulted by his ill-advised use of obviously written lyrics (did I neglect to mention that this was a freestyle battle - just like the ones you've heard about!).

Scrappy moved on with ease in the end. Star 45 needed two rounds to dispose of Drifter however. The battle was too close to call after just one round, but Star 45 garnered more crowd support in the end, so Drifter was left to drift away.

Shamari made short work of the ironically named Killa Kima (dude was the killee this night peeps). Then Wire brought the conscious vibes to reign supreme over the one called Rage (it seemed that Jah was by his side on this night).

Each battle consisted of one 60 second spot for each Rapper/Deejay, with the warrior who delivered the better verse (thereby garnering the most crowd support) going through. Well the fun was just beginning at this stage, because when Thaao took the mic, he ripped it! Even Brent's crew was telling him to not even start, but he did, and he represented quite well in the end -- to bad Thaao had already eradicated his voice from contention. Next up was a three-way battle between the Reggae stylings of Marvelous, Smokey G and Assassin.

Assassin must have left his rifle at home on Saturday night, because he bowed out fast! Then there was the part when Smokey G went through because Nash (the host and Referee) heard more noise for him than for Marvelous.

This would prove to be the most controversial point of the night, because Marvelous was obviously more skillful than Smokey G, and the crowd reminded him of that every chance they got from that point on.

Finally, the first round ended with a two-rounder between Furious and the beaten finalist from the last battle: Scarface. In the end, Scarface walked off the stage before Furious even started his second minute, and Furious was left to move ahead.

The second round of the Reggae section was pretty straightforward: three warriors, two spots in the final. Smokey G was eliminated before he even started really -- the crowd was still a bit annoyed about Marvelous being unjustly ousted. So the Reggae final was set, and the Hip-Hop battle continued in earnest.

Shamari laid down some ferocious lyrics, and his intimidating style seemed invincible at times. But Thaao was unfettered, and ripped the thugged-out warrior apart! Thaao's freestyle was merciless, and Shamari inadvertently signed his own death notice by standing in the five-foot assassin's face and trying to intimidate him with threatening touches and gestures.

This was easily the best single battle of the night. And Thaao would march loudly into the final when the smoke had cleared.

Only one spot left, and it belonged to Scrappy from the moment he touched the mic. Furious had just barely edged by Scarface, so most onlookers knew that Scrappy would eat him alive. It wasn't really that gory, but a foregone conclusion is a foregone conclusion.

The final four: John `Star 45' Darrell, Mitchel `Wire' Trott, Jermaine `Scrappy' Desilva and Thaao `Butterfingers' Dill. To be decided: one Reggae champion and one Freestyle Hip-Hop God (a slang term used to praise the skillful or respected).

Star 45 brought fire, but Wire brought Jah -- and the righteous shall prevail! Wire took the crown in two tightly contested rounds. Star 45 commented later that, "He used Jah to beat me''. Ya Johnny, he did, can't really compete with Jah, huh? Scrappy was tired by now, and his verses seemed to have lost the seamless flow they so effortlessly exhibited in previous rounds.

Thaao was tired too, but he delivered a few more devastating punch lines and filled the gaps with enough solid lyrical content to edge past Scrappy and win the crowd over after three gruelling rounds.

Nash wanted to pit the two champions against each other for the entire pot, but even the crowd was exhausted by now, and they convinced the host that it would be too difficult to pick a winner between two so-different styles.

Wire and Thaao split the $800 pot, and each left as the reigning champion of the Nash & Nash Productions Battle of the Deejays in their respective genres.

Both will be returning to defend their crowns in about two months, when Nash & Nash Productions will stage the whole thing all over again.

Maybe this time Chubby Tha Riddler will be back on the island to face the man who took his crown. Thaao versus Chubby -- it just kinda makes your mouth water don't it? Vejay Steede ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINERS ENT