‘Take it to Sting’ - Laing wants Tommy Lee Sparta, Masicka battling on stage

Tahheer Laing, CEO of Supreme Promotions -- promoters of Sting Live -- is calling on dancehall artistes Tommy Lee Sparta and Masicka to take their lyrical clash to the stage in order to officially solidify it in the genre's history books.

"If they clash and leave it on the Internet, it leaves room for their careers to be jeopardised, because there is nobody to give either of them a final and fair indication of a winner. So, I have been looking into it [the trading of barbs], but I really don't know if they are going to be up to clash in person," Laing explained.

"I know Tommy Lee would be up to do it for sure. But on the Masicka end, I am not so sure. But if they do take it to the Sting stage, it would be the greatest thing; it would be rewriting history and making a new addition to the dancehall history books," he added.

Laing's comments come on the heels of a lyrical sparring match between the two popular entertainers who were busy flexing their lyrical muscles in what many social media users are calling the genre's next showtime event.

The first entry in the exchange, Control, saw Tommy Lee Sparta showcase his craft through a gritty mixture of rock and roll and dancehall.

"Mi hard fi control, mi hard fi control," the Montego Bay entertainer sings on the chorus in his trademark rough and rugged vocal style with a combination of rock-inspired electric guitar riffs.

But the line that really gets heads turning is when Sparta deejays "...anyweh di big mama buss you cyah touch deh back; it mek Masicka look like mosquita."

It didn't take long for Masicka to release Vain, which is thought to be a lyrical assault on the Sparta Boss.

"We nuh demon; demon nyam sex parts," Masicka deejays in this intro, an apparent play on Tommy Lee's hit song and characterisation of himself, 'Uncle Demon'. The Top Form deejay continues the onslaught by sharing the details of an alleged conversation between himself and Tommy Lee Sparta while the former was in incarcerated.

"Di bwoi deh a jail and a beg mi collab but di killa never dweet cause me see seh yah clown," Masicka alleges in the track.

Tommy Lee Sparta kept the energy high, as less than six hours later, he had his response Destroyer.

"Crocodile nyam dem meat inna swamp...no demons couldn't be no crocs," he deejayed.

While a clash between the two seems like the logical platform to lay all the cards on the table, Laing believes there is one main issue stopping more clashes from happening - bravery.

"And bravery is connected to talent. The difference between artistes of yesteryear and the artistes of today is that they were a little more confident than the ones today," Laing explained.

"I think this lack of confidence is what causing other rifts like newer artistes leaning more towards throwing subliminal hits...nobody is shooting directly," he added.

Sting, often characterised as the greatest one-night show on Earth, has been a staple in dancehall culture for the better part of 40 years. While he was previously confident of the 2025 staging, in a update, Laing explained that there is some work being done in the background.

"It really is up to if these artistes want to do it (perform at Sting). And, there is a lot of other stuff going on in the background right now. I wouldn't want to say anything right now, but in the near future, you will hear from me more on it," Laing told THE STAR.