By Kavelle Anglin-Christie, Staff Reporter

( L - R ) Patrick Roberts, Vybz Kartel and Ninja Man - file

And they're off!

Duke Reid vs. Clement Dodd. Derrick Morgan vs. Prince Buster. Ninjaman vs. Supercat, Shabba, Cobra, Merciless and Kartel. Supercat vs. Bounty and Bounty vs. Merciless. Stitchie vs. Papa San. Beenie vs. Bounty and Twin of Twins. Vybz Kartel vs. Assassin and Spragga Benz. Aidonia vs. Busy Signal and so on.

These are only a few reggae and dancehall feuds that have fed the appetites of patrons since the 1950s and oddly enough, despite the clamour for these squabbles to cease to make dancehall a better environment, they have survived to become a seemingly necessary element of dancehall culture.

One of the first feuds in dancehall was between Derrick Morgan and Prince Buster in the 1960s. Though the two men remained friends off-record, they fired song after song aimed at each other. When Morgan did Forward March, Buster responded with Blackheaded Chinaman and Morgan shot back with Still Insist - thus further cementing themselves as lyrical heroes in the minds of their audience.

Then, in the early '80s and '90s, there was a plethora of feuds with Ninjaman and other artistes. It was, however, the gold-teeth-front-teeth-don gorgon's clash- turned-fight with Vybz Kartel at Sting in 2003, that made fans start questioning the validity and necessity of a clash.

All that must have been answered when Kartel clashed with Assassin and in the minds of many, Assassin lost the battle because he decided not to respond to Kartel's attacks and had to be 'rescued' by mentor, Spragga Benz with We Ready and We Done See It.

In dancehall, it seems, being silent or taking 'the high road' doesn't pay. Instead, following through with the clash is the only way to please the fans and show lyrical prowess. This is one reason why some feuds in reality may never end until the artistes retire.

THE STAR spoke with fans of the artistes and they told us their favourite clash and why.

Oneil, a member of Voicemail spoke of his favourite Ninjaman clash: "I would have to say the Shabba and Ninja ... Well, the one with Shabba and Ninja was just different. Ninja was in the peak of his career and him used to come with some punch lines and certain gimmicks and that used to get a lot of forwards. Whereas Shabba was like a gal deejay and after him do him thing and come off stage, Ninja would come on and say something like 'today you're gonna die my friend, seek the Lord.'"

"... Just the energy that he would get from the crowd was good. From him walk out people a scream. It was like when Michael Jackson walked out at the '93 Superbowl and for about two and a half minutes he was standing on stage and didn't say anything and people were just screaming. Only Ninja alone can do that and what he did at Fully Loaded, just walk out and stand up for about five minutes and not say anything. From me a likkle youth me used to look forward to Sting for things like that," he said.

The Beenie and Bounty feud is approaching it's 13th anniversary. This clash has spanned almost half the lifetime of many of their fans and it's therefore no surprise that many say this is their favourite dancehall clash.

Renaissance's Delano says: "My favourite one was the Beenie and Bounty clash at the 1993 Sting. The lyrics were just flying from both of them and the crowd was into it and everyone was just excited."

This may come as no surprise, but Patrick Roberts, CEO of Shocking Vibes, says the Beenie/Bounty clash has been his favourite. He also spoke of the reasons why: "The longest reigning one is the Beenie Bounty one. I find it interesting at times because it's like a soap opera.