It was a mix of emotions that emanated from Reggae Sumfest Global Sound Clash winner Ongele ‘Crocodile/Dynamq’ Lorya of Dynamq Sound out of South Sudan on Thursday night.
A tearful ‘Crocodile’ triumphed over four other highly competitive sound systems to walk away with the Magnum-sponsored $1 million main prize and bragging rights.
Dynamq also got a $100,000 prize from Sunshine Snacks.
The Global Sound Clash battlefield was at Pier One in Montego Bay, St James on Thursday, and was the final event before Reggae Sumfest music festival moved on to the showgrounds at Catherine Hall Entertainment Centre for Festival Nights 1 and 2, set for tonight and tomorrow, respectively.
Dynamq was magnanimous in victory and stated it was a mix bag of emotions for him as he was dealing with a loss now.
A video snippet of ‘Crocodile in his element on Thursday night at the Reggae Sumfest Global Sound Clash in Montego Bay, St James.
“I’m overwhelmed man. I still can’t believe it, but just being booked to play reggae music in Jamaica, I’m already a winner. I didn’t take any of them lightly, I paid attention to the weakest spots and made sure I capitalised on that.
“For me the most important thing was to make sure the people enjoyed themselves, win or lose, I just wanted people to say the African represented. I’m emotional now though, I lost my father and my brother and is like I saw them in a vision,” Dynamq stated.
The other sound clash entrants were Bass Odyssey, Code Red and Echo One, all from Jamaica, as well as Jah Works from Japan.
Bass Odyssey, based on the coin toss, took the battlefield first and opened with a dub from Gramps Morgan, immediately taking shots at the other entrants.
Dubs from Vybz Kartel, Bounty Killa and Chronixx quickly followed.
Code Red was up next for their 10-minute first round and quickly established themselves as a top contender.
Echo One opened with dubs from Chronixx, Capleton and Tanya Stephens.
Dynamq came out with guns blazing in their first round with a slew of Vybz Kartel 45s,easily showing command of the crowd.
Jah Works from Japan rounded out the competitors, the language barrier may have had an impact on overall crowd connection, but the dubs spoke loudly.
Echo One was the first to fall in the coming rounds, based on the system of crowd response, followed by Bass Odyssey and Jah Works, eventually leaving Code Red and Dynamq to battle it out dub for dub in the finals.
Chris Dymond from Code Red Sound battling out at Reggae Sumfest Global Sound Clash on Thursday night at Pier One in Montego Bay, St James.
In the end, it was the sound system from South Sudan that reigned supreme.
In the meantime, Kamal Powell, regional marketing manager at Magnum Tonic Wine, said the night was very special for the company.
“The production was executed well, the sound systems came out blazing and the patrons had a great time. It is always our purview to give every aspect of dancehall the boost it needs, so partnering with Reggae Sumfest on this project was a no-brainer. All teams did well, but at the end of the day, only one can win, so a big congratulations to Dynamq for the performance they put on,” said Powell.
