When the dust settled, the 15th staging of Guinness Sounds of Greatness (GSOG) birthed a new champion as Jugglin’ Masters walked away with the top honours as the ‘Nex Gen’ champion in the grand finale held at the Fisheries Car Park in downtown Kingston last Friday.

The two-man Kingston-based team consisting of DJ and producer, Javid ‘DJ Insaneo’ Skeen and his juggling partner Jhevaughn ‘DJ JJ Deadlock’ Harvey, cruised through the grand finale rounds with unique style and charisma, setting the bar high for their competitor, Sweet Love Sound System out of St Mary.

“My team and I are grateful for this opportunity to carry the baton of real, authentic juggling and DJing to other generations and our intent was to bring our A-game at the grand finale,” said DJ JJ Deadlock.

Speaking about the win, DJ Insaneo added, “It feels really good to be crowned the first GSOG ‘Nex Gen’ champion after sleepless nights at the studios. Coming into the finals in comparison to the semi-finals, we were more prepared and had a lot more creativity, and I believe this gave us the edge.”

Despite their youth, both DJs have a fairly long history of expressing their creativity through music and entertainment. DJ Insaneo has been in the music sphere from a very young age and, by the time he was 19 years old, he was juggling professionally and producing music. Meanwhile, DJ JJ Deadlock spent his younger years in the crowds at sound clashes, absorbing all he could about the craft of sound system juggling. As he got older, he honed his juggling skills, and his popularity began to grow. The talents of both DJs have led them to be booked for top events such as Soca Nawmal, Heineken’s Zimi Seh Brunch, Drinkaz Paradise, Carib Brunch, and the Dragon-sponsored Ova Suh.

Jugglin’ Masters got their start in 2020-2021 at UTech. The group also includes DJ Marniie, currently in London, completing her studies, and DJ Barney. Having witnessed past GSOG competitions and their potential to showcase talented DJs on the big stage, the dynamic duo took the leap. “I didn’t want to enter the GSOG competition because I was afraid,” DJ Insaneo chuckled.

“However, I got over that fear, and a good friend of mine, Fabian “Fyah Man” Morris, persuaded me to enter.”

As fate would have it, after winning the second semi-final, Jugglin Masters was on the grand stage at the Fisheries Carpark in front of an electric audience, going head-to-head with Sweet Love Sound System. They competed in the juggling, chune-fi-chune, and challenge rounds, displaying immaculate turntable skills. They unleashed a series of dancehall hits that ultimately won them the hearts of the crowd, the best scores of the judges, and $1.5 million in cash and prizes.

“The experience was amazing. We came in with a plan, and wi seh wi nah lef until wi win. So, right now we feel amazing. Tears came a mi eye fi see myself as a youth a guh through to the finals. And now, it feels great to win, especially knowing that this is the first time that Guinness zoomed its focus on the next generation in this way,” DJ Insaneo shared.

He added that Guinness has been with him and the other contestants from the very beginning, which made the journey to the final a smooth one. Both DJs believe that Guinness is on the right track in giving young DJs a platform to develop and showcase their talents to preserve the greatness of Jamaican dancehall clash culture.

“I charge Guinness to continue this, especially with the younger generation of DJs. Many of us are out there with talent, but no way to showcase it. What they did this year to bring in a new generation of DJs, I really appreciate that,” DJ Insaneo encouraged.

His message to the next generation looking to level up their skills is that it takes time, dedication, and a lot of patience.

He said, “I advise them to just stay strong, hold your head up, know your craft, know your music, and know your crowd.”