Deejays Accid and Clymaxx were crowned the new Magnum King & Queen of the Dancehall, respectively, at Breezy Castle Mini Stadium in Kingston, on Saturday night.

Clymaxx beat rival Mi Ya Estro, while Accid took out Zigma to claim the titles and $1m in cash, each.

The winners gave praises to the weekly televised competition for nurturing their talents.

“I started out a bit shy because I wasn’t used to performing on a stage in front of persons. But over the period, it helped me to become a better artiste,” Clymaxx told the Jamaica Observer after her victory.

Her male counterpart echoed similar sentiments.

“Being in the competition has opened a lot of doors for me. Right now, Magnum set me for life. I entered to win and to start my music career. The inspiration came from my four-month-old son. I did this for him,” Accid told the Observer.

Given name Oneil Walker, Accid, 33, is from Annotto Bay in St Mary. A former student of Port Maria High, he has been honing his craft for the past decade. His first single English (2006) never made the charts. He was, however, determined to chase his dream.

Accid spoke about the competition’s challenges.

“Getting people to vote (for me) was my biggest challenge each week. You have to go out there and hunt the votes. I have a campaign team that went hard each week,” he explained.

Asked what he felt kept him in the competition, he said: “’I believe the feeling that people wanted more and were always anticipating something from me each week. I think that encouraged them to continue voting to keep me in the competition.”

A former Immaculate Conception High student, Clymaxx (real name Jhennelle Barclay) had always wanted to become an entertainer.

“I have the talent and I have been doing music from high school. I was encouraged by my friends so I decided to enter Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall,” she said.

She believes her hard-hitting lyrics were what kept her ahead of her rivals.

“I think it’s because of my potent lyrics that persons kept voting for me. Normally, they wouldn’t expect those kinds of lyrics from a female deejay,” she said.

The 24-year-old, who has a child with dancehall deejay Masicka, said she has been approached by several producers who have expressed a desire to work with her.

“Magnum has given me a stepping stone. The competition has taught me how to deal with an audience and for that, I am grateful,” said Clymaxx.

She plans to invest her prize money into her career and work on a mixtape this summer.

Launched in 2007, Magnum Kings and Queens of Dancehall is televised on TVJ on Saturdays.