The Guinness Sounds of Greatness 2016 saw the last of the competition’s four finalists, Heavyweight Sound, chosen at Red Stripe Oval in St Andrew, last Friday.

Heavyweight Sound will join Fire Shane, No Limit, and Rodney Style for the December 2 showdown to determine the overall winner.

“We came to entertain the crowd and make a statement,” Triple X (given name Darrielle Cummings) one-half of Heavyweight Sound, told the Jamaica Observer.

The two-year-old sound exuded confidence from start to finish, which was reflected by unanimous decision. Based in Kingston, they originally started as dancers, but as time went along, they transformed to serve the music needs of corporate Jamaica.

“Us entering Guinness Sounds of Greatness is about us looking for credibility via the content we can deliver,” Cummings said.

Playing first, they took the entertainment part of their mantra seriously, instantly winning over the crowd as they went after their competitors — Nico Supreme and Della Soul Sound. Alaska Sound was a no-show and was disqualified.

“We did it to intimidate the competition,” said Cummings.

However, their intimidation tactics only seemed to work on Nico Supreme, who faltered from the opening battle. Della Soul Sound wasn’t willing to go down without a fight and their rivalry created an instant tension. The key moment came when Heavyweight Sound went beyond the usual dub plate and brought in some versatility using the screens to simulate a video call to make fun of Della Soul Sound.

When it came to the final seven-song face-off, it went down to the wire. But the crowd response confirmed the verdict of the three judges.

“With the money we win, it will be invested back into the sound as we want to go international,” Cummings said.

— Rory Daley