Ever since she entered the Heineken Green Synergy competition in 2008 DJ Naz has continued to showcase how much of a talented selector she really is.

Having won the Guinness Sounds of Greatness Belt as well as the Rub-A-Dub Thursdays belt it was no surprise that she triumphed over her two other competitors at last Saturday night’s inaugural staging of the Queens of Clash.

Held on the outskirts of the National Arena, Queens of Clash also featured DJ KK of Trinidad (she presently resides in the United States) and Chicago’s DJ Montana.

“I’ve won a few clashes before, but this one feels special. It’s the first all-female clash, and mi just waan big up the promoters dem. Dem tek di time out and make it possible for the females, because more time wi nuh get the highlight,” DJ Naz told the Jamaica Observer shortly after she was announced as the winner.

“Mi enjoy every moment of the clash because mi love music, but mi woulda love for things to be better for female DJs,” DJ Naz reiterated.

Chicago’s DJ Montana finished in second place, while DJ KK was third.

“I only started being a selector a couple of years ago, so I am now a full-time DJ. The experience here tonight was amazing. It is just a blessing being here in Jamaica and doing what I love. My first time being in Jamaica was in 1998, and since then I have lost count to the number of times that I have been here,” DJ Montana said.

While growing up in Chicago she often heard reggae music being played on the radio and decided when she was older that she would visit the country which gave birth to reggae music.

DJ Montana said that her career has not been all roses.

“For me, since I started being a DJ, the journey has been rough. As a woman we get a lot of fight, but I also do this because I love it,” she shared.

Asked how she prepared for the clash, DJ Montana said: “It took a lot of studying of the greats, the dub selections,” explaining that this was her third clash.

In the first round the ladies each played for 10 minutes. Other rounds included dub for dub, tune for tune until the best-of-7 round, which was cut short by the police after four rounds.

What was exciting about the clash was that each DJ came prepared to battle. Different dub plates were used to throw jabs and shades at competitors, but it was all fun.

In the first round, DJ Naz grabbed for Damian Marley’s The Mission then songs from Mavado’s catalogue, before introducing a song titled Introspection by newcomer Byng.

DJ Montana arrived with her arsenal ready to do battle.

“I flew here from Texas for some killing tonight,” DJ Montana declared before unleashing a round of Lady Saw’s songs including Man a The Least, Woman Mi Name and Walk Out. Fight Ova Man by Spice was thrown in for good measure before a defiant Konshens on dub declared, “Mi nuh frighten fi nobody.”

During the second round, DJ KK played some one drop music before remixing some popular dancehall songs on reggae one drop beats. Songs by Capleton, Vybz Kartel, Barrington Levy, Nigy Boy, and Masicka got the remix treatment.

Then the fiery DJ Naz came blazing.

“Dem a fire shot but a pure blank,” she said before easing into Assassin’s Don’t Make We Hold Yuh, and some old-school dancehall treats.

At the end of the fourth round DJ KK was eliminated. The look of disappointment was evident on her face.

“I decided to enter this competition because I feel like a lot of people wanted to see me play and talk, as well as the opportunity to play with some of the DJs that I look up to like DJ Naz. She’s a veteran at this and I want to be like her one day. It was just the opportunity and wanting to learn from the experience,” DJ KK told the Observer.

Before her elimination, she played a dub with the line “DJ Naz, yuh look like when yuh put chicken back inna cooking oil,” before she teased a dub plate from Ginjah saying, “DJ Naz yuh lost yuh way.”

But DJ Naz fired back, “If yuh cyaan tek di heat, come outta di… kitchen,” before serving a healthy dose of dubs.

DJ Naz and DJ Montana continued to deliver musical blows to each other. DJ Montana won one round, the next round they both tied, and then DJ Naz was declared winner of the other two rounds, thus taking the title Queen of Clash and a cash prize of US$3,000, at the event sponsored by Double Seven Energy Drink and Rum-Bar Rum.

Bobette Bolton, brand manager, Double Seven Energy Drink, was pleased with the night’s execution.

“We got the call to bring the energy behind the queens of clash movement and we decided to come on board… Double Seven is aligned to dancehall, from inception that’s what we are here for. We’re supporting dancehall and our women in dancehall. Tonight was pure excitement, and if you weren’t here, you missed something good,” said Bolton.