Tony Matterhorn wins Sumfest Heavyweight Clash

Veteran selector Tony Matterhorn captured the Sumfest Heavyweight Sound Clash title using his experience and vast catalogue to see off the challenge of Soul Supreme in the final on Thursday, July 20 inside Pier One.

Matterhorn took home $500,000 and the Sumfest Heavyweight Sound Clash Belt in fine style as Soul Supreme had no answer for his dub of Ouuu by rapper Young M.A.

Matterhorn went from villain to hero as he used his experience to win over a hostile crowd inside the Pier One venue. By the third round, he managed to sway the crowd in his favour and never looked back.

“I knew I had it won from the second or third round. I always hunt down the titles that are new, so once there is a new title up for grabs I am going to go for it and now I am the first champion of Sumfest’s Heavyweight Clash! I focused on Soul Supreme mostly as I did not want to get caught up in the fascination with the other sounds, they were the best challenger, so I had to be careful to not make any loose mistakes. The competition was beautiful, at first we were worried about the rules but by the second round, everything went smoothly,” said Matterhorn.

The Sumfest Heavyweight Sound Clash went retro sound system style, with five stages, one for each sound, around the venue and a sixth stage for the judges, Cordell ‘Skatta’ Burrell, Dr. Sonjah Stanley Niaah and Colin Hinds. Patrons walked around to each station, but by round three, most patrons began to stick close to the sound that had won them over. The dynamic layout embodies the vision and personality of the DownSound Entertainment CEO, Josef Bogdanovich.  

The first round was 10 minutes of juggling by each sound which introduced them to the audience. The second round was a challenge round with each sound having to play their five best 90s collaborations, on dub or 45. Yard Beat was originally eliminated but reinstated in round three. Round three saw the sounds being grouped, with Warrior Sound and No Limit being tasked with playing their 5 best Buju Banton songs plus three best singing vocals. Meanwhile, Soul Supreme, Matterhorn and Yard Beat were asked to play their five best Vybz Kartel songs along with three singing vocals. No Limit and Warrior Sound were eliminated by virtue of the weakest crowd response.

The clash then moved into the dub segment with Yard Beat, Matterhorn and Soul Supreme exchanging five dubs each in a tune for tune format. Yard Beat was eliminated to set up the final between Soul Supreme and Matterhorn, who none could argue were the two best sounds on the night.