DJ Omar, Bobby Wong look to Carnival rush

Even though it has been 34 years since Omar “DJ Omar” Chin and DJ Bobby Wong first worked together at a soca session, they still get that adrenaline rush as Carnival season approaches.

The long-time friends will again be at the helm of Sparkles Disco for another round of parties, starting this month.

One of them is 4D, which takes place April 26 at Hope Gardens in St Andrew.

For that event, they collab with DJ Radcliffe and Marco Brown, popular figures on the South Florida party scene.

Chin recently spoke to the Jamaica Observer about the evolution of Carnival in Jamaica since he and Wong debuted with Bacchanal Jamaica Mas Camp, held at Devon House.

“In my opinion, Carnival was more organised and unified in the past. Sponsorship was also more prevalent, likely due to the state of the economy at the time. Byron Lee, who introduced Carnival to Jamaica, played a significant role in maintaining the authenticity of the event,” he noted. “Nowadays, Jamaica’s Carnival has become a major attraction, drawing visitors from around the world. While this influx of tourists boosts the economy, it’s essential to preserve the cultural integrity of the event.”

A Calabar High School past student, Chin is a trained sound engineer who joined Sparkles Disco in 1990. At that time, Wong, a Jamaica College old boy, was looking to branch out into show production, so he appointed Chin the sound system’s chief selector.

Since 1990, they have played at Bacchanal Jamaica’s biggest events, including J’Ouvert, Socasize, Bacchanal Fridays, and Frenchmen parties.

Chin believes there is a drop in standards in another aspect of Carnival.

“Back then, the music was much better than present. I guess just like how dancehall then was compared to now,” he said.

— Howard Campbell