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WHEN Olympic decathlete-turned-recording artiste released his tribute to athletes ahead of the recently staged Olympic Games in Tokyo, little did he realise the magnitude of the impact the song would have.
The track, titled Olympian, was a motivator to the athletes as they stepped on the track or in the field to represent their country and themselves.
Smith, who performs under the moniker DecaJams, told the Jamaica Observer’s Splash that he was taken aback by the response to his track.
“I really appreciated the love that I got from so many persons, including the athletes themselves. A number of them even requested a copy of the song so their could use it as they warmed up for their various events and that was awesome… It just showed that my song could help to motivate these world-class athletes as they participated at the Olympics and that feels great,” he said.
DecaJams has waited very little time and spurred by the reception to Olympian, he has released another song Claim, with a similar motivational message.
“It’s really a spin-off from Olympian. I just want to send a message to the people at this times. We are experiencing a pandemic, and loss of income, lockdowns and all these thing have brought on a lot of stress for a lot of people. So I just want to let them know that they have the strength to make great things happen for themselves,” he said.
“I simply telling my people to go out there and get their share. I try to use myself as an example. As it relates to my athletics career most people see the end result. They did not see the hard work and dedication that I put in behind the scenes. I knew that being an Olympian and world-class athlete was possible so I went out there and I’m just encouraging persons to go out there a d get their share,” DecaJams stated.
The rhythm was created by US-based producer Gracious Keys, who, according to DecaJams, was disappointed with the songs he was getting back from artistes who wanted to be on this rhythm.
“I have worked with him in the past and he shared with me the fact that he needed a song to do justice the the rhythm. After business manager Brandon Simpson and I listened to the track, the melody and lyrics just came to me and I. A short time I sent a demo back to the producer. He loved it and told me it was the first time an artiste was doing justice to his rhythm.”
The video for Claim was shot in his home community of All Man Hill in St Catherine.
On the matter of the Olympics, DecaJams is pleased with Jamaica’s performance and medal haul, but for him Hansle Parchment’s gold-medal run in the 110-metre hurdles is his performance of the games.
“When I saw his semi-final I sent him a voice message. I’m sure he didn’t get to hear it but I sent it anyway. I told him: ‘You are as good as or even better that [Grant ] Holloway, so just go out there and get this’. When he won, I was so excited. I’m happy for all the athletes —- the ladies and the one, two, three in the 100 metres; Megan in the hurdles; the relays, but it was great and made me miss being out there even more,” said DecaJams.
Given name Maurice Smith, he competed in the gruelling decathlon at the Olympic Games in Athens, Beijing, and London, and won the silver medal in the decathlon at the 2007 World Championships. He is the current national record holder in the men’s decathlon with 8,644 points.
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