Jamaican Olympian Maurice Smith lends voice in song in support of BLM movement
The three-time Olympian and 2007 World Championship silver medallist, who has since transitioned into a career in music, released his latest work, Revolution, on June 15 on his Instagram page. This, he said, is his way of joining the protests.
Listen to the song HERE.
“I don’t want to be directly in the midst of that, but if I can let my voice be heard in the midst of it then that is how I want to do it and I want to do that with my music,” said Smith, who uses the name Deca for his music career.
The 2007 Pan American champion lives in the United States where George Floyd was killed on May 25 after a police officer kneeled on his neck for eight-minutes and 46 seconds sparking protests that eventually went global.
“The George Floyd video was very hard for me to watch. It took me a while before I was able to look at the whole thing. To see the man on the ground with the police officer kneeling on his neck, you really felt what that man was going through, crying out for his mother. That was a very emotional thing for me to watch and seeing that people are standing right next to it, watching it and can’t even do anything about it because they are scared about losing their lives as well,” he said.
“It just made me want to do something; let my voice be heard in some way, somehow without being directly in the midst of the protests and everything, so hopefully the energy that the song is bringing will connect with the people.”
Revolution, he said, produced by GraciousKeyz, is all about supporting the cause. The acts of injustice that are being recorded across the globe and more specifically in the United States and Jamaica are not new but he wanted the song to help bring greater awareness.
“As a black man, we need to reach out more to people. It seems like we are trying to unite right now because as a people we are stronger and I just want people to hear the song and feel the energy and make them want to unite and stand up against the injustice that has been affecting our people for generations,” he said.
“It is happening a lot in my country too, so as an Olympian, who is now a recording artist this is my way of speaking up, letting my voice be heard.”
Smith said that because the song is not about commercial success, it is only available for viewing on his Instagram Page and IGTV @Decajams. However, in time he plans to release it on other digital platforms in the near future.
“This song is not about me, it’s about connecting to the emotions of the people based on what is happening right now, not just in this country but across the world. I will make it available for download for everyone”