Olympic fever has spread throughout Jamaica in light of the island’s track stars painting London in black, green and gold with their blistering performances. One prominent dancer turned deejay has decided to pay tribute to Team Jamaica’s cause in song.
In light of Olympic theme songs created by artistes such as Masicka (Jamaica Guh Haad and Done), Cherine Anderson (Jamaica Tun It Up) amongst several others, Ovamarz recently unveiled his own tribute to Jamaica’s Olympians with his aptly titled track, Best Pon 2 Foot. According to Ovamarz, the inspiration for Best Pon 2 Foot was sparked after a female fan declared him as the best dancer she knew.
From there, Ovamarz and his dance crew, Aboveadem Squad coined Best Pon 2 Foot as the new slang within dances and sessions across Jamaica and with the Olympics drawing closer, the highly acclaimed entertainer teamed with Cashflow Records to record a theme song for Jamaica’s Olympic track team, which he insists will be an inspiration to people worldwide.
“I decided to do a dedication song for Jamaica and the entire World because I know that every human on this planet is best at one or more things in their life. I did the original song for Cash Flow Records and decided to include Usain Bolt & Shelly Ann Fraser who are my two favorite Jamaican athletes, also including selectors, promoters, and a few other dancehall people,” he said.
“While watching the Olympics, I decided that our Jamaican Athletes deserved their own tribute. The hard work our team put out in training and going London to represent my island Jamaica, the least I could do to cheer and support them was their own tribute song.”
Jamaican music and track cultures have more recently become intertwined; most notably, four years ago in Beijing when Usain Bolt celebrated his 100m and 200m world-record wins by doing dances such as the Nuh Linga that was created by Ovamarz and Gully Creepa that was created by Ice, moves which were hugely popular at the time.
For Ovamarz, it was a joy to watch Bolt and other athletes mimic dance moves that he and other prominent dancers coined.
“Four years ago, seeing Usain Bolt and others doing one of my dance and other popular dances, had me beaming with joy. I was the happiest person on two foot at that moment.”
At London 2012, Jamaica managed to exceed their medal haul in Beijing (12) while also making more history in the process as Usain Bolt retained his 100m and 200m titles, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce retained her 100m title, Jamaica swept the medal stand in the 200m and achieved a new World Record in the 4 by 100m relay.
These achievements have made Ovamarz more proud to be Jamaican.
“Our Jamaican athletes are doing a great job in London. I am very proud of them all…I respect them to the fullest for their very hard work and dedication. They are the best at what they do….best pon 2 foot!” he said.
So far in 2012, Ovamarz has strengthened his deejaying resume with several noteworthy singles such as Wake Up (Sex Jive Riddim – Stash Di Cash Records) and The Way We Roll featuring Fambo. This, in addition to he and fellow Aboveadem Squad member, Gabbidon creating dance moves such as the Formation and Hot Step respectively, to positive acclaim.
In Ovamarz’s mind, the transition from dancing to deejaying hails as a manageable challenge given that the two arts are necessary supplements to each other.
“For me, the jump from dancing to deejaying was me just easing into my rightful place as a Performing Artiste….I have been beating on zinc fence in Nannyville & dancing while deejaying since I was about 6 years old. I was born that way and each year, I only grow more into my skin & become more comfortable,” he said.
“Balancing dancing with deejaying is quite easy for me. You just cannot have a dance without a song or a song without a dance. Whenever I hear a beat, I visualize moving to the beat and then I just add words that would make that move jump to life and I make it fit on the beat. This is my passion, my purpose for living, that is all I see this as and I have fun doing it.”
In addition to dancing & recording, look for Ovamarz to make his acting debut in Swapped, a movie produced by Cleon James. Cleon James is also known for his latest film, Green Card starringSpragga Benz as well as his first two films: Facing Reality & Bloodshed.
Going forward, Ovamarz looks to add to his repertoire as he seeks to delve within the promotional ranks while involved in a number of charities. Furthermore, Ovamarz will celebrate his birthday with a party at O’Neil’s Place in Kingston on August 18.
