Reggae recording artiste Adiel “King Diel” Thomas is showing some love to Jamaican sprinter Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce in his latest single which pays tribute to the track and field legend.

The high-energy single dubbed Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce, produced in collaboration with The Genesis Praise Squad, speaks about the lessons learnt from Shelly, a tiny girl from the inner-city community of Waterhouse who has made history on the world stage, securing win after win on the track.

“I wrote it because I think that Shelly is a really great person, and because we are living with her now, we probably don’t even realise. In the next 50 years, when you look back in history, the history is going to be about Shelly and other people. I thought it was necessary to document her greatness from now and not in the next 50 years. Because what she has accomplished has been really phenomenal. So I am really just a fan of her for real,” King Diel told Observer Online.

Noting that he was advised against releasing the single which did not align with his brand, King Diel said, “At the time we were talking about brand identity. In my branding, I think the person was saying that it doesn’t fit my branding. It doesn’t fit what I am trying to do right now, and the person also said that the song is not worth anything for me. So I actually disagree because I didn’t really care about what the song would do for me. I just thought that it was important to write about Shelly because she really deserves it.”

The artiste further shared that he is simply adding to the conversation about Shelly’s greatness through his music.

“People talk about her, but it’s just adding to the conversation about her greatness through music,” he said.

He also shared that the response to the track has so far been positive, and also took the opportunity to show some love to The Genesis Praise Squad for their collaboration on the project.

King Diel is known for songs such as Pretty Melanin, Too Young and the reggae cover of Can I Call You Rose.

He has an upcoming show in December with his band called Island Kings.

-Vanassa McKenzie