Jaicko Interview

DJ Booth:  Well, I’m glad it came together for you nicely, ‘cause you’ve got a hit on your hands. Let’s backtrack. Before coming to the U.S., I read that you were actually a rapper and not a singer – what prompted you to shift musical gears?

Jaicko:  Well, I always had a passion for singing, but I was so caught up in rap back then, and the lines between rapping and singing weren’t as thin so, being a rapper, you couldn’t exactly feel good being a singer, whereas now, you have rappers experimenting with different sounds and pursuing different types of careers in music. I just took myself more seriously and started to realize I really could sing. I just grew up, and that was a phase in my life, and I was over it, you know? [laughs]

DJ Booth:  Let’s say you stayed a rapper, though – do you think you’d still be on the cusp of releasing a major-label debut here in the States?

Jaicko:  If I was still a rapper?

DJ Booth:  Yeah.

Jaicko:  I’m not sure it would work as well.

DJ Booth:  So, needless to say, you’re confident and happy with your choice.

Jaicko:  Oh yeah, definitely. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  Should we expect later in your career a possible sideways transition back into rapping, or do you think this is what you’re going to stick with from here on out?

Jaicko:  I have a love for hip-hop already, so if it feels good on a record, why not? I mean, music is something that feels good, and [if] I feel like I can bust out a rap in part of my song, I have no problem doing it. I’m pretty sure other people would love it, too.

DJ Booth:  As I mentioned earlier, you call Barbados home, and it has produced international sensation Rihanna as well as fellow newcomers Shontelle and Livvi Franc. Is there something in the water down there? I mean, what is it? You guys just keep on churning out talent!

Jaicko:  It’s the flying fish! [laughs] No man, I think people definitely just are looking for a different, new sound, and I think that’s what we have to offer. You know, we talk different, all of our melodies are different – it’s Caribbean-infused pop, baby, and that’s what people want, you know?

DJ Booth:  Mm-hm. What I like to call it is “feel-good music.”

Jaicko:  Feel-good music, exactly! That’s exactly what it is.

DJ Booth:  You can’t listen to it and not feel good – it’s not possible!

Jaicko:  Not at all.

DJ Booth:  Jaicko, style-wise, you have this ”Lenny Kravitz-meets-Corbin Bleu of High School: The Musical” thing goin’ on. How did that look come to be?

Jaicko:  Wow, I couldn’t even tell you how it came to be. Ever since I was little, I cut my hair a few times, but I always wore it long and curly, and I kinda just went with it. I went to school back home in Barbados like that, and I used to surf and stuff when I was back home, and that was always just me, you know?

DJ Booth:  Jaicko, one of my staff members, Ru, comes from a very strong West Indian background, and, in my conversation with her shortly before we got on the phone, she said that, within the West Indian culture, music is not really taken seriously as an occupational choice. So, how did your family feel when you made clear to them that this was definitely the craft that you wanted to pursue?

Jaicko:  Fortunately for me, I had both sides of my family on my side with my decision. They were always one-hundred with me in terms of what I wanted to do, no matter what, and it was clear to them that this is what I wanted to do. They believed in it as much as I did. Through the likes of people like Rihanna, we kinda thought it was possible.

DJ Booth:  When you were a kid, did you know then that you wanted to become either a singer, a rapper, or some type of musician, or was there something else that you hoped to be?

Jaicko:  Well, I always had a passion for music, through my dad. My dad had one of the most popular club bands in Barbados, and I’d go watch him rehearse, and during the summer I’d be able to go to some of his little nightclub gigs and watch him perform, and I’d come up onstage. Even though [you’re] nine years old, you have no clue what you’ wanna be, I could definitely kind of tell that I would be doing music.

DJ Booth:  Jaicko, the title of your forthcoming debut is quite ambiguous. So, do you view “Can I” as a question, or do you view “Can I” as the answer?

Jaicko:  “Can I” is the question and the answer. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  Okay, very nice – explain.

Jaicko:  Definitely. Well, there’s a song on my album called “Can I” that pretty much explains my struggle from bein’ at the bottom and tryin’ to write from the top all the struggles that I’ve faced, and waiting to become and artist in the music industry, the disappointments, and, “Can I get around this? Yes I can.” It speaks for itself.

DJ Booth:  I haven’t heard it yet, but I can tell you this much: I’m already feeling inspired.

Jaicko:  Oh, definitely. ‘Cause as humans, we go through a lot of challenges, and you ask yourself, ”Can I get around this?” and you just say, “Yes, I can!” you know?

DJ Booth:  You self-produced three songs on this debut.

Jaicko:  Yes, sir.

DJ Booth:  Which side of the booth is more challenging for you: the recording side or the production side?

Jaicko:  Actually, all of it is very fun. It’s not a challenge at all for me. I don’t even see it as a job. A lot of people from the outside look at it as a job for me, but I don’t see it as a job. It’s one of the most blessed things in the world to be able to do. Like, I wake up in the morning, and I go perform for thousands of people,and I get to showcase my music. So, in the booth, being inspired by that is one of the greatest feelings in the world. And being able to create music is something that I love, it’s a passion of mine, and it’s great. I love it.

DJ Booth:  I couldn’t agree with you more. From someone like myself, who wakes up every day and I never feel like I’m working, ‘cause I get to do cool things like, you know, talk to you on the phone. It’s great, it’s absolutely amazing.

Jaicko:  Oh, definitely. There’s nothing hard about it to me. There are challenges, as I mentioned earlier, but we’re all human, we all face challenges. They’re not that hard if you really think about them, you know?

DJ Booth:  In your single, “Oh Yeah,” you have a line that says, “This is gonna be my claim to fame, oh yeah.”

Jaicko:  Yeah. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  How would you feel, though, let’s say 10 years from now – so you’re 28 – if you were only known as “the ‘Oh Yeah’ guy?”

Jaicko:  Definitely… not. ‘Cause one of my main goals is bein’ an artist [that has] longevity, and I have a lot more in store than “Oh Yeah.” “Oh Yeah” is just the beginning, and I have a lot more. We have a whole album full of hits, in my opinion. One of my main goals is longevity, so in 10 years you’ll be hearing, “Jaicko, the great artist from Barbados,” “Jaicko, the number one-selling artist.” That’s how I see myself in 10 years. Not as “the ‘Oh Yeah.’ guy.”

DJ Booth:  I was hoping you’d say that.

Jaicko:  Oh, thank you. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  You’re welcome. Obviously, you have a niche right now that you can really see a lot of success in, but there are plenty of other artists in the industry who share your determination, a Chris Brown or a Mario. How do you see yourself breaking away as you continue on in your career, so that you’re not clumped together with your industrymates?

Jaicko:  Right, right… I mean, me bein’ from the Caribbean, I bring a whole new sound altogether. And the way I talk and a lot of my melodies are so different that I don’t think I could ever be compared to an American artist, ‘cause I’m just not American. It’s as simple as that: Jaicko is from Barbados, and I’ll rep it till the day I die, and you’ll always hear it in my music. Right now I feel as though I can be compared to artists like Chris Brown and Omarion, but, as time goes on, people will really get to see who Jaicko is. Yeah, yeah!

DJ Booth:  I am going to be in your native Barbados this winter. I’m actually going to take a cruise with my extended family. So, while I’m there, what do I need to do? Give me some tips on how I can enjoy my time.

Jaicko:  You need to go to the beach, that’s number one. And, number two, you need to go to my dad’s restaurant. [laughs]

DJ Booth:  Okay, what is the name?

Jaicko:  He has a restaurant in the biggest mall in Barbados, it’s called Foreplay Deli, and when you go there you’ll see my posters all over the wall. You need to go have some West Indian food!

DJ Booth:  So, all I’ve gotta do is ask for your dad when I get to the Foreplay Deli, tell him that you and I did the interview, and I’m set?

Jaicko:  Yeah, tell him that DJ Z and your boy Jaicko just had a conversation on the phone, and you need to go and get some food from Foreplay Deli.

DJ Booth:  Okay. What is the specialty at your father’s deli? What should I be ordering?

Jaicko:  So much, man! You need to go and see for yourself – they have curry, roti, stewed chicken, peas and rice, plantain, pumpkin, callaloo, everything!

DJ Booth:  Sounds like I’m gonna be stuffed!

Jaicko:  I wanna go home! [laughs]

DJ Booth:  [laughs] Jaicko, it’s been a pleasure talking to you. I want everyone to get to know you better, so give them a website, a MySpace page, a Twitter account, so they can find out more.

Jaicko:  Oh, definitely. Yo, all the fans on DJBooth, y’all can hit me on twitter.com/jaicko, myspace.com/jaicko, jaickomusic.com. And don’t forget, the single, “Oh Yeah,” is no iTunes. Go get the single, the video, everything’s on there. So I’m around, baby! Look out!

DJ Booth:  Yes, you are. Thank you once again for takin’ the time to join me inside the DJ Booth, and nothing but the continued best of luck as you move forward in your upstart career.

Jaicko:  Thank you so much for havin’ me, DJ Z! Oh yeah!