As the summer turns to fall, American radio has taken an unexpected trip to a tropical island in the Caribbean. Seeking something exotic and new, Jaicko, a Barbadian native, serves as the perfect musical tour guide.
As the nominee of several Barbados Music Awards, his music is widely known throughout the island. In fact, amongst the country’s 300,000 residents, Jaicko is literally a household name, since his work receives constant rotation on the major Top 40 radio stations. One particular track, “Oh Yeah,” Jaicko hopes will explode on American airwaves really soon.
Upon the release of Can I, Jaicko’s international debut, the artist managed to squeeze some time out of his busy schedule and settle down for an interview with Clayton Perry — reflecting on Rihanna, breaking into America, and his professional relationship with his father.
Your father is an accomplished musician as well. In what ways did his passion for music influence your career? As you followed your dream, how did he push you?
I spent a lot of time around my dad, and he had this basement that he’d go rehearse in. I envied him. And when I was little, I wanted to be just like him and start a musical career. As I grew older, he embraced it. He discovered that I could sing and I could rap, so he took me into the studio and was very supportive of my dream. So we just took it from there.
Is there any kind of special advice that he gave you as you were navigating the music industry?
Oh yeah, definitely. Patience and perseverance and knowing that all the adversity is worth it. It was good that he was always there to give me advice and help me keep strong. I had a lot of challenging times. It was a dream for him, as well, for me to become successful. He always wanted it for me.
From time to time, the two of you work together as a songwriting duo. At what point did you start writing together? And is there a particular song that you have written together that has a special memory attached?
It kind of just happened. One day, I was just sitting down trying to write a song and he came and helped me come up with a line. After that, we just kind of started writing together. Our relationship definitely grew from there. Out of the songs we have written, the one that means the most to me is a song called “Can I.” It’s actually the title track of the album. That song explains my life experience, my journey from the bottom to the top. The lyrics help me to stay positive and be strong. Right in that song, I give myself motivation to be successful and get around this.
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