Caryl Jacobs was a regular at rehearsals of her parents’ band Islanda in their native Trinidad and Tobago. Those jams exposed her to different types of music, including reggae and pop.
The singer, who lives in South Florida, goes reggae for her cover of Adele’s Easy On Me. Her version was released in January by Tad’s International Record; it is co-produced by Mark HoSang and Chris Knight.
The original was an international hit for Adele in 2021. Jacobs, a big fan of the British star, decided to put her spin on the power ballad.
“I love Adele’s range and a lot of her songs. I wanted to be a part of this one,” she said.
Jacobs is from Belmont, a suburb located in Port of Spain, the Trinidadian capital. Her parents, Carl and Carla Jacobs, are the driving forces behind Islanda, a leading calypso/soca act.
While those home-grown sounds are the band’s strong point, Jamaican music plays a big role in the Islanda live show. Their eclectic tastes made a big impression on Jacobs who developed an early love for reggae.
“My exposure to reggae goes back to when I was a child. I listened to Bob Marley, Super Cat, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Beres Hammond, Tarrus Riley. I love reggae, I love dancehall, and I love lovers rock…whatever feels good to my soul,” said Jacobs, who has recorded songs with Machel Montano, Rupee, Alison Hinds, Beenie Man, and Mad Cobra.
Some of her previous songs are Good Good and We Wanna Live.
— Howard Campbell
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