A European hit for singer Labrinth in 2014, ‘Jealous’ remains that British singer’s biggest song. Atlanta-based artist D’Mack is looking to surpass that with his reggae version. Released in early September, his cover is produced by Aubrey “Prince” Manning.
The idea to cover ‘Jealous’ came from Julia McLeary, D’Mack’s wife. Once he and Manning agreed, they were determined to make his rendition different.
“We wanted to keep that steady reggae vibe. In order to do so we had to remove the bridge because it would take the song in a different direction. Also, the song would have been too long if we had kept it,” said D’Mack.
Helping him achieve this are Manning on drums, guitarist Leebert “Gibby” Morrison, bassist Tanagari Manning, percussionist David Pessoa, keyboardist Lloyd “Obeah” Denton, saxophonist Giovanni Cigui and vocalist Nicole Bert.
Originally from Portland parish in eastern Jamaica, D’Mack migrated to Canada in his youth. For several years, he was part of the Toronto reggae scene, playing keyboards in a band called Possebility in venues such as The Bamboo, Club Paradise and The Concert Hall.
While in Canada, D’Mack rubbed shoulders with acts like the legendary Jackie Mittoo and Leroy Sibbles, Leroy Gibbons, Neville Francis and Prince Everold.
‘Jealous’ is written by Labrinth, a protege of X Factor host Simon Cowell. The original recording peaked at number seven on the British national chart.
