Most artists have songs they cherished since their youth and covered them as soon as they became professional. For Jah Niceness, that song is ‘Trapped’, written by Jimmy Cliff and made famous by Bruce Springsteen.
His version, known as ‘Trap’, was released in November by Open Doors Records out of Orlando, Florida where Jah Niceness lives.
“I can’t really remember the first time I actually heard ‘Trapped’, but as much as I can remember I grew up hearing it playing on the radio every day. It was a big song in the United States and lots of other places over the world,” he said.
‘Trap’ is done on the Overcast Riddim, the latest project from Open Doors Records, which is operated by Jason Bromfield. After he presented the rhythm track to Jah Niceness, the singer knew the time was right to cover one of his favorite songs.
“As I started playing the riddim I just hear Trap in my head and it fit so perfectly on the changes of the beat, it was unbelievable. So, I went on YouTube to find the lyrics and that’s when I found out that it was not Bruce Springsteen’s song, but it was actually written by our own Jimmy Cliff,” he said.
Cliff’s original cut was released in 1972 by Island Records but saw little success. It was not until Springsteen performed the song in concert a decade later that ‘Trapped’ took off and caught the attention of fans like Jah Niceness.
