Entertainment Macco

With a name like "Trini", and daughter of soca ambassadors Carl and Carol Jacobs, there was no surprise when this young diva hit the stage some years ago pursing a music career. We have heard her sweet voice on collaborations with Machel Montano, Glen Washington, and Beenie Man and was a former front-line vocalist of Roy Cape All stars.

 The once shy Caryl "Trini" Jacobs has made a mark in entertainment industry. The Entertainment Macco, got a chance to up close and personal with Trini. Yes we get to Macco her businesss......!!



Photography: Kerron Riley
Stylist: Kim Lee-Inniss



Trini Jacobs: "Hmmm .. I am .. forever changing. From my personalities to my belief system, sometime I’m sure and sometime I am lost for words."

Entertainment Macco: What is your sign/horoscope?
Trini Jacobs: "Cancer"

Entertainment Macco: Are you Single/In a relationship/Married?
Trini Jacobs: "Single most of the time ... as of lately"

Entertainment Macco: I know you do not have any children but do you plan on having any?
Trini Jacobs: "I am in the process of preparing to pop one out ;) ... you maccos"
Entertainment Macco: LOL.......*holding stomach* 


Entertainment Macco: Is the name “Trini” any part of your given name? If not how did the name come about (other than the fact that you are “trini”)
Trini Jacobs: "It started with my first management team. They were all Jamaicans, I was the only ‘trini’ .. they made errors in spelling my real name incorrectly, so, I was called ’Trini”. I began to participate in TnT’s Carnival and Jacobs was simply added on to “Trini” , in order to connect me with my parents.. Carl and Carol Jacobs"

Entertainment Macco: How difficult was it to break out of you shy on-stage exterior and become the on-stage Trini you are today? (Yes the shyness showed on stage..it’s all good though)
Trini Jacobs: "I have no problem admitting how shy I was.. it was a very overwhelming feeling for me. But my experiences with Roy Cape Allstars really prepared me and taught me to be all that I grew to be on stage.. lol .. I still have alot to learn.."
Entertainment Macco: Well....once you are willing to learn you will continue to grow..

Entertainment Macco: It is public knowledge that you are no longer with Roy Cape and the Allstars (who doh know that by now living under a rock) are you happy with this decision?
Trini Jacobs: "Ummm, no. I was not ready to leave Roy Cape Allstars, I did put all my information and trust in the musical director of the band at that time, and he really made a mess as to what information he chose to give or share with the rest of the crew. This caused a whole misunderstanding and unfortunately I was fired. At the end of it , all that really mattered to me at the time was that Roy Cape himself (papi) knew that I would never willingly disrespect him, his name or his establishment. Life has moved us on.. But these were things I never got to tell him , simply because I never got a professional opportunity to speak on my behalf.. I’ve had a great year last year and a very interesting one this year(2010). I wish them all the best. I say thank you, for all the experiences and keep ‘doing yuh do’ P.S. Roy Cape Allstars is still one of my favourite sounding bands... the best actually... "

Entertainment Macco: Would you like to confirm or deny rumours that you were fired?
Trini Jacobs: "I was FIRED!!!!! Lmao ( i can laugh now) .. but had some real unsure times last year, but GOD is great!!


Entertainment Macco: I have been watching you and I am impressed with how you have grown as an artiste but what I am more impressed with is your image…you took it up a notch ent? Who or what is responsible for this drastic change?
Trini Jacobs: "I have opened my eyes to what fashion is now and I never limit myself or have fears about my stage image. Once I am comfortable within myself and I feel good.. It’s ‘on!!!’ I love fashion because it constantly changes and it never has to make sense."

Entertainment Macco: Do you think if your parents were not heavily involved in music that you would have pursued it as a career?
Trini Jacobs:"Well I can sing and I do love the sound of music. So it’s something that I know, based on my passion for music, which I would have ventured into regardless. My parents showed us how to manage and deal with the ups and downs of the business. We; my siblings and I, got first hand experiences from the hypocrites to the hypocrisies of the industry. We were taught to stay grounded and keep the love for music and the passion to create this music alive, regardless of the situation."
Entertainment Macco: SMH @ Hyprocrites and Hypocrisies

Entertainment Macco: I heard that you and are mom are really close…Is it that you share everything with her or there are stuff that you hide?
Trini Jacobs: "I can share and discuss everything with my mother. It doesn’t matter .. lol .. we talk about everything from sex, politics, religion or bachannal."
Entertainment Macco: Aunty Carol (I hope she does not mind me calling her that...) is a kewl mommy I see...

Entertainment Macco: What is your biggest turn on in the opposite sex? That one thing that does make you go da da dammmmn!!
Trini Jacobs: "I can’t say that here...... It’s not a PG13 answer.."
Entertainment Macco:Well you know this is not a PG13 blog right? lol But i have a feeling the response is x-rated....lol

Entertainment Macco: What is the weirdest/funniest thing a man has ever done to get your attention/interest?
Trini Jacobs: "lol .. being Trini Jacobs, men do and say alot of crazy things. There’re so many that it keeps my line of work very amusing."

Entertainment Macco: When you were/are looking for a mate do/did u look for someone in the industry or out of the industry & why?
Trini Jacobs: "If I found a soul mate within the industry, it would have been nice. My life and the things that I have to do would have been easier understood. But out the industry is perfectly fine, once the chemistry, respect and love is there.."

Entertainment Macco: What is your idea of a perfect date? Create a picture for the maccos please :-)
Trini Jacobs: "I don’t know .. I love surprises. I’m very spontaneous and I’m not sure what a ‘perfect date’ is. Once I’m happy, smiling and comfortable with what’s going on. It’s perfect .. just keep me guessing."

Entertainment Macco: Are you a full-time artiste or do you hold down an 8-4 job?
Trini Jacobs: "8-4?? Uhhh no! Actually I love animals and I intend to do school part time, so that I can be Trini Jacobs and Dr. Jacobs .. Veterinary medicine that is."
Entertainment Macco: Ahha...I think I can see you in that field.... :-)

Entertainment Macco: In your industry what is your biggest pet peeve…that one thing that does real stress you out and send your pressure level up?
Trini Jacobs:"Hypocrisy used to really get to me, but I see around it now."

Entertainment Macco: What do you usually do when you are not recording/performing?
Trini Jacobs: "I’m loving..family and my hobbies."

Entertainment Macco: If you were not involved in music what do you think you would be doing?
Trini Jacobs:"On some billionaires yacht, sailing away somewhere..."
Entertainment Macco: *Chokes* Haha....Keep them coming Trini...keep 'em coming

Entertainment Macco: What is your best attribute, or have been told is?
Trini Jacobs: "How well I function under pressure."

Entertainment Macco: If there was one thing you could change about your physical features what would it be and why?
Trini Jacobs: "My nail polish, simply because every colour does not match.. duh!!"
Entertainment Macco: lmaoooooooooooooooooo Stop it.. *puts on serious face*

Entertainment Macco: What is your irresistible temptation?
Trini Jacobs: "Arabian food and a fine man."
Entertainment Macco: *High five @ Fine man...."

Entertainment Macco: What is your absolute favourite possession, one that you find it so hard to part with?
Trini Jacobs: "Hmmm will have to say, I don’t know!"

Entertainment Macco: What is your personal credo?
Trini Jacobs: "How much patience I have."

Entertainment Macco: The person you admire the most and why?
Trini Jacobs: "GOD and Beyonce. They’re everything i wish to be in different ways."
Entertainment Macco: Interesting....

Entertainment Macco: For Carnival 2010 although you were not seen much, I recognized that your style of music has changed a bit, what caused this?
Trini Jacobs:"I don’t know. I was inspired and I wrote to suite.. It’s only my second year writing my own music. Can be a bit tricky at times."

Entertainment Macco: When you die, what memory would you like to leave behind?
Trini Jacobs:"I want to be remembered as a woman who loved her life, loved her craft, loved her family dearly, very happy at heart and regardless of the degree of the external success, her main love was for simply being alive, healthy and capable".

Entertainment Macco: I know there are real life maccos out there, how do you keep your personal life off the streets and separate from you business life?
Trini Jacobs: Now why will I tell you all the secret to that???
Entertainment Macco: Here we go again....lol...Thank you Trini!! :-)

Greetings,

We would like to start off by saying thank you for making us trendsetters, as we see many a website didn't bother to ask they just thief we Exclusive interview on Donoe’o and Problem Child and didn't even bother to give us credit. We would also like to give props to the Punch Newspaper (Ms. Badal) for dealing with the business professionally and asking us for permission as well as giving us credit for using our exclusive interview with Donae’o.


On to other things we Macco-ed this week

We macco-ed that the most experienced musician in the band resigned but somehow we are hearing that he get fired. Which one is it? Now as far as we know he was the Musical Director and SW and You was already sounding lil shaky so what will happen to the band now?
Ozy MajiQ is giving up singing, recording and performing? If allyuh did not know…Ozy MajiQ is probably one of the most consistent Rapso artistes in Trinidad and Tobago and has been toiling for many a years….It has finally gotten to him and the man is saying that it has reached a point where it is impossible to build an industry outside of Carnival with little or NO resources….. He is putting down the MIC but would he loose his love for music is what I wonder? Ozy is saying that he is uncertain what his next move is career wise but he is certain that it would have a positive impact on the community BOTH locally and globally.....

On another note we macco-ed that a big big bigggggg promoter in New York advertised JW and Blaze this past weekend for an event knowing fully well that they weren’t coming any where and then because it had a storm they show got cancelled….But we also hear that two big big Soca Stars pay their way to go to America to perform on that show, I wonder how they feeling?


Now I bought a copy of the “Socabox” CD and was very very surprised when I realized that big big tune by Shal and Screws was written by Kernal Roberts and Tishard Barrington AKA Screws, so how it is that Shal went to Toronto alone and perform the tune without Screws, wah happen like screws get lock up again for weed and he couldn't make the flight? OR is it that Shal trying to run away with the song?


Is so many things we Macco-ed this week? Well yesss…. Another thing…

We also understand that there is controversy brewing in the Entertainment Industry; RIATT (Recording Industry Association of T&T)..is calling for transparency in the firing of some Board Members and the re-hiring of New Board Members in TTENT (Trinidad and Tobago Entertainment Company)...All yuh hear anything about that? Apparently some of the board of directors were asked to leave aka fired and they are being replaced "secretly"....apparently there were no consultations or offer of consultation/s with entertainment stakeholders and this is why RIATT is calling for transparency...

Date of Interview: 01st March 2010

Time: 10:00PM (Trini Time)

On Sunday 28th February, 2010 the Entertainment Macco published an interview with UK based artiste Donae'o, the singer and songwriter of the Hit "Party Hard", a song that received very favourable airplay throughout the Trinidad and Tobago Carnival 2010 season. The intent of the interview was to introduce the Caribbean to this artiste that most of us had never heard of before but instead we uncovered some interesting news and found ourselves smack dead in the middle of ah bachannal, bringing to light to us and the rest the world that the party hard remix featuring Problem Child, was "Bootleg." Immediately after our publication we were contacted by St Vincent's 2010 Road Monarch Champion Problem Child with a desire to voice his side of the story. Of Course Maccoing is our business so we agreed.

This is what Problem Child had to say.....

Entertainment Macco:Who is Problem Child?
Problem Child:“Is just a humble...Vincentian entertainer who loves music..."

Entertainment Macco: Why did you contact the Entertainment Macco?
Problem Child: “Because I read the interview and I felt as though I should voice my side of the story…."
Entertainment Macco: We appreciate the fact that you contacted us…

Entertainment Macco: Is it true that you recorded and released the “Party Hard” remix without Donaeo's authorization?
Problem Child: “Yes I recorded it without authorization but I never released it….
Entertainment Macco: Why?
Problem Child: “I figured the two personalities would make a great collaboration…I did it with the hopes of impressing them. It was recorded just for them to hear and to lead to some sort of agreement with them….Someone was supposed to contact them for me and we had some difficulties getting to them…. Somewhere along the line someone leaked it and I cannot pinpoint who did it because I sent it to about 4 – 5 people just for them to listen to not for them to put out…”

Entertainment Macco: Did you attempt to contact Donae'o or his management before or after the release of the remix? If so how many times?
Problem Child: “Numerous attempts…emails….a link in UK who was trying to get a hold of them…. By the time we got a hold of them the song had already been leaked…”

Entertainment Macco: Did Donae’o say YES or No when you contacted him concerning the remix?
Problem Child: “We never got an absolute no….they wanted to know how it would benefit them….I told him that I wanted to introduce him to this side of the world…to our culture..it was my intention to help us both…We told them all we had to offer is bookings and any financial gain after the clearance of the record”

Entertainment Macco: How and when did you come across the original version of "Party Hard"?
Problem Child: “Summer of 2009 the same guy that was supposed to contact them (Donae’o and his team) for me…he introduced me to the funk style of music and I fell in love with it…I came across party hard and I remember receiving the song by email…cannot remember who sent it to me….around November time we recorded the demo version of what could have been the remix to send to them…”

Entertainment Macco: Did you perform Party Hard in Trinidad and Tobago for carnival 2010?
Problem Child: “Yea I performed it…I did my verses and the chorus”
Entertainment Macco: Were you hired or got paid to perform “Party Hard” at all for the carnival season?
Problem Child: “No Maam…Not a dime….I started singing "Party Animal" in the first couple of parties and patrons met me and continued to ask me to do it (Perform "Party Hard")…I decided to do it as a cover song…Other bands were singing other peoples’ songs like Vybz Kartel etc and since I wasn’t getting paid I thought it was not a big deal to perform it because I was not gaining financially”
Entertainment Macco: So all your appearances with Asylum were free?
Problem Child: “Yes..I went with the intention to perform “Madhouse” but it was not well received or as popular as I wanted it to be…I had no expenses there because of who I was staying with..it was more like a promotional venture for me”
Entertainment Macco: Alright…Got it!

Entertainment Macco: Did you or have you ever or tried to pass of “Party Hard” as your own? Lots of people are under the impression that you own it somewhat...
Problem Child: “Absolutely not….any interview I ever did….from Synergy to the radio stations I tried to clear up the error and told them it was not my song…I told them it is unofficial…..I do remember saying “unofficial remix” on the actual track…...at the end of it…I always said it was not my song…and I did always state it was a leak..That’s crazy!!!”

Entertainment Macco: What do you hope to achieve by doing this interview?
Problem Child: “To show that I am sorry for the situation at hand.. I humbly apologize to Donae’o and his team..my main thing is that the intention was not malicious at all…my motives were not driven by anything negative….I did not intend to exploit and I did not obtain any monies”

Entertainment Macco: We saw your apology video on youtube, why did you wait until Doneao’s interview to post that video?
Problem Child:“Because I had already apologized to them..I thought that the fact I said the song wasn’t mine would be sufficient…I did not want to put it out there because I did not know how big of a deal it was….A record company called me concerning a compilation and I told them I could not authorize them to put it on….I did not know it was so huge of an issue. The same gentleman from the record label notified me that negotiations were being made and talks were in the works so I thought something would have worked out…he received permission for the original version but not permission for MY VERSION”




Entertainment Macco: Are you familiar with the organization Riddim Stream?
Problem Child: “Yes I am”
Entertainment Macco: Did you authorize Riddim Stream to distribute the song “Party Hard” with your name only and no mention of Donae’o?
Problem Child: “That was done during the end of Trini Carnival….because many people were asking for the record and I did give them authorization to go ahead and do it…I never saw the content of the email..I never received the email blast from them and I suggest you contact them and they can confirm that I did not see the content…it was done as a favour for something I did for them”

Entertainment Macco: What was it about the song that made you want to do a remix?
Problem Child: “I like it..it is great work…..I just generally like the song the whole Party theme”

Entertainment Macco: Is it true that you contacted him (Donae’o) long after the song was released/leaked?
Problem Child: "We did contact them, way before...when we eventually heard from them it turned out the reason we could not get in contact with them was because they were away…that is probably why they did not receive the initial set of emails.. I also tried myspace…facebook...as soon as I realized the song was released/leaked..I contacted them again…I called him 3 times within the last 24hrs and left him 3 messages but to no avail….Each time the song seemed to have grown we contacted them very apologetic and that is how it went on for the whole duration of the situation"

Entertainment Macco: Nowww….it is very easy for people to believe that you did this maliciously….because of your song on the Kassav riddim…“Party Animal”, we were told that you did not get authorization for that riddim and you confirmed that in your YouTube apology.?
Problem Child: “When a producer sends you a riddim as an artiste…sometimes you just go with the flow and ask no questions…so I recorded the song and sent my vocals….this riddim was sent to me…The song was done so late in the season for St. Vincent Carnival, and it would have been too late for the person who the song was intended for to record and have it ready in time. It was basically a demo people were listening too…The song was not for me….I did not produce that beat…I took the responsibility because I did not want to involve the producer….in actuality I never asked for that beat..the producer should have cleared it….my song was not the only song on that beat that year but only I alone received the blunt because it was the “Big song”…..no one made mention of the 2 other songs on that beat….”

Entertainment Macco: Do you want to tell me the names of the other songs on the riddim?
Problem Child: "No! I rather not because it is not about them it is about me."

Entertainment Macco: When you found out that the riddim was "bootleg" what did you do?
Problem Child:“We tried to find out who had the publishing rights for that song….we were 90% close to authorizing the song…we had the paper work etc re: fees etc….. but up to this date we have not received any further correspondence from the people who own the publishing….”

Entertainment Macco: Do you think that your version of "Party Hard" is responsible for the song being a Smash hit?
Problem Child: “I don’t think so…In my opinion the song would have been big anyway….I don’t think so…I have been asked that before and I give the same answer”

Entertainment Macco: You won road march in SVG with another song…why did you not push that song instead of party hard….because I saw you perform at numerous events and you did not perform that Road March song…
Problem Child:“The intention was to perform it….to push and promote the song “Madhouse” however the song just did not connect the way that I thought it would…hence the first couple of shows I only did “Party Animal”…it was only after when I noticed a trend of other people doing other peoples’ music I decided to do “Party Hard” as well…”

Entertainment Macco: Do you think Donae'o or his management are over reacting to the matter at hand?
Problem Child: “No I would be very upset myself. I do not think they are overacting…Somebody has to be pretty stupid to take someone’s song and pass it off as their own…. I do not want them to think it was malicious or it was intentional…I am responsible for what happened if I did not send it to anyone it would not have been leaked…..I admit that I handled the situation wrong…I don’t want royalties or anything…they can clear that version and I can sign the paper work to say they own it….I did not do it for money….”

Entertainment Macco: So Donae'o will be in NYC soon and I heard you are also carded to perform on the same show. How do you plan on dealing with him in person or are you going to avoid him?
Problem Child: “This is news to me….I am not sure which show it is…the only show I am booked for is on March 13th…I am not sure if I will be performing, for business reasons..if it does happen..I will remain very apologetic..he has all right to be upset..I will not avoid him. I would like to speak with him…I am always willing to talk and make the situation better…I do not know if he will be willing to hear what I have to say because he seems highly upset”

Entertainment Macco: Do you regret doing the remix?
Problem Child: “I regret that I did not get in contact with them in time and that they did not get to hear it. I did not get a yes or no answer before it was leaked…my beef is with whoever leaked it. If I had to do it all over again… It would be done differently…

Entertainment Macco: How long ago was Party Hard released? Or maybe the better question to ask is how long ago was the Party Hard Remix recorded?
Problem Child: “Mid to late November it was recorded”

Entertainment Macco: What do you plan to do when this blows over?
Problem Child: “Continue to apologize..make sure they know I am sincere…keep trying to get them to understand that it was no act to disrespect them…I am determined to get them to understand…GOD looking down on me knows it was not my intention. Other than that SVG Carnival is coming up and I have a couple of releases to send out…I fell in love with the genre that he (Donae’o) is involved in and I have some of those beats that I have been authorize to use so I am looking forward to that…”

Entertainment Macco: Have you thought about what you are going to do if Donaeo’s team decides to take legal action?
Problem Child: “There is nothing I can do….The only thing that I would say is that it was not maliciously done….however if they do take legal action then that is something that I would have to accept…..”

Entertainment Macco: Is there anything you would like to let Donae’o and his management team know?
Problem Child: “Basically that I have a lot of respect for him as an artiste and as a man….we are all trying to achieve something and feed our families off of this profession and would never intentionally take food out of another artistes’ mouth. If there is anything I can do to appease the situation I would be more than willing to do it…at any cost….. My dream is for the song to become a reality, but it is quite clear that he does not want to do the song with me…. And a general apology to anyone who I may have disappointed….”