First recorded in 1972, Trapped by Jimmy Cliff has been covered by artistes such as Bruce Springsteen and Chalice. Jah Niceness is the latest to put his spin on a song that became a classic.

His version, titled Trap, was released in November by Open Doors Records, an Orlando, Florida-based company.

Jah Niceness, who lives in that city, told the Jamaica Observer that he has been familiar with Springsteen’s version since his teens.

“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.

Interestingly, Jah Niceness never heard the original until he recorded Trap for Jason Bromfield, head of Open Doors Records.

“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.

Jimmy Cliff wrote and recorded Trapped in 1972 for Island Records, but even though he was globally-famous with songs like Wonderful World, Beautiful People and Vietnam, the song was not a hit. A decade later, it took off when Springsteen performed it regularly at his concerts.

Born in Clarendon, Jah Niceness has been recording songs for over 20 years. He has released four albums, the previous being Nuh Diss Nuh Man, which is produced by Open Doors Records.

— Howard Campbell