Jaicko Lawrence, a 17-year-old Barbadian, whose stated mission is to expand the Caribbean’s pop brand has reportedly been signed by Capitol Records of the US.

Listed as J-Co on You-Tube, where his latest single “Caribbean Girl” can be found, Jaicko is said to have captivated Barbados before moving to the US.

According to his My Space profile, Jaicko has appeared on the cover of almost every music publication in Barbados including the Circuit Magazine and Shabeau. He has also appeared on Caribbean Beat, the Caribbean Airlines Magazine out of Trinidad & Tobago.

He has performed at several local shows and concerts including opening for R&B sensation Ne-Yo in the summer of 2006. Jaicko received six nominations for the 2008 Barbados Music Awards including for Song of The Year “Simply Beautiful” and Best Pop Single “Dance For Me”.

According to his profile, Jaicko was born into a musical family and grew up on a diet of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and Babyface. By the time he was nine years old he was being pulled on stage with his father and his band, the popular Barbados group ‘4 D People’, to begin perfecting his stage performance. He began performing on his own, writing, playing keys and recording at 13 and by the time he was 15 he was a household name in Barbados. Releasing his first independent record in November of 2006 he successfully sold 6,000 copies without any distribution.