Today we’d like to introduce you to Jerome Precilla
Hi Jerome, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
How you started to where you are today- I am Rome (real name Jerome Precilla) and I am a
Singer, TV Host and Actor from Trinidad and Tobago who is now based in Los Angeles. I am
actually a Mechanical Engineer who decided to take a leap of faith to become an
Entertainer.
I started off singing and reciting poems infront of large concert audiences from the
age of 7 back in Trinidad. I would continue singing Calypso music and playing
football(soccer) while in school, till the age of 14 when my Dad stepped and said “youre not
that good in football and that singing thing is not a career, so focus on your school work”. So
I stopped persuing both at that point and just played football for fun and hosted any school
concerts we had .I did well in high school and got into the top University in the Caribbean
“The University of the West Indies” to study Mechanical Engineering. In my 3rd year at
University there was an ad on the radio for new, young TV hosts for a talent competition TV
show similar to America’s Got Talent called “Party Flava. My brother persuaded me to
audition and I got the part! I did that for 1 season while still doing school but then had to
stop to focus on exams. I graduated with honors and went on to work as an Engineer for the
largest Oil Refinery in the Caribbean at the time “Petrotrin”.
While I worked at Petrotrin I would sing, host weddings, TV shows, live shows etc on
weekends just for the love of it so my entertainment career started slowly picking up at the
side. I then opened a Pizzeria , got promoted to Senior Department Head and I had a lot on
my plate so I had to ease off of the entertainment stuff for a bit . After a coupel years of this
I started waking up not with pizza or engineering on my mind but music and entertainment.
So on my lunch breaks everyday , I would go on youtube to listen to the new Soca music
that was released. Music and entertainment started becoming an obsession. Soon enough
my biz partner and I sold the pizza business and told my boss I wanted to take some time off
from engineering to persue my entertainment career fulltime. He said I was crazy but he
understood and told me I have 2 years. If it doesn’t work out then come back to
engineering.
I decided to take a leap of faith. I left engineering and jumped into the deep end of
entertainment. I had no offers on the table for a fulltime job but I was determined to make
it work. I approached the owner of a local radio station who I picked up time shifts with in
the past and convinced them to give me a chance at being a co host of their morning radio
show. It was a hit! Soon after that I was casted in a VH1 reality TV called “Girls Cruise” to be
play a small supportive role. Turns out that because of my personality I became one of the
main cast members alongside Hip Hop & R&B icons Lil Kim, Mya and Chilli of TLC and
comedians B Simon and Pretty Vee of MTV’s Wildin Out. After that, my music started taking
off, I got brand endorsement deals, I was on billboards, I was drafted by the number 1 urban
radio station in the country, I was signed to the reality TV show for 4 seasons….my
entertainment career really started taking off. Then……Covid hit !
The reality TV show got cancelled, I went into a creative rut, my income grinded to a
screeching halt and I had no clue what to do. My old boss called and asked if I was ready to
come back to engineering so I dusted off my resume and applied to 1 job. I aced the
interview and was offered the position but just before signing ….I had a change of heart. I
told myself that I didn’t reach this far in just 2 years to turn back now on the first sign of
struggle. So I roughed it out during the pandemic and made a come back. After the
pandemic ended my career continued on an upward trajectory as I became the most
requested Soca Parang (Trinidad’s Christmas Music) artist in Trinidad and Tobago, hosted
the number 1 radio morning show and became one of the top Television presenters
regionally. I then launched my own contemporary hit radio station Lit 102.3 fm and was
elected as the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Promoter’s Association . However, I did
not feel like I fully explored my potential internationally after the VH1 reality series as my
successes were largely Caribbean based. So I had the idea to create my own reality TV show.
This was the birth of “Carnival Catwalk” the Fashion Reality TV Competition show
where Fashion Meets Carnival. We fused Fashion with Caribbean Carnival, drama and travel
into one show and it was genius! We worked alongside the some of the producers, editors
and directors of Project Runway, Making the Cut , Temptation Island, Love is Blind and Ru
Paul’s Drag race to create this masterpiece of a show. I then jumped on a plane leaving my
entire career I built in Trinidad behind and came to LA to land the show on a streaming
platform or TV network in the US and to pursue an acting and TV hosting career in LA.
I started off by trying out 3 of the top acting schools in LA (subjective to my research
) Margie Haber, Stella Adler and Lee Straberg Institute. I am still currently studying at Lee
Strasberg as I perfect my craft while meeting with have had some great meetings with sales
agents, distributors, TV Networks and streamers to find the right platform for Carnival
Catwalk to be aired . So look out for an official air date soon!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely has not been a smooth road .
First hurdle I had to jump over was convincing my parents that leaving engineering to
become an entertainer was a good idea. This was a task as they came from an era of “get a
safe and secure job with a pension”. I eventually just had to have faith in myself and take the
jump
Then during that pandemic that was a difficult time both mentally and financially . I had to
dig myself out of that mental rut I was in and came up with a plan to create social media
content for brands as everyone was spending a lot of time on their phones while on
lockdown . It worked ! I gained a lot of brand endorsement deals which supported me
through that difficult time .
Then came launching an fm radio station in the pandemic . This was a task , as one week
before launch date our Prime Minister announced a State of Emergency and most
businesses shut their doors so advertising on the station was almost none existent at the
start . But the station grew in popularity quickly as we had very unique marketing ideas such
as live on air pool parties etc as ppl were stuck in their homes
One of the roughest roads however was producing a multimillion dollar reality TV
show from scratch . It was a mammoth effort to try to raise that funding and then to
execute that project when nothing of its sort had been done in the Caribbean before .
We have over 150 cast and crew members on set and flew in judge, contestants
and some crew members from all over the world . It took us 35 days grueling but
fulfilling days of filming to compete the project.
Another struggle was leaving my entire entertainment career that I built in Trindad
to start from scratch in LA. I city where i knew very little of and did not have a friend
or family community or business network . Most ppl back home still think I am crazy
for doing this but a lot of people are inspired by it . For me I had to do it as I don’t
want to look back at my life and say “what if”. I try to live a life of no regrets .
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am most popular in the Caribbean for my Soca Parang songs . They call me “The Prince of
Parang” back home lol. Soca Parang is fusion of Latin music with Soca music which is the
upbeat music of our Carnival . Most of the genre is about the Christmas season in Trinidad
but my songs are double entendre and satire . Because of the humor in my writing my songs
have become very popular and I now have my own concert called “Parang with Rome”
I am also known for hosting some of the largest weddings and live events in the country
including Miss World and Miss Universe and I am also a judge for Miss World . People also
know me as a TV host as I have hosted shows on every TV station in the country and had a
very popular daytime talk show called Home Front . Because of the popularity of my radio
morning show as well people also know me from there . So I have sort of become the “Ryan
Seacrest” of Trinidad , except I can also sing lol
I am most proud of my singing career as I am not only a singer but I write most of my own
songs . I love to see the joy on ppl’s faces when I perform and I shock myself as to where do I
even come up with these lyrics . So witty!
The fact that I can sing, host, act , present on radio and produce tv shows make me different
from other enetertainers in my field . However , it’s the engineering background that really
sets me apart from everyone else as it instilled a discipline and problem solving mindset in
me that propels me. There may be someone out there who is more talented than me but
they will find it really difficult to out work me .
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Something that people may be surprised to know about me is that I don’t really like social
media . As much as I post on there and it seems like I’m having blast on Instagram, I really
don’t like having to do that . I prefer to live in the moment and enjoy it rather than having to
pull out my phone to show people what I’m doing . However , I understand the importance of
it for my brand and for marketing so I partake in it. I honestly preferred what it was back in
the day when we posted genuine pictures on Facebook and connected with close friends
and family . Now I feel like it’s become too much of a show .
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itz.rome/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itsallaboutrome/
