Cegrica Anthony “Soljie” Hamilton, the respected studio engineer and music producer, died in Kingston, Jamaica on December 24. He was 69. His son, Chioke Hamilton, said an autopsy revealed the cause of death as an heart attack. Soljie Hamilton was scheduled to be the engineer for Intimate, the show starring Beres Hammond and Buju Banton on January 1 in St. Ann parish.
Hamilton, who got married in October, was a former member of the Jamaican army. It was while with the Jamaica Defense Force that he got his start as an audio engineer at Channel One studio in Kingston. One of the first acts he worked with was a singer named George Wright, now known as gospel artist, Brotha George. They had a 43-year friendship that lasted until one hour before Hamilton’s death when they spoke by phone.”Soljie was a very humble, low-key private person. He was like a big brother and mentor to me,” said Brotha George.
Hamilton worked as an engineer with reggae’s elite artists including Beres Hammond, Buju Banton, Gregory Isaacs, Dennis Brown and Sly and Robbie. He also toured as engineer for several years with American reggae band, SOJA. As a producer, his Soljie label released songs by Frankie Paul, Anthony Redrose, Sizzla, Junior Kelly and Luciano. One of his final projects as a engineer was for Brotha George’s Firm And Strong album, scheduled for release in March.
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