When Oh Carolina by a little-known Jamaican toaster named Shaggy hit international charts in 1993, one of the people who helped make the song a monster seller was Phillip Smart, a low-key audio engineer.

Smart, who died in February 2014 at age 60, worked in a similar capacity for many hit singles, including Angel, another big hit for Shaggy. The Jamaican also produced several hit songs from his HC&F Recording Studio in Long Island.

His talent is recalled on Hotta This Year, an eight-song compilation album released on April 18 by C&I Jah Bless Records. The title is based on Hot This Year, a 1991 hit single by Dirtsman, produced by Smart. Dirtsman, older brother of Papa San, was killed in Jamaica two years later. 

Born in Kingston, Smart was a protege of legendary engineer Osbourne ‘King Tubby’ Ruddock. At HC&F Recording Studio, which he operated with his brother-in-law Michael McDonald, he was engineer for dancehall classics including Kuff by Shelly Thunder, Murderer by Barrington Levy and Audrey Hall’s One Dance. 

McDonald, Ian Clough, Shane Hoosong and Dwayne Johnson co-produced Hotta This Year, which contains songs like Call On Me by Shaggy, Crissin, Olaf Blackwood and Kartel Monttana; Back It Up by Charly Black, If I Had A Wish by Maxi Priest and Hotta This Year by American rapper Maino.

Hotta This Year is the second project by C&I Jah Bless Records saluting Smart. Last year saw the release of the vinyl-only Prince Phillip Presents: Dubplates and Raw Rhythm From King Tubby’s Studio 1973-1976.