Living a dream by living for God
Jaicey Hamilton
Photo by Drake Horton
By Drake Horton
Contributing Writer
We have all had childhood dreams. Whether it was to be an astronaut, a singer, an actor or actress, a star athlete, or even President of the United States of America, as children we have had some type of dream we truly believed we could accomplish. For Jaicey Hamilton, her dream came true.
Hamiliton, currently a junior at Francis Marion University, is a Darlington girl born and raised. Her father is a preacher in Darlington at the House of Prayer church on Rodgers Road in Darlington, and music is a big part of her family; her mother, Brendolyn, has been heavily involved with gospel music over the years, her older Japhin writes music, and younger brother, Jameinn, also plays music.
Hamilton has always had a love for music and a passion for God, and is now on the cusp of professionally singing for His Glory.
“God inspires me to sing,” she says. “The reason why I say that is because He is the one that gave me this voice and I plan on using it for the glory of God and spreading it across the world, giving the Word to the people that God gives to me.”
While God inspires her, Hamilton gives thanks to her family, friends and teachers that have been influential in her young musical career. Her inspiration has molded her music, her message, into what it is today.
“I want my music to pretty much deliver a story,” she said. “I want it to be able to relate to not just one group of people, but to all people. I want them to be able to be motivated and inspired and to want to keep moving and pushing on and going through day to day life.”
Singing has been a part of Hamilton’s life ever since she was able to talk.
“I have been doing music ever since I was a little girl singing in the church, the main song ‘Lean on Me’.”
“When I got to middle school I really started branching out,” Hamilton said. “As I got older, in high school and college, I really began to get out there, traveling, being on tour, going to Chicago. Last year was New York. This year is supposed to be Ireland, so things keep coming and God keeps blessing.”
Now with plenty of experience under her belt, a focus on what she wants her music to be about, a strong faith in God and a great supporting cast, Hamilton has seen her music dream become more of a reality with her debut single, “It’s You” getting playing time on 98.5 FM out of Florence; the signal strength reaches to parts of Georgia and North Carolina.
“The radio announcer, Trey Nicholson, reached out and asked me if I could send him my music,” she said. “Within a day or two it was on the radio.”
“I have wanted to do this for the longest time, and to actually see it come true was a dream come true for me,” she said. “To finally be out there and getting my work heard is a wonderful experience.”
She is working on a complete album called “Private Letter,”sharing a look inside the heart of Hamilton and her faith; each song is originally written and composed with the help of her brother Japhin. The album is set to release sometime during the spring of next year.
Hamilton may not be the first local person to achieve success in their childhood dream, but she is certainly thankful for the chance.