During a recent interview with St. Lucia Times, Gospel Singer Emrand Henry who is celebrating 20 years in the business this year, spoke of the challenges he faced doing Reggae and Soca Gospel music in the beginning. His first recording was a Reggae Gospel, “What is going on?”
Henry also reflected on his 2011 song the up-tempo “Doctor (the country is sick) which highlighted many of the social ills and crime in Saint Lucia, that still hold true today. Given that some of the same issues still exists, we sought comment from him.
“We need to understand that just as the Bible says that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world…we basically are into spiritual warfare and it is sad that a lot of the young people are caught in the crossfire of spiritual warfare and that as it was in the beginning the aim of the enemy is to destroy and bring destruction to families,” Henry said.
“If you are asking me how to curb or try to bring the crime rate down we need to understand spiritual warfare, we need to understand that we need to have a personal relationship with God, to love Him first, love ourselves and then we can love each other and love and forgive people. We have to start there,” Henry says.
He also believes that the church is not doing enough outreach and concerts and inviting artistes like himself and others to reach young people and have a positive impact on their lives.
Ironically, he said events like “Kingdom Night,” were denounced by some churches and denominations. “The event was a good thing and it was an opportunity to touch lives and win souls. I am so happy that I was there to represent the Pentecostal side of it and to release loud praises,” he said.
In contrast, he said he felt there was a lack of Gospel presence during the homecoming concert for Julien Alfred in September.
“When Julien won, we all were just happy and joyful just to see how God could raise a strong and powerful woman like this. So I was hoping that the Gospel artistes back home would be represented on the celebration stage, but they were not,” Henry said.
“We really need to give our Saint Lucian Gospel artistes the support and encouragement they deserve and provide them more platforms and opportunities to perform,” he added.
For Emrand Henry 2024 will end with a few more “live” performances as he gets ready to head back into the studio to release new music in 2025.
In the meantime, he continues to magnify the Lord and is grateful for the gift of music and the many fans and supporters who have placed him at the top of their playlist over the years.
