Rest In Heaven: Gospel recording artist Troy Sneed dies of COVID-19
Article By Rebecca Johnson // EEW Magazine News
The African American community is being hit hard by the Coronavirus pandemic with a disproportionate number of deaths occurring in communities of color.
GRAMMY® nominated gospel recording artist Troy Sneed, 52, has succumbed to complications from COVID-19, leaving the gospel and African American communities mourning the loss of the producer, husband and father.
Emily Sneed, wife and co-founder of the couple’s independent record label, Emtro Gospel Music Group, confirmed the news with MyPraise 102.5 Atlanta’s radio host, KD Bowe Monday.
The late Troy Sneed and his wife Emily Sneed (Credit: Emtro Gospel Music Group)
The general public first became aware of Sneed’s critical condition after a Charlotte-based pastor’s video made its rounds online. In the footage, Brian Carn of Kingdom City Church, also one of the artist’s signed to Sneed’s label, is seen telling congregants that Sneed was “in the hospital right now on a ventilator, sedated.”
31-year-old Carn, widely known as a prophet, stirred controversy by sharing the news in a crowded sanctuary without exercising social distancing or wearing a protective mask despite admitting in a separate recording that he experienced symptoms matching Coronavirus.
Brian Carn (L) and Troy Sneed (R) [Photo Credit: Instagram]
“Does the devil fight my body? Of course. Just like he fights your body,” Carn is heard saying in the audio obtained by EEW Magazine Online via UK Daily Mail.
He continued, “Did I get the shakes? Yup. Did I cough? Yup. Did I feel pain in my body? Whatever.”
Though Carn stopped short of saying he tested positive for COVID-19, he said instead, “I tested positive for faith.”
According to Charlotte, North Carolina’s local station, WSOC-TV Channel 9, Carn has since agreed not to host in-person services after being contacted by the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.
Besides Carn, Emtro’s roster includes other Billboard-charting artists Alvin Darling, Bonafide Praisers, Bishop Bruce Parham, Bishop Rudolph McKissick, Jr. & the Word and Worship Mass Choir, Youth for Christ, Arkansas Gospel Mass Choir.
Sneed leaves behind his wife of 26 years and the couple’s four children: Troy, Jr., Evany, Trey, and Tyler.
African Americans are being urged to exercise extreme caution and adhere to social distancing standards in the age of Coronavirus. According to a recent Associated Press analysis of available state and local data, nearly one-third of those who have died of COVID-19 are African American, though black people represent only about 14% of the population in the areas covered in the analysis.
Sneed’s family and all the families that have lost loved ones remain in our prayers.