Troy Sneed, Jr., a Grammy-nominated gospel singer who scored a series of hits as a solo artist, has died of complications of COVID-19.
According to CBS, a spokesman for Sneed said he died at a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida early Monday.
Sneed took his first steps into a career music after suffering an on-field injury while playing football for Florida A&M University and joining a choir at the university.
Following his graduation, he was invited by Savoy Records’ Milton Bingham to join the Georgia Mass Choir, in Atlanta, Georgia, as an assistant music minister.
He began recording in 1999, and earned a Grammy nomination for his work with Youth For Christ, an evangelical religious organization.
However, he didn’t achieve chart success as a solo artist until 2005 when his third album solo album “A State of Worship” released on Emtro Gospel, a label he founded with his wife Emily, broke through on the Billboard charts.
Subsequent releases landed on the charts as well, including his 2006 followup “In His Presence” and 2011’s “My Heart Says Yes” also released via Emtro Gospel.
Emtro Gospel has also served as a platform for successful releases from other artists, including Alvin Darling & Celebration and Rev. Rudolph McKissick.
