Andre Jebbinson, Staff Reporter
Clive Warren - CONTRIBUTED
WITH THE current state of the country, both secular and gospel artistes are singing about the hope of a brighter tomorrow. Clive Warren is a contestant in this year's Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) Gospel Song Contest. His song, We're Gonna Take Back This Generation For Christ, has a similar plea.
"I asked the Lord for a song. I was sitting on my roof and the Lord just gave me the song just like that," Warren said. He lives in the volatile community of Flankers, St. James. As a result of frequent flare-ups, he says people are dying daily in his community and men have lost hope.
After making an unsuccessful run for the title in 1998, he decided he would try again this year because of the difficult situations he encounters each day.
He says he thinks one of the most effective ways to resonate the cry for peace and the message of hope across to the mass is to join the contest. With a top-10 finish in his previous attempt, he is confident and hopeful he will come out on top this year. "I am just going to do my best. People around me believe in me and encourage me, especially my producer, Othneal Lewis."
DISTURBED BY WHAT HE SEES
When asked what separated his cry for hope from all the others, he says he is experiencing the crime and violence that is constant in many communities in Jamaica today. He says a pastor in his community was shot while sitting on her veranda by a teenager.
He says he was disturbed by what he saw.
"I am planning a streetblocker with some of the contestants. My desire is to grab some of them before they die," he says.
Warren is the praise and worship leader and men's president at the Flankers Open Bible Church and wants to pursue music full-time. "I have a few songs with powerful messages and I want the people to hear them.
He says this makes winning even more desirable. He says this would push him in the right direction to get his music. "It is very expensive to record song. People would not know, but it cost thousands."
Warren is married and has a daughter. He originally hails from Manchester but moved to Montego Bay where he has been residing for 10 years. He was placed third at the 2005 Star Search at Star Search at Traxx, but was not as successful when he entered the Rising Stars competition in the same year.
"My aim is to go out and do what I am called to do, and that is to go out earnestly and minister to the men of the community of Flankers and then Jamaica and then the world at large."
