After rocking New York and Connecticut last week, Kevin Downswell, gospel powerhouse and stage minister, returned to Jamaica and dropped his new single, Bless Me, on the PAN stage before its official release on Monday, September 1.

His powerful and energetic performance on stage at PAN, which was held on the grounds of Jamaica College in St. Andrew on Sunday, August 31, was so well received that host Dufton ‘Duffy’ Shepherd called him back on stage for an encore performance of the newest single without his backup singers. 

During an interview with Our Today after his performance and a silent prayer backstage, Downswell gave highlights of how the song Bless Me on the Afro Gospel anthem produced by PantaSon Music, came into being a month ago. 

“The minute I heard the beat of that song, words just flowed like a river without effort. The song is crazy. It’s incredible. It drops September 1, and I just feel like it’s going to be an anthem to a lot of people who are going through their struggles,” Downswell, who is popularly known for his hit singles You Make Me Stronger, Carry Me, If It’s Not You and God Is Moving, said. 

Downswell said he was inspired by the Biblical story of Jacob, “who was wrestling with God and saying I won’t let you go til you bless me”. 

“That’s where the song came from, and the song is just going to be an anthem to a lot of people, and I’m grateful,” he explained. 

He said seconds after he first heard the Afro Gospel rhythm, the song popped into his mind. “I heard the rhythm, say for example, 8:15 pm, the song started 8:16 pm. Immediately! This was like a month ago. As the rhythm started, 10 seconds in, the words start flow,” he said. 

Downswell believes the song will be a change in people’s lives, “because the presence of God de pan it”. 

He said it is the very first time he has done a song like this, and the presence of God is all over it”. Before his performance at PAN, Downswell went to New York and Connecticut in the prior week. 

“New York was amazing with Tim Godfrey, one of the biggest artistes in Africa. I was in Connecticut with Jonathan Nelson, and we just kept going. In a few weeks, we’re in the US, Cameroon, Ghana, Guadeloupe. It just keeps going on. I’m 100 per cent grateful for what God a do… This Jamaican bwai ya, mi grateful,” he said.