Mekaiel sings to inspire, bring people to Christ

Anthony "Mekaiel" Gonzales wants to use his love for music to help inspire others and bring as many people to Christ as possible.

The 30-year-old "Christian music" singer said he didn't choose this path, but rather, it chose him.

Gonzales told Sunday Newsday music is "very much intertwined with (his) own personal life experiences" as he grew up in a "singing family.

"I can safely say that I’ve been singing all of my life...

"My dad, Tony Gonzales, and mom, Deborah Gonzales, sang. My dad was well known as a singing evangelist, and from around the age of six, I performed alongside my sisters for one of his self-produced concerts. Soon after, we were singing in churches or crusades backing him or singing on our own as a group."

He was born in Port of Spain but moved to San Fernando at an early age and was raised there. He attended the Coffee Boys Anglican Primary School, then the Southern Academy of Seventh-Day Adventist – a secondary school. He later studied studio engineering at NESC Technical Institute and studied radio broadcasting at the Institute of Broadcasting Careers.

His artiste name is actually his middle name, which he said his mother saw in a song/hymn.

"The funny thing is, here I am on this musical journey of mine, having chosen my middle name as my professional name with that context behind it and in my mid-20s, I also researched the name and found that it means aware, sentimental and noble."

He said he sings "Christian music" and wishes to "bring hope to those that feel like giving up...

"...And draw as many as possible to Christ.

"Because of that, I am intentional about the way I write, produce or co-produce any of my songs because I want that there’s substance to it that anyone listening can really be receptive to and that it’s not being experienced as a 'quick fix' song."

He believes his sound is inspired by international gospel artistes Kirk Franklin and Deitrick Haddon, as well as John Legend.

Music, to him, is "a way to give those inside and outside of the church a reality check where the dialogue between man and God is vertical and not just horizontal.”

Admitting it sounds cliche, he said God and the Christian music genre chose him, but he was initially hesitant to step into this field professionally.

"(Eventually) I accepted it, especially because I had witnessed so much around me compounded with the fact that my own personal experiences played such a huge part in me saying, ‘I love the world of entertainment as a whole but I also know that I need to publicly dedicate my skill and my craft to the God above.’"

He now has a independent entertainment company called HIGH Entertainment (Here in God's Hands) and has managed, collaborated and sang alongside late Samuel Dyer.

In 2017, he was nominated for the Prayze Factor Awards in Atlanta, US, and in 2022, his track Surrender won a Caribbean Gospel Music Award in the Bahamas.

"I’m definitely most proud of the fact that I was finally able to release my debut studio album titled Grace on October 4, 2023 – my birthday."

The eight-track album was produced by Lesroy “AP” Byers, with vocal arrangement Sade Sealey.

He said, "The album features an emotive and spirited fusion of praise music, gospel, and hip-hop and it touches on the subject of perseverance, faith, egotism, as well as parenthood and gratitude."

He added, "On its first week of release, it held the number one Christian and gospel album spot on iTunes in Trinidad and Tobago."

The album was part-sponsored by the Sport and Culture Fund of the Office of the Prime Minister.

"It has been received positively by those that have listened to it locally, regionally and internationally and I’m really happy about what I’ve been able to put out into the world and what it continues to do."

When it comes to future plans, he hopes to explore different elements of entertainment including film and "continue producing quality Christian music showcasing to the world the excellence that can and has been produced from our shores of TT."

His music can be found on YouTube and other streaming platforms.