Gospel singer Kentrell Ragin is sharing a deeply personal story of loss and faith through his new single "Testify," a track from his third album, The Sound, released October 9. Ragin says the song grew out of some of the hardest moments of his life, and he described the experience in an interview with Erica Campbell on Get Up Mornings.
Ragin lost his mother in 2019. This year, his grandmother, father, and grandfather also died within a short period. He said the losses left him struggling with depression, and he described having thoughts of ending his life while driving. He credits calling on the name of Jesus with ending those thoughts. That experience became the inspiration for "Testify," which he presents as a testimony rather than only a song.
Musically, the track blends sounds reminiscent of 1980s punk and funk with his gospel roots. Ragin frames the approach as a way of sharing his faith through music, carrying a message shaped by his own hardship to listeners who may face similar struggles. The album's title and its release in October mark a new chapter in a body of work that he has built over several years of recording.
Ragin's connection to music began early. He started playing at about age three, accompanying his mother's solos at church, a childhood setting in which faith and music were already intertwined. Later he played for gospel artists JJ Harrison and Dion Kipper, and he began writing and recording his own songs around age 18 or 19. He says working with Harrison taught him lessons about ministry that continue to inform his work, particularly the idea that a musician's role extends beyond performance to the people who hear the songs.
Originally from Bridgeport, Connecticut, Ragin now lives in South Jersey with his wife. The couple serve as worship leaders at Change Church, where their ministry places them in regular contact with a congregation. He stays in contact with a wider audience through Instagram and YouTube, platforms where he shares music and reflections with listeners beyond his home church.
With The Sound, his third album, Ragin returns to the theme that has shaped his ministry: how faith can carry people through grief, and how music can become a means of testifying to what they have endured. His account of his mother's death, his grandparents' and father's deaths, and the moment he called on Jesus' name gives "Testify" its weight, and it is the reason the single is presented as more than a standard release.