Destiny Sparta gets baptised

Despite having a good year musically, dancehall artiste Destiny Sparta has admitted that she was far from happy.

The entertainer told THE WEEKEND STAR that she was extremely stressed, became addicted to weed and alcohol, and even found herself in a toxic relationship. She recalled that her heart was so heavy, she requested prayer from her mother one night. "June 28, mi nah figet the date. Mi mother is a Christian and I told her to pray for me. I also told her to find some prayers on YouTube and play for me and she found Cindy Trim's The Atomic Prayer and while she was playing it, I just started to have a reaction. For a while I knew something had been going on with me spiritually but I never knew what it was," she said. Destiny Sparta said the following day she accompanied her mother to church. "The pastor had an altar call and I was the first person up there. She prayed for me for a while all the time saying 'loose her, loose her' and that time mi scream out, and whatever that was inside me, because there was something inside of me, some spirit or something, it leave me. I could feel it leave me. From then I have no desire to smoke, to drink, nothing," she said. Destiny Sparta, who now goes by the moniker The Matriarch, says she got baptised two weeks later. "Some things happen to me in life that were designed to kill me. A two times mi almost dead and is like God keep on a save me. Is like him a say 'no untimely death, yuh affi fulfil your purpose' and so mi just decide to do the right thing and gi mi life to him," she said. The entertainer said her purpose is to now minister the word through music. "At one point I even said I wasn't going to sing anymore but people reach out to me and say dem would love to hear gospel and stuff from me and mi just say mi a go do the right thing," she said.

"Mi use mi voice fi praise the devil so much, so now it's time to give glory to the one who actually gave me the talent in the first place. People need to know that God is real." Meeting Minister Marion Hall, formerly Lady Saw, the following week, strengthened her resolve. "She gave me some good advice. The whole meeting was so emotional," she said. "Coming into the industry, she was the first person to call me on a stage and so she always give me good advice. Now she's telling me to keep my head up, focus on God and not what people will say. But I don't even care about that honestly because I am happy. I am at peace."