It has just been announced that beloved gospel singer Troy Sneed has passed away from complications to coronavirus at the age of 52.

Fox News reported that Sneed’s death was confirmed by his publicist Bill Carpenter, who said that the Grammy-nominated performer died on Monday at a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.

“Troy was like a brother to me,” said Mike Chandler, chief executive officer of Rejoice! Musical Soul Food radio network, according to CNN. “He was a businessman. He was a husband; he was a father. He was an industry leader so it’s not just my loss it’s a loss to the whole industry.”

“He was one of the most talented men in our industry but more importantly Troy was a good person and he did a lot of good work,” Chandler added. “The world is going to miss him.”

Sneed grew up playing football and dreamed of one day playing in the NFL, but three injuries made this impossible, so he instead shifted his focus to music. He began his career by traveling all over the United States with the Georgia Mass Choir singing gospel. In 1996, he appeared with the choir in the movie The Preacher’s Wife, starring Whitney Houston and Denzel Washington.

He later founded the group Youth For Christ, which was comprised of members between the ages of 12 and 18 from the Georgia Mass Choir. Success came quickly for the group, and Sneed was nominated for a Grammy for his work on Youth For Christ’s 1999 album, “Higher.” In 2006, the Youth For Christ song “The Struggle Is Over” made it all the way to No. 1 on Billboard’s gospel songs chart.

Sneed later moved on to launch a successful career as a solo artist, releasing seven albums and many hit gospel songs. These hits included “Work It Out” and “My Heart Says Yes,” which each reached number 2 on Billboard’s gospel chart.

Sneed and his wife Emily eventually created their own record label Emtro, which is a combination of both of their first names. This label has been a huge success as well, signing artists like Alvin Darling & Celebration and Rev. Rudolph McKissick.

Sneed is survived by Emily, who he was married to for 27 years, and their four children.