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Scoffery goes from ‘Topless’ to the armour of God

Published:Tuesday | April 23, 2019 | 12:00 AMYasmine Peru/Senior Gleaner Writer
Escoffery’s old van.
Escoffery
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Back in the day, when topless was almost a movement, Delroy ‘Scoffery’ Escoffery was a prominent member of the ultra savvy UPT crew. Today his life is a far cry from the days when he owned a crazy, modified pickup truck, that drove the girls crazy.

“You don’t need to mention Topless,” the now baptised Christian said, in reference to his former flashy lifestyle, which boasted an eye-catching truck with a superb paint job, impressive rims, boosted sound system and a hydraulic system.

It was three years ago that Escoffery morphed into the successful artiste manager under his D’Empire Management business and got a higher calling. But, he said, this conversion was several years in the making. Whenever he was in Jamaica, he would attend pastor Ryan Mark’s Pure In Heart Ministry, and faithfully give his tithe. Then, one week he went to church, and the pastor said he had a message for some of his congregants. “He said that several persons were attending church and giving their tithe religiously, but ‘God says to tell you that he doesn’t want your money, he wants your souls.’”

The pastor asked those persons to come to the front, and they did. All except Escoffery, who defiantly remained in his seat, arms folded, wondering, “How pastor a bad me up so?” To this day he said he cannot explain it, but he found himself out of his seat and on his way to the altar. “Is like the whole church was in an uproar. You know like when the Reggae Boyz score a goal and the entire stadium erupts – it was like that when I walked up to the altar,” the football enthusiast said.

A baptism was set for the following Saturday, but Trinidad Carnival and a big sound clash were coming up, and Escoffery had to be there. He set his date for February 29, but, there is an old Jamaican saying that goes “man a plan, but God a wipe out”. He recalled being awoken early one morning and “told” to turn on his television. He came face to face with a televangelist who seemed to be speaking directly to him. When the ‘conversation’ ended, he called Pastor Mark and arranged to be baptised that same morning, January 28, 2016.

Not long after, he was ‘instructed’ to give up his regular job, just at the point when he had extended his business and the future seem really bright.

“I was like, ‘God, after me work so hard, you telling me to stop doing secular?’ I wanted to be obedient, but I still needed to pay my bills, so I still took a few shows,” he told The Gleaner.

A series of mishaps proved to Escoffery that he needed to serve God rather than Mammon, not both. He took the booking for a show in The Bahamas, and, as it turned out, everybody was paid, except him – two other shows that he had booked also got messed up, and a trip to Africa ran into serious problems, when the promoter forgot to book a ticket for the artiste. “It was that, more than anything else, that convinced me to give up secular,” he said.

He recalled that when he told Penthouse’s Donovan Germain, of his decision, the producer asked him, “How can you leave sure for unsure? How do you know that it’s God talking to you?” After he explained, Germain told him that although he did not fully understand, he would support his decision. Others, however, have called him a madman or told him, “Yuh a idiot.”

GUIDANCE

Without a job, and in need of guidance, Escoffery turned to a former dancehall producer. “I remember 20 years ago, when I was working with Main Street at the peak of their success, Danny Browne called a meeting and told us that he was giving up everything to serve God.”

Escoffery was one of those persons who could not understand Browne’s decision, and he ended up managing one of Main Street’s biggest acts at the time, Red Rat. Browne had a good laugh at the way things have come full circle. He arranged a weekly Bible study at his house, and, as Escoffery grew in the gospel, he got married to his “ride or die” and he and his wife, now live in the United States.

“God even led me to Minister Marion Hall, who I am now managing, and I met the pastor whose television programme led me to get baptised. The church I am attending now is an amazing family-oriented fellowship with a massive music ministry. Tasha Cobbs and her husband are a part of it,” he said.

Quoting from Ephesians 6, he said that he has now put on the full armour of God and has taken up the shield of faith.