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Singleton’s back story
A native of Hind County, Miss., Jarekus Singleton was a basketball star in college, winning the NAIA Player of the Year in 2007 while enrolled at William Carey University. But he injured his ankle during an NBA tryout and turned to music as a career.
Picking one artist to recommend during the Bessie Smith Strut is difficult because my Strut experience consists of aimlessly wandering, taking in the sights and letting momentary whims dictate my path up and down old Ninth Street.
I honestly think that’s the best way to enjoy the city’s biggest block party. It’s a scene that’s best experienced in motion rather than by setting up shop at the foot of a stage. It’s called the Strut, after all, not the Linger.
Nevertheless, the blues is integral to the city’s homage to Bessie Smith, even more important than the smoked and sauced meats being hawked from the hoards of sidewalk vendors.
Knowing I needed to select an artist to recommend, I perused this year’s music schedule with a conflicted heart, but I found myself returning to Mississippi blues rocker Jarekus Singleton time and again.
First of all, he’s a heck of a talented guitarist and singer, with the occasional hint of rap flow to his vocal cadence. Even more importantly, he plays the six-string with soul, which is even more crucial to the blues than raw technical skill. As evidence, I present “I Refuse to Lose,” which made repeated rounds through my speakers during my research, despite heated competition from Theodis Ealey and Lil’ Ed & the Blues Imperials.
A native of Hind County, Miss., Singleton won the Jackson Music Award in 2012 as the blues artist of the year. That’s like being named the best singer/songwriter in Nashville. The next year, he was named local entertainer of the year by the same group.
“Refuse to Lose,” his second album and debut on Chicago-based Alligator Records, is rife with autobiographical songs referencing a brush with greatness as a top-seed college basketball star before an injury cut his athletic career short. Having such a close call with success would send a lot of people into a downward spiral, but instead, he leveraged it as the foundation for a promising musical career.
If you insist on defying Strut convention tonight and setting up camp around a single stage, Singleton is your guy. He’s an impressive talent who’s well worth interrupting your Strutting.
Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow his Riverbend coverage on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.