Jarekus Singleton (born July 11, 1984, in

Clinton, Mississippi Clinton is a city in Hinds County, Mississippi, United States. Situated in the Jackson metropolitan area, it is the tenth largest city in Mississippi. The population was 28,100 at the 2020 United States census. History Founded in 1823, Clint ...

, United States) is an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. ''Refuse To Lose'' was his first nationally and internationally distributed album. It was released on the Chicago-based

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independe ...

blues record label

Alligator Records Alligator Records is an American, Chicago-based independent blues record label founded by Bruce Iglauer in 1971. Iglauer was also one of the founders of the '' Living Blues'' magazine in Chicago in 1970. History Iglauer started the label using ...

on May 6, 2014. England's ''Blues & Rhythm'' called Singleton "a great, new blues talent…young, original, soulful and intense…superb, blistering guitar." According to ''Living Blues'' magazine, "Jarekus Singleton is making some serious blues noise...blending modern-day blues and emotionally intense soul with melodic, hot-toned lead guitar, funk-seasoned rhythms and hip-hop flavored lyrics."Hassel, Leslie. "Breaking Out: Jarekus Singleton". ''Living Blues,'
Scan of ''Breaking Out
April 2014. Issue 225, Vol 44 #3, page 8 ''The Washington Post'' said, "Jarekus Singleton is an exciting new young blues guitarist with melody, hooks, swagger and a strong, original voice. His lyrics are modern, personal, acutely poetic and deeply mature." ''USA Today'' said of Singleton, "Stinging blues guitar and potent, original songs herald the emergence of a major new talent."

Life and career

Singleton played bass guitar at age nine at his grandfather's church. He was tutored in music by his uncle. Other family members also played and sang gospel music. Singleton switched to guitar and began to concentrate on his playing and his singing. He first heard blues music at 15, and has named

B.B. King Riley B. King (September 16, 1925 – May 14, 2015), known professionally as B.B. King, was an American blues singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. He introduced a sophisticated style of soloing based on fluid string bending, shi ...

Freddie King Freddie King (September 3, 1934December 28, 1976) was an American blues guitarist, singer and songwriter. He is considered one of the "Three Kings of the Blues Guitar" (along with Albert King and B.B. King, none of whom were blood related). Mo ...

Albert King Albert Nelson (April 25, 1923 – December 21, 1992), known by his stage name Albert King, was an American guitarist and singer who is often regarded as one of the greatest and most influential blues guitarists of all time. He is perhaps ...

and

Stevie Ray Vaughan Stephen Ray Vaughan (October 3, 1954 – August 27, 1990) was an American musician, best known as the guitarist and frontman of the blues rock trio Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble. Although his mainstream career spanned only seven years ...

among his biggest inspirations. He also listened to rap artists including Jay-Z and

Twista Carl Terrell Mitchell (born November 27, 1973), better known by his stage name Twista (formerly Tung Twista), is an American rapper and record producer. He is best known for his chopper style of rapping and for once holding the title of fastes ...

and

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, whil ...

artists including

Brad Paisley Bradley Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Starting with his 1999 debut album '' Who Needs Pictures'', he has released eleven studio albums and a Christmas compilation on the Arista Nash ...

.Jarekus Singleton Bio
''alligator.com''. Retrieved May 14, 2014 Also during this period, Singleton developed his basketball skills, later becoming a top-seeded college player for

University of Southern Mississippi The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to a ...

and

William Carey University William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesburg, ...

. An ankle injury derailed his basketball career and he began concentrating on music full-time. He performed original lyrics as a rapper, but soon began to combine his blues music with his original lyrics. The Jarekus Singleton Blues Band formed in 2009, with the band members drawn from the musicians he played with in church. In 2011, Singleton self-released the album ''Heartfelt'', and sold it at live performances and online. B. B. King's Bluesville channel on

SiriusXM Radio Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

played three songs from ''Heartfelt'' in regular rotation. He won Guitar Center's "King Of The Blues" contest for the state of Mississippi. In 2012, he received the Jackson Music Award for Blues Artist of the Year, as well as the award for 2013 Local Entertainer of the Year. In 2013, The Jackson Free Press named him as Best Local Blues Artist.Best of Jackson 2013: Nightlife
''The Jackson Free Press''. January 23, 2013. Retrieved May 14, 2014 He competed in the

International Blues Challenge The International Blues Challenge (IBC) is a music competition run by the Blues Foundation. Notable blues artists that have competed in the IBC over the years also includes Fiona Boyes, Eden Brent, Michael Burks, Tommy Castro, Sean Costello, ...

(IBC), an annual contest produced by the

Blues Foundation The Blues Foundation is an American nonprofit corporation, headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of t ...

in Memphis, Tennessee, in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. At the 2013 IBC, he was scouted by the president of

Bruce Iglauer Bruce Iglauer (born July 10, 1947) is an American businessman and record producer who founded Alligator Records as an independent record label featuring blues music. Early life and career Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United Stat ...

. Singleton signed with Alligator in late 2013. In October 2013 and January 2014, Singleton and his band recorded for Alligator at PM Music in Memphis. Iglauer and Singleton co-produced. Singleton performed at the Mississippi Stage at the

Chicago Blues Festival The Chicago Blues Festival is an annual event held in June, that features three days of performances by top-tier blues musicians, both old favorites and the up-and-coming. It is hosted by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and ...

in 2012 and 2013. He appeared at

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = "Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = G ...

's Lowcountry Blues Festival and Festival of Discovery in 2011 as well as many other festivals in the

South South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

and clubs throughout

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Mis ...

. In January 2014, Singleton signed with

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Meckl ...

's booking agency, Blue Mountain Artists. He played the Springing the Blues Festival in

Jacksonville Beach Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. It was incorporated on May 22, 1907, as Pablo Beach, and would later change its name to Jacksonville Beach in 1925. The city is part of group of communities col ...

, Florida in April 2014. He is booked to perform at a number of blues festivals in the summer of 2014, including The North Atlantic Blues Festival,

Cincinnati Blues Festival Cincy Blues Fest is an annual blues music festival, held on the banks of the Ohio River in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. It is believed to be the largest all-volunteer blues festival in the U.S. Over the years it has showcased such acts as ...

, The PA Blues Festival, Flood City Music Festival, The Heritage Blues Festival, The Mississippi Valley Blues Festival, The Blues at the Beach Festival and the Mighty Mississippi Blues Festival.

Discography

* 2011: ''Heartfelt'' (Reakdogmusic, LLC) * 2013: ''Refuse To Lose'' (

Alligator An alligator is a large reptile in the Crocodilia order in the genus ''Alligator'' of the family Alligatoridae. The two Extant taxon, extant species are the American alligator (''A. mississippiensis'') and the Chinese alligator (''A. sinensis'' ...

) * 2016: ''Live at Jazzfest 2016'' (Munck Music) * 2018: ''The Bridge, Part 1'' (Reakdogmusic, LLC)

Honors and awards

* Selected as the 2013 Best Local Blues Artist by ''Jackson Free Press''. * 2013 Jackson Music Award for Local Entertainer of the Year. * 2012 Jackson Music Award for Blues Artist of the Year.Photos from the 2012 Jackson Music Awards
''Facebook.com''. Retrieved May 14, 2014

Current band members

*Jarekus Singleton – Guitar, Vocals *Sam Brady – Organ, Keyboards *Ben Sterling – Bass Guitar *John Blackmon – Drums, Percussion

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Jarekus 1984 births Living people African-American guitarists American blues singers American blues guitarists American male guitarists Contemporary blues musicians Singers from Mississippi Songwriters from Mississippi Lead guitarists Guitarists from Mississippi 21st-century American guitarists African-American male songwriters 21st-century African-American male singers