LaReeca Rucker
The Clarion-Ledger
From the archives March 7, 2013
When Jarekus Singleton was 12, he played for a basketball team called the Jackson Panthers, and spent most of his time on the bench, even though he knew he could play ball. Soon, he left the Panthers for the Jackson Tigers, and his perspective began to change.
“My coaches saw something in me that I guess the Jackson Panthers didn’t,” said Singleton, 28. “My first year playing, I won the Newcomer of the Year Award. We went to nationals, and I was one of the top 10 scorers. Nothing had changed. I was the same guy. I was the same player. But I had to sit on the bench and watch people play in front of me, and I knew I was better than that.
“I guess that’s why I’m so humble now because every little thing that I get is a monumental thing for me. I’m glad God made me understand that at an early age in life. I’ve had to literally fight for every inch in life that I have gained, whether it was for basketball or music.”
Today, the high school and college basketball standout is focused on his music career. Life has been a winding path that forced him to switch from one exceptional talent to another.
“I know music. I know basketball. And I know hard work,” said Singleton.
Singleton’s story begins around age 9 when his uncle, Tony Shearry, introduced him to bass guitar at his grandfather’s Jackson church, True Gospel Church of God in Christ, where most of his family members played an instrument. He picked it up the first night he was shown how to play. After realizing that his nephew was a quick learner, Uncle Tony taught him choir songs. But no one at school knew Singleton was musically inclined because he was obsessed with basketball.
“That’s all I wanted to do was play basketball all day, every day,” he said.
That work ethic paid off. In 2002, the Clinton resident was the number one basketball player in the state. He attended the University of Southern Mississippi on a basketball scholarship and played there two years before transferring to William Carey University, where he won just about every basketball award you can win, including the National Player of the Year award.
“I knew someone was going to give me an NBA tryout and invite me to training camp,” he said. “It never happened. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Indiana Pacers had been calling my agent saying, ‘Jarekus is an interesting talent, and we’ve got him under our radar.’ But they never called me to go to training camp, and that devastated me.”
He moved to the Middle East to play for a Lebanon basketball team the following season, but when someone set off a bomb targeting a U.S. Embassy car two blocks away from his apartment, he wanted to come home.
“When I got home, the first thing I did was kiss my mama’s driveway. I came home, changed clothes, went to church and played music.”
After injuring his ankle, he began playing music with a couple of bands to earn extra cash. Later, his mother encouraged him to start his own band.
His first gig was at F. Jones Corner on Feb. 20, 2010.
During his first year as a professional performer, he played in the Chicago Blues Festival and several other festivals. The Jackson Music Awards also nominated Singleton for Blues Artist of the Year, an award he won in 2012.
Three of his songs are now on rotation on Sirius Satellite Radio and a couple of record label executives have been inquiring about him.
Business associate Peggy Brown, of Hit the Road Entertainment, has been working with Singleton about a year now.
“I often describe him as an artist with immense talent and drive,” she said. “Look for him to be making a big name for himself and his music soon.”
His first album, “Heartfelt,” was released on iTunes in 2011. He is working on another one called “February Extended.”