Local artists recognize African American Music Appreciation Month

JACKSON, TN (WNBJ) - June is African American Music Appreciation Month. The month is spent celebrating African Americans' musical contributions to our nation.

According to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the appreciation month was created by President Jimmy Carter in 1979 as an annual celebration of African American music in the United States.

The month honors African American artists in all genres of music and recognizes the instrumental role their heritage plays in American culture.

The president of the Jackson-based record label One Ten Music knows how important it is to support local musicians.

“Being in the music industry for so long, after a while, you want to do something, where you are giving back. Right now, a lot of the labels, a lot of artists don’t have a machine, where they are able to go ahead and develop their work so I figure at some point if I do another label situation, I want to go ahead and create an environment with our artists or whoever we work with are able to be in an environment, where they can work and be creative,” said John Gause, the President of One Ten Music.

The label has been in the hub city since 2014 and has eight recording artists.

An artist with the label and Bolivar native says being able to create relevant music is what he enjoys most about working in the music industry.

“It’s good when a complete stranger understands because every time you write a song somebody is actually going through the same thing, you are actually going through and being able to get that story out and have somebody else feel the same thing you are feeling at that particular time feels great,” said Barnie 'Sinsay' Bills, a musician with One Ten Music.

Music from all the artists on the record label can be streamed and purchased on the One Ten Music website.

You can also purchase their music on all other streaming platforms.