McKinley performer Dajeun Dickerson Jr. is a rising regional star

CANTON − Cheressa Meadows-Hopkins can recall the exact moment she realized her preschooler was more than just an average kid.

“He was about 3 or 4. He found a tambourine and got to singing,” she said with a laugh. “I thought he was going to be a preacher, like my mother (Rev. Kimberly Barnes). He would repeat everything he heard her say.”

McKinley High School’s Dajeun Dickerson Jr. performs on stage during a recent appearance in Canton.

Dajeun Dickerson Jr., 17, is now a powerhouse singer whose talent is gaining some serious attention.

The McKinley High School senior bested more than 100 competitors in Cleveland’s Rising Star competition last month, winning a $10,000 scholarship, an invitation to perform with the Cleveland Pops Orchestra and a $500 “Fan Favorite” scholarship.

He is eyeing local colleges and some historically Black colleges and universities.

“I’m looking at the different programs that they have in theater, in vocal business management and administration, and mortuary science. Those are just some of the things at the forefront of what I’m thinking about doing,” he said.

Unfailingly polite, Dickerson exudes a quiet confidence about his talent, calling gospel his first “musical language.”

His musical favorites are decidedly “old school,” from gospel performers the Clark Sisters and Karen Clark Shearer, to the late Donnie Hathaway, and R&B divas Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin and Anita Baker. He said he’s received personal encouragement from such performers as Fred Hammond, Macy Gray and Marvin Sapp.

He has performed the national anthem at Cleveland Guardians games, and frequently sings at weddings, funerals, musical competitions, school assemblies and in McKinley’s musical theater productions.

Dajeun Dickerson Jr., a student at McKinley High School in Canton, shows off some of the awards he has received for his vocal music performances.

In addition to his competitive awards, Dickerson has won recognition from the national NAACP, the Be a Better Me Foundation and Omega Psi Phi Fraternity.

Dickerson said he has thought about stepping up on the stage to perform.

“Yeah, but I think that with Broadway and theater and singing in general, there’s a lot of uncertainties,” he said. “With those types of paths, I want to make sure that I secure something before I go after those dreams.”

Canton’s Dajeun Dickerson Jr.

Meadows-Hopkins, who has taken on the additional task of “momanger,” said that she and Dickerson’s father, who both are singers, will support their son in whatever career he eventually chooses.

“I tell him to speak to what he knows, and he knows theater,” she said. “But like he said, he does need to have something to fall back on, just in case it doesn’t work out. Something that will help him.”

In addition to musical theater, Dickerson is president of McKinley’s Speech and Debate Club and Student Council, and is vice president of the Pep Club. He also plays the flute and pickleball, and was elected governor of the recent Buckeye Boys State.

Dajeun Dickerson Jr. performs at an event in downtown Canton.

Teacher: ‘Some people just get it’

Kristy McNally, a performing arts teacher in the McKinley Career Tech program, said Dickerson is a natural who also works hard at his craft.

“Some people just get it,” she said. “He doesn’t need a lot of coaching. He’s had some opportunities for leadership, and I’d like to see him continue that.”

Dickerson is talented enough for Broadway, McNally said, “if he chooses that path.”

“I think he’s like many of our seniors,” she said. “He’s at this point where there’s a lot of question marks. It’s like, ‘What do I want to do?’ And I think, you know, we struggle a lot with identity and figuring out ‘Do I do this for me? Am I doing this for mom? For dad? The community?’ I think if he wants to do it, he absolutely could.”

McNally said she first heard Dickerson sing when he was a freshman auditioning for McKinley’s production of “Sister Act: The Musical.”

“He had an extraordinary voice,” she recalled. “I had heard about him a little bit before. I thought he had a very mature voice, a lot of control over his vocals. It’s definitely born out of the church community and gospel.”

Dickerson said he enjoys the production aspect of musical theater.

“I love the process of things,” he said.

EN-RICH-MENT founder Betty Smith has known Dickerson for seven years, since he and his brothers enrolled in music classes at her nonprofit, which offers free afterschool music classes for children who reside in the city.

“He introduced me to his brothers and said, ‘We are the 3 “Ds’ and we sing,'” Smith said. “I asked them to sing something for me. I was blown away by Dajeun, who was the lead singer. He had personality, confidence, and his style let me know he had been singing in church. I immediately knew I had to do whatever possible to make sure he continued with his singing.”

Dajeun Dickerson Jr. as a preschooler.

Smith said that over the years EN-RICH-MENT has provided Dickerson with a number of venues and opportunities to display his talent, including a Leadership Stark County event, EN-RICH-MENT’s annual gala.

“Ted Swaldo of Gervasi Vineyard heard him at an EN-RICH-MENT Gala and let him know that whenever he built his repertoire, he would love to have him perform at one of Gervasi’s locations,” Smith said. “I continue to encourage and support him in whatever his involvement. We talked often about life, his career and just had a great time.”

Smith noted that one of her instructors, Christopher Gales, still serves as vocal mentor for Dickerson.

McKinley High School singer-actor Dajeun Dickerson Jr. performs during an event.

Hopkins-Meadows said she simply advises her son to stay true to himself.

“He’s very respectful,” Dajeun’s mother said. “He’s a person that will take what you give him and try to make it better. I always taught him he can reach for the stars.”

Dickerson he’s grateful for the support he’s received from his family, McKinley’s faculty and the wider community. His favorite Bible verse is Psalm 105:2, “Sing to him, sing praise to him; tell of all his wonderful acts.”

“I always say any time I sing, ‘To God be the glory,'” he said. “It’s my goal for anything I do.”

Reach Charita at 330-580-8313 or [email protected]. On Twitter: @cgoshayREP.