He was arrested as a young adult for various narcotic crimes and spent thirteen years in the Louisiana State Penitentiary between 1967 and 1986.

Distraught by the fragility of unfired clay, Singleton switched his medium to wood and began carving long ax handles into walking sticks, primarily used as weapons.

[2] He lived the rest of his life in Algiers, a New Orleans neighborhood on the western bank of the Mississippi River.

His stylized, dramatic narratives come from personal experience living amidst violent crime, police brutality, and financial instability.

[1] The art historian and curator Alice Rae Yelen noted a mid-career shift in his subject matter.

Once Singleton switched to doors and larger materials, He began to depict biblical scenes, local social situations, and autobiographical subjects.