On My Own Time: Vicksburg musicians turn years of struggle into art

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — For local artists CJ Houston and Travion Bowie — part of OMOT (On My Own Time) — the journey into music wasn’t instantaneous, but a slow, determined progression that continues to evolve.

“I really just found my sound about two years ago,” said Houston, known as CJ2HUNNI. “It’s been about finding myself, taking my time with it.”

The two musicians originally crossed paths around 2023. Bowie, known as King TT, had been making music before, setting up his own studio during high school, with a small group called Finesse Corp with OMOT productions.

“When I met him (King TT), that’s when I really started making music like that,” CJ said.

Rap, for them, isn’t just about flashy lyrics or influence. It’s about the rhythm, the poetry, and the feeling behind each line.

“If you don’t feel it, you can’t do it,” CJ said. “That was my struggle for the longest. I wasn’t feeling it, 
and then one day it just finally clicked in my head and I wrote my first song.”

For CJ, it took time before the emotion and the words clicked. That moment came unexpectedly while sitting in a friend’s attic, listening to them freestyle. Inspired, he left his friends house, walked home and wrote his first song.

For King TT the flows come more naturally these days, but he still has his piles of notebooks.

“I used to write it all night, 5 o’clock in the morning, just writing and just try to sit with it,” said King TT. “I still got the little notebooks and stuff, but nowadays, I guess once you hear the beat, you kind of knowing what you’re saying.”

While the two enjoy making music, they are hoping to find places to share their music with the world, and right now, their biggest challenge is trying to find venues to perform.

“There’s not any places that you can get a bunch of people together,” said King TT. “Where it’s a good atmosphere, where you could have a show.”

The two can be found on Youtube, Soundcloud, and Instagram.