African Fife and drum music was historically at the center of African American musical and social culture in the Mississippi hill country and other Southern communities dating back to the birth of the nation. Master fife player Otha Turner was the leader of the Rising Star Fife and Drum band, one of the last African fife and drum band in Mississippi. The group is now composed mostly of Turner's grandchildren, led by Sharde Thomas, who seek to preserve one of oldest known forms of African-American folk music.