Joel Culpepper – 'Black Boy'
London’s Master of Soul, Joel Culpepper, brings back the light with joyful new single ‘Black Boy’.
Inspired by his time working as a mentor in London schools, ‘Black Boy’ is a celebration of being a black man. “When I was writing I kept going back to this one memory of a boy I worked with, just this one morning when he was running late, bowling through the playground with such confidence and an air about him,” he reveals. “He had his older sister's leopard-print coat, a pink lunchbox, these ankle-swinger trousers with no socks on. Some of the kids were saying stuff, but he was just head forward, bowling through, didn't care. I'll never forget me turning around to the other teachers and them going 'he's got it, int he?' Like fair play mate, you've sussed out life. That lived with me; we spend our whole adulthoods trying to find ways to be that uninhibited, and he’d cracked it at 10 years old. I just wanted him to have that message, and kept thinking, I don't just want to be the guy that just spoke about doing music – I want those kids to see me doing it.” Set to a sunny backdrop of groove-infused basslines and an undeniably infectious rhythm section, the track carries a bright sense of hope. Paired with Joel’s soulful vocals and immaculate pace, ‘Black Boy’ is a beautifully charismatic masterpiece.
‘Black Boy’ finds us in the runup to Joel’s upcoming album ‘Sgt Culpepper’ –a love letter to the community and the multitude of people and genres that continue to inspire his musicianship. Fusing old-school soul with funky pop, and the emotional with the political, it’s no doubt an album to look out for.
Words by Laura Freyaldenhoven