Joel Culpepper has trailed the release of his debut album Sgt Culpepper with a string of exciting singles, including the politically-charged ‘W.A.R’, the bruised and vulnerable ‘Poetic Justice‘, and the deliciously funky ‘Thought About You‘ (currently A-listed by BBC Radio 6).

‘Black Boy’, which will close Sgt Culpepper, is a celebration of accepting oneself unapologetically, and being unfazed by the judgements and jibes of one’s peers. ‘You give me joy, Black boy,’ Culpepper sings, hitting a somewhat pensive and reflective tone that one would expect from the likes of India Arie. The coda, where Culpepper ad libs over a percussive arrangement and a gentle crescendo of backing vocals, underlines the celebratory tone of the piece.

Culpepper, who used to work with children with behavioural challenges, elaborates:

“I feel there have been so many important songs that address black men, but I wanted to hear a song that universally celebrated being a black lad with an upbeat Minnie Riperton vibe. 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 a confidence and an air about him. 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.”