South-East London’s Joel Culpepper shares his latest track ‘Thought About You’, and announces the release date for his forthcoming debut album Sgt Culpepper, out July 23rd via his own imprint Pepper Records. The track is accompanied by a new video - a hyper-stylised vision of a classic retro talk-show, complete with comedian Munya Chawawa enthusiastically adopting the role of host. 

With executive production from Swindle (Ezra Collective, Mahalia), mastering from Joker (Stormzy, Kojey Radical) and with co-productions that include the likes of legendary pop producer Guy Chambers, Raf Rundell (The 2 Bears) and Tom Misch, Sgt Culpepper is a testament to the power of community. Inspired by the dualities that Joel feels as a Gemini, the record is split into four chapters, mingling self-reflection with wider social commentary. The Battle, which includes previous singles ‘W.A.R’ and ‘Return’ (premiered by Annie Mac on BBC Radio 1 and playlisted at BBC 6 Music), The Surrender, embodied by recent single ‘Poetic Justice’, The Love and The Lesson. As much as the record is a document of Joel’s own personal journey, he also felt impassioned to create this body of work after his former career as a Learning Mentor for children with behavioural difficulties. Joel hopes that the endeavour will inspire these kids to realise their own power, and makes reference to them across the album.