Across the UK, a fresh wave of writers and performers are rebooting soul music for the post-grime era. We talk to some of the stars lighting up the new season
My music is truthful.
South-East London soul man
Joel Culpepper’s star is rising. His music is a heady mix of contemporary soul, flourishes of funk and an almost undefinable off-the-cuff energy that echoes grime and punk without any of the sonic cues associated with those genres.
Until recently, Joel had been balancing his music career with a full-time job as a learning mentor, supporting vulnerable children. He tells Clash, “It’s like putting out fires. It was like that every day. You get into it with the assumption that you re there to help the kids, but I think there s an exchange in that you learn a lot about yourself as well. But the music side … man I was I getting off planes from doing shows, and going straight into work. It just got to the point where I wasn’t doing either thing very well.”