Alabama songwriter and singer Kashus Culpepper is the kind of artist that industry folks say has enjoyed a “meteoric rise.” But I object to that expression, because it’s scientifically boneheaded. Meteors, by definition, don’t rise; they plummet toward Earth (on fire). At best, they're a shooting star, but make no mistake, they’re doomed. The better astro-metaphor for what’s happening to Kashus is a rocket ride, lifting off with hopefully enough escape velocity to stay aloft for a nice long trip.
Meeting Kashus and hearing his voice and his savvy record production, as you will in Episode 359 of The String, will make you want to cheer him on his way skyward. He’s got an old-school musical heart, a granite and gravel voice forged in a southern church, and a gifted songwriter’s touch that was only discovered and cultivated because of a truly wild series of events.
Kashus Culpepper had never played the guitar in public or written a song before the 2020 lockdown, when a confluence of free time, an encouraging group of friends, and a timely instrument helped him find his calling. At the time, the native of Alexander City, AL was in the Navy, stationed in Spain.
“It all started because I was learning those songs in my room, and my roommate started picking up on it. He was a black dude from L.A., and he only listened to rap music, but I liked playing all these folky songs (Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson were big for him, he says). He was like, ‘Kash, this is fire, dawg!’ And the people living next to me in the barracks, they started coming over.” Guys started requesting songs, and he’d use the internet to learn them. “And everybody around me would sing. It just felt very communal. We didn’t know what we were doing. It was just Covid and we were just having a good time.”
That led to bigger gatherings - night time volleyball and bonfires - where Kash became the life of the party. When his next deployment took him back to the States - the Mississippi Gulf Coast - a lot of his new fans were sent there too, so the music kept going. He played bars and got brought on board by a band, hitting regional clubs and colleges. Feeling burned out and hemmed in by the all-covers diet, he formed his own band and got his own music out there. Amazingly, all that happened before he started posting anything on social media, which people began suggesting that maybe he, you know, ought to.
And with that, some viral success occurred and the fuse was lit. Sony Music courted him. He moved to Nashville and landed a publishing deal. In the end, he went with Big Loud to make and release his debut album Act 1, which arrived in March on a wave of acclaim. Culpepper was flagged as an artist to watch this year by WXPN radio, the Nashville Scene, Grammy.com, Apple Music, and the Grand Ole Opry. Billboard called him a Rookie of the Month. And even some celebrities like Elton John and Samuel L. Jackson have amplified his online growth with expressions of admiration.
The album is a generous 18 tracks that show a range of flavors, from southern rock to country soul. One early single that opens our show, “Believe” is an impassioned prayer to good angels in times of strife and betrayal, with a chorale of a chorus that lifts off like the aforementioned rocket. “Southern Man” is a vivid, anthemic rocker performed with Marcus King. In another sign of the talent that’s gathering around Kashus, he sings the lovely country waltz “Broken Wing Bird” with Sierra Ferrell. “Man Of His Word,” written with star Nashville writer Natalie Hemby, is a deft half-rap that spins a story about betrayal and trust. The album earns its length in every way.
It is refreshing indeed to read about an emerging talent who wasn’t made to wait for six years to get that first major label record out. And it’s nice to see a career being bolstered by a mix of record company support, critical acclaim, and grassroots enthusiasm, rather than throwing things at the commercial radio wall. It’s nice to know that it just might be possible to go from beginner to admired pro in just five years, on the strength of talent and soul.
And for Kashus, he implicitly gives credit to the music he loved and explored passionately as he grew up in his small town, including Hank Williams, Ella Fitzgerald, Al Green. “People thought I was strange,” he tells us. “When (my music) started going national, it validated that okay, maybe the music I like is really good, and I can write a good song. And I know what good music is.”
