If you don’t know Kashus Culpepper yet, you’re about to.
One of country music’s fastest rising stars will be kicking off 2026 letting fans into his world with ‘ACT I,’ his debut album set to release Jan. 23 via Big Loud Records/Umusic. “This record has so many emotions in it,” Kashus shared on Instagram. “Love. Heartbreak. Joy. Anger. Hope. Everything that makes us human. It’s been a journey creating these songs. At times it even feels like a movie, looking back on the moments that shaped it. Lord knows I’m grateful for every moment.”
Speaking of moments to be grateful for, Love at First Listen was lucky enough to be in the room with Kashus as he made the announcement, shared the stories behind the songs, and played (and later performed!) several tracks in full on a night off his current arena tour with Darius Rucker.
On his new single “Mean to Me”: “It took me so long, from a writing sense, to be able to write a song like that. … I was on a retreat with some of my friends and I just started playing that riff and I was just like, ‘Bro, I just wanna groove, and then I just wanna tell a story.’ And that’s pretty much how ‘Mean to Me’ came about – just having a vibe.”
On going from the church choir to the navy to mega artistry within a short span:
@willtravelforconcerts A special night with @Kashus Culpepper hearing insights on his artistic journey + previewing his *just announced!!!* debut album, dropping Jan. 23. 💿 More to share soon! 🎶 #kashusculpepper #countrymusic #newmusic #newmusicfriday #torontoevents #music #loveatfirstlisten @umusic ♬ original sound – angelaaaxo 🛫🎫
On unreleased track “Alabama Beauty Queen”: “[That song] is kind of like a two-part inspiration. One part of the song is about a friend of mine from back home. She was the most beautiful girl in town and school and she had everything going for herself, but she had so much stuff going [on at] home and so much darkness in her life. When she would come to school, she would just tell me about it, she’d be sad about it, [and] we’d talk about it. A second part of the song is about, you know, I’m from such a small town that everybody was trying to leave … and nobody wants to stay in that little town. So, it’s about her and also just wanting to leave your town [and] find some better place.”
On his first official single, “After Me“: “I still love playing it. That song was just so early on with my songwriting ’cause I wrote that song in ’23 and then it didn’t come out until ’24, so I was already so many songs ahead after that one. But I’m just so proud of it. I mean, it’s the reason why I’m here.”
On his plans for 2026: “The album comes out in January, and then touring a lot. I’ll be in Australia, [at] a whole bunch of festivals, and I’ve already started working on new stuff.”
We’ll have more to share in January, but in the meantime, watch the cinematic music video for “Mean to Me” below.
