serpentwithfeet has dropped a new video for “Same Size Shoe,” the track, is the latest off his forthcoming release, DEACON, out March 26th via Secretly Canadian. A deeply heartwarming celebration in honor of Black History Month, the Shadae Lamar Smith and Rush Davis directed-video is an ode to serpent’s most fervent influences, from visionary writers and poets like Joseph Beam and Essex Hemphill, to the performer Jonte’, to filmmakers Marlon Riggs and Patrik-Ian Polk and the casts of Tongues Untied and Noah’s Arc respectively. “Thank you to all the icons who remind me to be infinite,” says serpent.

For serpentwithfeet, DEACON is a study rather than a story delving into Black, gay love and the tenderness present in the best companionships, romantic or otherwise. The follow-up to his debut album, soil. The album came together after he relocated to Los Angeles, a city that provided a sense of tranquility, an aspect he pushed to capture in his new music.

serpent proudly follows in the tradition of R&B artists whose gifts were helmed in the Black church. The album’s title takes its name from the Christian office, a figure who helps maintain order within the church and himself. Approaching DEACON with an undeniable passion and reverence for the genre, serpent made the deliberate decision to exclude songs about heartbreak. This was a bold act for R&B, a genre quite literally shaped by the harsh realities the blues provide.

Ahead of the release of DEACON, serpent is a featured artist in Youtube’s inaugural Black Voices campaign which spotlights Black creatives from around the world.

pre=order DEACON by serpentwithfeet via Secretly Canadian HERE