Out singer-songwriter Boy George has partially credited himself for helping young queer artists thrive.

On Friday, Culture Club released Life, its long-awaited sixth studio album.

Life was originally titled Tribes and was originally slated for release in 2016-17.

Speaking with USA Today, Boy George said that he decided to release a new album because he wanted new songs to add to his touring show. He said that love was one of the driving emotions that inspired the new music.

“Obviously love and its many discontents. The song "Let Somebody Love You" is about the risk you take every time you enter into a relationship. You never know what someone's going to do and how things will end. You are always risking heartache – that's why I say, 'Love is revolution, it's war, it's famine, it's everything.' The general themes (of the album) are questions about love, questions about faith and observations on life,” Boy George said.

When asked what he thought about young queer artists, Boy George took partial credit for helping to create the environment for them to thrive.

“Without people like me, (David) Bowie, Oscar Wilde, and whoever came before taking the kinds of risk that we took however we took them, maybe there wouldn't be a situation where you didn't have to think about your sexuality – that you can just factor it into what you do. I suppose, in a way, that’s what I always wanted. So I guess the answer would be I’m delighted for those people, because I’ve always wanted to live in a world where your sexuality, your race and your age weren't important,” Boy George said.