Citizen Cope - "The Clarence Greenwood Recordings" (RCA)

In early 2002 WXPN listeners and members got their first taste of the sounds and music of Citizen Cope on his self-titled debut record on the Dreamworks label. Fusing soulful, down-home grooves with pop sensibilities, Cope’s record quickly found a home on 88.5 and developed a nice following in our listening areas. Cope’s debut was smart, intelligent, high quality music for an integrated world. Not afraid to take on weighty, social, cultural and political issues in his lyrics, he’s both a realist and an optimist. Songs like “If There’s Love,” “Let The Drummer Kick It,” “Mistaken Identity,” and “Contact” quickly became staples on the radio dial at XPN, as did Cope’s collaboration with Santana on the song “Sideways” from Santana’s Shaman album.

Drawing on R&B and hip-hop, Cope also draws inspiration from various styles of roots music including blues, folk and reggae. It may seem like a long two years for Cope, born Clarence Greenwood, however his new album is finally seeing the light of day. Like many artists, Cope fell victim to record company consolidations and music business politics only to surface on a new label, RCA records, with a stellar supporting studio musician cast that includes Carlos Santana, Me’shell Ndegeocello, and James Poyser on keyboards.

Recordings has a similar vibe as his debut, however it reveals a more mature sense of musicianship and songwriting. Cope reprises “Sideways,” plus new tunes like the powerful “Bullet and A Target,” “Sons Gonna Rise,” “Hurricane Waters,” “Nite Becomes Day,” and “Pablo Picasso” will have you returning back to this massive collection for repeated listenings.

Written by Bruce Warren

Release Date 9/14/2004

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