Clarence Greenwood (born May 20, 1968), also known by his stage name, Citizen Cope, is an American songwriter, producer and singer. His music is commonly described as a mix of blues,

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

, and

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

. Citizen Cope's compositions have been recorded by Carlos Santana,

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

Pharoahe Monch Troy Donald Jamerson (born October 31, 1972), better known by his stage name Pharoahe Monch, is an American rapper from South Jamaica, Queens, New York. He is known for his complex lyrics, intricate delivery, and internal and multisyllabic rhy ...

and Richie Havens. He currently records and produces for his own record label, Rainwater Recordings, which he founded in 2010. He had previously been signed to

Capitol A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity. Specific capitols include: * United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. * Numerous ...

, Arista,

DreamWorks DreamWorks may refer to: * DreamWorks Pictures, an American film production company of Amblin ** DreamWorks Television, an American television production company and division of the film studio ** DreamWorks Records, an American record label and f ...

and

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

. On March 1, 2019, he self-released his first album in six years, ''Heroin and Helicopters''.

Early life

Born in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...

, Greenwood spent parts of his childhood in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, ultimately ending up in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he was primarily raised. He graduated from Wilson High School and attended

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

Recording career

Greenwood was initially the DJ for Washington, D.C.-based

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...

band

Basehead Basehead, also known as dc Basehead and Basehead 2.0, is an American alternative rock band formed by Michael Ivey in 1992. Ivey serves as the group's songwriter and leader, performing vocals and various instruments. Basehead's 1992 debut album ...

. He was signed to Capitol Records in 1997. In 2000, Citizen Cope signed with DreamWorks and released a self-titled album in 2002. In 2004, he released ''

The Clarence Greenwood Recordings ''The Clarence Greenwood Recordings'' is the third album by American recording artist Citizen Cope. It was released on September 14, 2004 via RCA Records. Originally, ''The Clarence Greenwood Recordings'' was scheduled to be released under Arista ...

'', which he also produced. ''

Every Waking Moment ''Every Waking Moment'' is Citizen Cope's third album, and his second with the RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony ...

'' followed in 2006 (also self-produced), and debuted at #69 on the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. In 2010, Greenwood established his own record label, Rainwater Recordings. The move allowed him full creative control over his music and career. He released ''

The Rainwater LP ''The Rainwater LP'' is Citizen Cope's fourth studio album, released 8 February 2010 on Amazon MP3, and digitally released elsewhere on 9 February 2010, and in-stores on 2 March 2010. The album is produced by Cope (Clarence Greenwood) and it is t ...

'' that year. "Let the Drummer Kick" from his 2002 album '' Citizen Cope'' achieved RIAA gold disc status. Greenwood released his following album, ''One Lovely Day'' on July 17, 2012. On March 1, 2019, his first album in six years, ''Heroin and Helicopters'' was released. He released his first single from the album, "Justice," on November 30, 2018. Citizen Cope in Seattle WA in 2008

Songwriting and producing

Greenwood's work has been recorded by a number of musicians. In 2002,

Santana Santana may refer to: Transportation * Volkswagen Santana, an automobile * Santana Cycles, manufacturer of tandem bicycles * Santana Motors, a former Spanish automobile manufacturer Boats * Santana 20, an American sailboat design by W. D. Sch ...

recorded Cope's song "Sideways" for their ''

Shaman Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a spirit world through altered states of consciousness, such as trance. The goal of this is usually to direct spirits or spir ...

'' album. He performed "Sideways" in concert with Santana on his 2003 European tour. Greenwood sang on and produced the track. Sheryl Crow asked to record the song in 2010 for her ''

100 Miles from Memphis ''100 Miles from Memphis'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Sheryl Crow. It is her final release for A&M Records. The album was written and produced by Crow, Doyle Bramhall II and Justin Stanley and features the musicians T ...

'' album, and invited Greenwood to join her in concert on several occasions, including the

Crossroads Guitar Festival The Crossroads Guitar Festival is a series of music festivals and benefit concerts founded by Eric Clapton. The festivals benefit the Crossroads Centre founded by Eric Clapton, a drug treatment center in Antigua. The concerts showcase a variet ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. At the same festival, Eric Clapton brought Greenwood onstage to perform "Hands of the Saints" together. Corey Taylor also recorded a version of the song.

Brett Dennen Brett Michael Dennen (born October 28, 1979) is an American folk/pop singer-songwriter from Central California. His seventh studio album, ''See the World'' was released in July 2021. Early life Dennen grew up in Central Valley, California in a s ...

recorded a version of the song "Healing Hands" for ''The Voice Project Presents Home Recordings Volume 1'' in 2012. In 2008, Greenwood wrote and recorded "Burnin' Love" with

for her ''

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.Richie Havens released his version of "Hurricane Waters" and the hip-hop artist Rhymefest recorded "Bullet," featuring Greenwood. His work appeared in a number of soundtracks to films including ''

Trust the Man ''Trust the Man'' is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Bart Freundlich. The film is set in New York and centers around two couples as they deal with relationship issues such as intimacy and commitment. Plot The film cente ...

'', ''

Ghost Town Ghost Town(s) or Ghosttown may refer to: * Ghost town, a town that has been abandoned Film and television * ''Ghost Town'' (1936 film), an American Western film by Harry L. Fraser * ''Ghost Town'' (1956 film), an American Western film by All ...

'', ''Coach Carter (2005 film)'', ''

Accepted ''Accepted'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Steve Pink (in his directorial debut) and written by Adam Cooper, Bill Collage and Mark Perez. The plot follows a group of high school graduates who create their own fake college after bei ...

'', ''

The Lincoln Lawyer ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' is a 2005 novel, the 16th by American crime writer Michael Connelly. It introduces Los Angeles attorney Mickey Haller, half-brother of Connelly's mainstay character Detective Hieronymus "Harry" Bosch. It was adapted as ...

'', '' Fracture'' and Jamesy Boy (2014) Jamesy Boy. His song "Bullet and a Target" appeared in 2006's '' The Sentinel'', '' Alpha Dog'' as well as in the television show, ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or r ...

''. Greenwood's songs have also been included on '' Scrubs'', ''

One Tree Hill One Tree Hill may refer to: * "One Tree Hill" (song), a 1987 song by U2 referencing One Tree Hill, New Zealand volcanic peak * ''One Tree Hill'' (TV series), a 2003–2012 American drama series named for the U2 song ** ''One Tree Hill'' (soundtr ...

'', ''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'', ''

So You Think You Can Dance ''So You Think You Can Dance'' is a franchise of reality television shows in which contestants compete in dance. The first series of the franchise, created by '' Idols'' producers Simon Fuller and Nigel Lythgoe, premiered in July 2005 and ha ...

'', and '' Smallville''. "One Lovely Day" appeared in the film '' Battleship.''

Personal life

Greenwood currently lives in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and Fort Greene, Brooklyn. He has one child with singer/songwriter

Alice Smith Alice Smith (born 30 November 1977) is an American singer and songwriter, her style anchored in rock, R&B, blues, jazz and soul. Life and career Raised between Washington, D.C. and a farm in Georgia, she sang in ''Moomtez'' and ''Black Roc ...

Discography

* ''3 Song Demo'' (1990) (Cassette) * ''

Cope Citizen ''Cope Citizen'' is the debut album by American recording artist Citizen Cope. It was recorded in late 1991 and early 1992 and released in 1992 limited to 500 copies. Track listing References 1992 debut albums Citizen Cope albums ...

'' (1992) (500 copies) * ''Asst. of Shells Remnants Of The Shotgun Trials. CD-R'' (1999) (100-300 copies+/-) * '' Citizen Cope'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * ''

'' (2006) #69 U.S. * ''

'' (2010) #111 U.S., #10 U.S. Independent Albums * ''One Lovely Day'' (2012) #39 U.S. * ''Heroin and Helicopters'' (2019) * ''The Pull of Niagara Falls'' (2021)

Other contributions

*'' Live at the World Café: Vol. 15 - Handcrafted'' (2002, World Café) - "If There's Love" *Vocals on "

Karma Police "Karma Police" is a song by English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on 25 August 1997, as the second single from their third studio album, ''OK Computer'' (1997). It reached number one in Iceland and number eight on the UK Singles Ch ...

" from the

Easy Star All-Stars Easy Star All-Stars is a reggae collective founded in 1997 by Michael Goldwasser, Eric Smith, Lem Oppenheimer and Remy Gerstein of New York City-based Easy Star Records. The band is known for its reinterpretations of classic albums in reggae styl ...

album ''

Radiodread ''Radiodread'' is a 2006 tribute album by the Easy Star All-Stars that covers Radiohead's 1997 album ''OK Computer'' in reggae, ska and dub styles. History ''Radiodread'' producer and arranger Michael Goldwasser said: :''OK Computer'' has el ...

'', a complete

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

/ dub cover of Radiohead's "OK Computer" *Duet with

on "Burnin Love" from her album ''

Safe Trip Home ''Safe Trip Home'' is the third studio album by Dido. It was released in the United Kingdom on 17 November 2008.Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

cover *Guest vocals on "The Grand Illusion (Circa 1973)" for the album '' W.A.R. (We Are Renegades)'' by

*Turntablism in "Let The Drummer Kick" by DJ JVC *Vocals for the song "Muse" by G. Love & Special Sauce from the album ''Love Saves the Day'' (2015) * "Let the Drummer Kick it " By Citizen Cope featured on soundtrack of "Coach Carter" film (2005)

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial YouTube
* Citizen Cope Artist Station
Citizen Cope on Slacker.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Citizen Cope 1968 births Living people American male singers American rock singers American soul singers People from Fort Greene, Brooklyn