Anyone that does not know the name of Clarence Greenwood aka Citizen Cope soon will. If you fuse elements of jazz, funk, folk and hip hop entwined with a dusting of southern soul you get a sound attributed to this man. This blend of genres is responsible for the harmonious sound that Citizen Cope is gaining notoriety for. His latest offering, entitled 'The Clarence Greenwood Recordings', gives fans more poetic insights into life, so compelling, they would not look out of place in a John Keates ode. Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to learn the name of Citizen Cope.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, but raised in Washington DC, Citizen Cope's upbringing surprisingly did not influence his decision to become a musician. "I just think poetry led me to music," he tells, showing an insight into Citizen Cope's character. As the interview progresses, it is clear Clarence is a reflective, reserved musician that is heavily influenced by poetry; it's his way of artistically expressing himself. Citizen Cope as a singer and songwriter uses inspirational characters to create his sound. "Everyone from Marvin Gaye to John Lennon, to hip hop music," he says. "It was just hearing a lot of stuff that influenced me, and made me feel like I just wanted to express something."

In the early years, one of Citizen Cope's main influences came from the affectionately known 'Godfather of Go-Go', Chuck Brown. "I used to go to his shows," he says. "I gave him my first early tapes, and Chuck was just a really positive mentor type person who gives a lot, and who cares a lot about other people."

Cope's influences have led to his artistic ambitions becoming accomplished and to his latest release, 'The Clarence Greenwood Recordings', his RCA/Arista debut album, which is fast gaining notoriety as an evocative masterpiece. Vibe magazine describes it as "Flawless throughout", and Rolling Stones pinpointed Citizen Cope as "One of 10 artists to watch."

The new album offers fans the same poetic interpretations of life experiences that people grew accustomed to from his first album release, the self-titled, 'Citizen Cope'. Whether Cope is captivating his audience through lyrics derived from personal experience, or through the eyes of a folk tale character, one thing is for sure; his success is not based on who he is, but what he creates. But what has changed in the production in his new release when compared to his first? "I think I stripped it down a little bit, and kinda listened to it and followed my first instinct on a lot of things," he explains. "That's kinda the only difference I saw in it."

Citizen Cope's philosophy when making music is that simplicity is key. "Sometimes when you know too much musically, that can be a deterrent because you don't naturally go for something that's basic, you go for something more complicated, where listeners may, or may not understand it."

A number of stellar musicians feature on the album, including Carlos Santana on the track 'Son's Gonna Rise', Me'Shell Ndegeocello on 'Sideways' and Paul 'Buggy' Edwards on the first single, 'Bullet and a Target'. Artists of this calibre do not feature on your album if you are not going places. So how does Citizen Cope keep his production work fresh? "I guess the fact is I am inspired to do it," he tells.

His inspiration is clear from the dedication as a perfectionist in the recording processes. Cope led the production duties on the album and the result is an accessible LP due to the incorporation of so many genres into his sound. Citizen Cope is fully aware of personal pressures that can arise during production. "Anytime you make a record, it can be very intense," he explains. "It's fulfilling, and it can be a lot of fun, but just the intensity of expressing yourself artistically can sometimes bring up some intense moments."

'The Clarence Greenwood Recordings' was tracked at the legendary Jimi Hendrix-built Electric Lady Studios in New York. Although the studio is highly respected, Cope had more practical reasons for booking time there. "I just liked the vibe and it was within the village and I like the area," he says. "A couple of the other studios in New York are kinda in the middle of nowhere and it's good to be able to go somewhere where you know you can jump on the subway and come out, and you're there. There is a lot of travel going on so it's cool."

For many artists their success would become a constant talking point, but not with this man. Citizen Cope shows no sign of ego, accrediting his success to discipline and inspiration. There is no constant narration detailing how he is better than the next artist; he lets his lyrics and production inform the listeners of his talent.

The success and artistic serenity that Citizen Cope is bathing in is contrasting in every way to the period of his first album release. After moving to New York to follow his musical dream, things started positively with the release the self-titled 'Citizen Cope' for Dreamworks in 2001. Things then turned sour as Cope left the record company due to what he saw as a lack of promotion. The record was re-released on March 14 of this year. Cope gives his reason for the album hitting the shelves for the second time. "I put the record company off, so what they did was to get me back - they took the record off of the shelf," he explains. "It was selling for like $75 on Ebay and you know people were still downloading it, so they decided to put it back out rather than just lose money. I offered to buy it back, but they didn't want to sell it to me." Cope bought himself out of his contract and moved to Arista, where he started recording his new masterpiece.

With 'The Clarence Greenwood Recordings' comes a compelling, intimate and vibrant offering - a mature sounding album from a new artist that echoes life experiences as effortlessly as it conveys a message that people can relate to. The sound cannot be pigeonholed, creating a unique experience for any listener. But what does the future hold for Citizen Cope? "We're just gonna make another record and continue touring," he says. "I have been touring a lot in the US and it has worked out well. I'm going to do some recording with different artists and produce some different artists, and just continue making my own records. I might be doing a score for a Hollywood film in the next coming months."

A message to anyone that has not yet had the experience of listening to the rough-edged, poetic vocals of Citizen Cope is 'go and listen'.

Citizen Cope is set for an imminent tour of the States. To find out more, visit his official website:

http://www.citizencope.com.

Citizen Cope's new album, 'The Clarence Greenwood Recordings', and the re-released, self-titled 'Citizen Cope' are both in stores now.