In a Glee-infused, Lil’ Wayne-obsessed world, it is usually difficult to find people who look beyond mainstream media and further into different aspects of music, especially people our age. An artist that does just that is making a stop in Starkville. Citizen Cope is coming to Rick’s Café Wednesday. Citizen Cope has been on the music scene since 2000 and has just released his newest album, The Rainwater, his first album in four years. Many college students are ecstatic about it because his eclectic style appeals to people who enjoy different genres of music.
Citizen Cope’s style merges classical beats with elemental echoes for a different musical quality that really seems to resonate with people’s minds. Citizen Cope is a pseudonym for Clarence Greenwood, a gifted alternative rocker from Washington D.C. whose talent, although compared to many, surpasses most famous artists of our time. “Cope” has even been compared to many musical geniuses such as Stevie Wonder and Ray LaMontagne and has worked with legends such as Madonna and Whitney Houston.
Taylor Lawrence, a sophomore, said,” I haven’t met a single person who has seen Citizen Cope once, and not been a fan for life. His sound is so different from typical, recognized artists today.” 
Citizen Cope’s most downloaded song, “Bullet and a Target” has been featured in hit television series such as HBO’s “Entourage” and the 2007 movie, “Alpha Dog.” Because of these recognitions, he is definitely in with the main media but still not considered “mainstream.” This is because it is Cope’s personal choice to defy the pop harmonies that seem to even rule the rock world today and keep his own method of writing lyrics and constructing unique beats.
Producing his newest album so he wouldn’t get caught up in the music industry’s games, Citizen Cope has been called the “people’s champion” and “warrior of the road” because he is fearless to show the music world what he has to offer even though it could possibly be rejected.
With well known songs such as “Let the Drummer Kick,” he showed that he has the lyrical and acoustic talent to match up with anyone in today’s pop culture world, yet he compromises the tabloid fame for musical integrity and decency.