Starkville will be afforded the opportunity Wednesday night to catch a performance from avant garde artist Citizen Cope at Rick’s Café. Café owner Rick Welch said Citizen Cope’s performance at has been a long time coming.
“Citizen Cope is an act we’ve been trying to get for several years now,” Welch said. “I constantly have a hit list of bands that I’m trying to book, and Citizen Cope has been on that list for a long time.”
Citizen Cope is actually a pseudonym for Clarence Greenwood, who was born just 180 miles north of Starkville in Memphis. Cope’s music is a unique mix of hip-hop, reggae, blues and Southern roots that, according to www.citizencope.com, listeners have a hard time confining to a single genre early in his career.
“I was just born in Memphis although my family is from Tennessee and Texas,” Greenwood said. “I was raised in Washington, D.C. and currently live in Brooklyn.”
Cope’s Southern roots and experiences on the East Coast do little, however, to affect his connection with his audience.
“I have a connection with people’s spirit, heart and mind, not anything else,” Greenwood said.
Welch’s desire to book Cope comes from his commercial successes and from music industry buzz. “I hear things from different agents, different bands and different venue owners,” Welch said. “Of course, Citizen Cope has some radio success with his songs, ‘Bullet and a Target,’ specifically.”
Cope has released three albums in his 10-year career: a self-titled album in 2002 under the Dreamworks label and two albums under RCA, 2004’s The Clarence Greenwood Recordings and 2006’s Every Waking Moment. The success of Cope’s albums overshadows his lack of radio success. Cope said the inspiration for his music comes from “life and who gave it to [him].”
“He hasn’t got a lot of commercial or college radio airplay, but he is still selling a lot of CDs,” Welch said. “It’s something I think the college market really likes. I think [MSU students] will really enjoy it.”
Greenwood’s offbeat but eclectic, personal sound has managed to garner a cult following according to his current tour’s press release.
“While critically acclaimed, [Cope’s] music is yet to find a home on radio,” it states. “Despite no commercial or college radio airplay, Citizen Cope’s stellar song-writing, live performances and recordings have garnered a huge underground following.”
Cope’s music has been heard on many popular television shows, including “One Tree Hill,” “Scrubs,” “Cold Case,” “Criminal Minds” and “CSI: Miami.” His music has also been featured in a Pontiac commercial. However, Citizen Cope’s primary concern does not lie with mainstream success.
According to Erica Garner, a spokesperson for Citizen Cope, it is his fans that matter to him.
“He wants to bring the music to his fans,” she said. “[His touring selections are] by popular demand.”
Wednesday night’s Starkville show is expecting to pay off for those in attendance.
“He puts on such an amazing show,” Garner said. “He has different takes on all of the songs he has on his CDs. It’s such a fun atmosphere.”
The Starkville show takes place between performances in Mobile and Atlanta.
“We were just lucky enough that he was coming through the area doing a college tour,” Welch said. “It’s a typical Southeastern routing. They’re coming through the major cities, and they just happened to be nice enough to come through Starkville.”
Citizen Cope will take the Rick’s Café stage at 10 p.m. Wednesday night. Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Advance tickets can be picked up today from 1 p.m. to midnight.
“It’s going to be a rocking show,” Welch said. “I think [the audience] will really enjoy it.