The last time singer-songwriter Citizen Cope played the Jannus stage, I attended as an absolute newb. In fact, I’d originally planned on seeing G. Love that weekend, but my friends persuaded me to check out Cope’s fusion of blues, reggae, folk-pop and hip-hop instead.
I bought my tickets in advance, and a good thing, too, since the show sold out only moments after I joined the massive herd of music-hungry fans milling outside the venue. Some of the ticketless accepted defeat with downtrodden faces and slumped shoulders; others weren’t going down without a fight, like the dude who tried to cut a desperate last-minute deal for a ticket, shouting “I’ll give someone $100 for a ticket. $100!” I don’t think he ever found one.
Such open fervor for an artist so far from the mainstream radar piqued my interest. Someone wanted to pay $100 to see this guy? Really? But after Citizen Cope took center stage in his characteristic retro leather jacket with dreads tied in a knot behind his head, and began delivering songs in his rusted soulful croon, I understood exactly what all the fuss was about.
I caught up with Citizen Cope (real name Clarence Greenwood) while he was on tour in Hawaii and we discussed how he’s cultivated such a devoted fanbase with regularly sold-out shows despite veering so far from the mainstream radio model.
He attributed his success over the past eight years to consistently writing songs that people can identify with and find meaning in; he explores issues of love and loss, touches on societal woes and injustices, spins poetic stories about the shady characters who dwelled in the cities that have served as the backdrop to his own life, like D.C. and Brooklyn. “The music I make always means something to me first and I think that translates,” he told me. “I think people connect to something when it truly comes from the heart and soul — and that is more than just a passing fancy.”
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.