Citizen Cope

On his self-titled 2002 debut as Citizen Cope, Clarence Greenwood (former DJ with backpack-rap stars Basehead) made like a more granola Everclear: a hip-hop dude dabbling in folk-soul melodies and rudimentary acoustic-guitar strumming. On The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, his tellingly titled follow-up, Cope reverses the equation: Now he sounds like...

By Mikael Wood

December 9, 2004

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On his self-titled 2002 debut as Citizen Cope, Clarence Greenwood (former DJ with backpack-rap stars Basehead) made like a more granola Everclear: a hip-hop dude dabbling in folk-soul melodies and rudimentary acoustic-guitar strumming. On The Clarence Greenwood Recordings, his tellingly titled follow-up, Cope reverses the equation: Now he sounds like one of the countless young guys aping Jack Johnson and Ben Harper, turning to looped beats and organ vamps for a dash of urban grit. It's not a bad thing. "Hurricane Waters" offers chewy fake-boho bling, while Carlos Santana gives "Son's Gonna Rise" a tasty jolt of Bonnaroo boogie.

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