Most Interesting People 2019: Cautious Clay

Why He’s Interesting: It’s been a little over a year and a half since Cautious Clay quit his job as a New York leasing agent marketer to pursue music full time. In that brief blink, the Cleveland native’s lithe, thoughtful R&B soundscapes have been heard on NPR’s Tiny Desk Concerts, John Mayer’s Instagram Live talk show, Pitchfork Music Festival Paris and the Season 3 premiere of HBO hit Insecure. Clay, real name Joshua Karpeh, is Cleveland’s buzziest musical export.

The Upside: When he first picked up a guitar in middle school, Clay learned to play the six-string upside down, because no one ever taught him how to play as a leftie. It’s a “backward” style he’s held onto, a method with obstacles that made him a more innovative composer. “There’s not a lot of chords that necessarily can be played the exact same way. So that kind of restriction made me have to be more creative about how I approached making music.”

One-Man Band: Clay plays five instruments, and got his start playing in concert and jazz bands in middle and high school. His first two instruments, flute and alto saxophone, are seen rarely in modern hip-hop, and act as genre-bending contributions to his sleek, observational brand of R&B. “It’s not using them in a way where it feels like a kitschy thing, but more of a textural thing, finding uses for them that feel appropriate. Going into a live situation, having a flute or saxophone brings a whole other life to what the songs may not have had without them present.”

Unsigned Melody: Clay is part of a wave of young musicians who choose to remain unsigned in the age of streaming. As a producer, writer, instrumentalist and singer with a savvy grasp of internet outreach, Clay doesn’t see a need to sign right now, though he’s not opposed to it. “If I were to sign, it would have to be a label that could bring something to the table that could accent [my music] more than what I’m already doing, and I think I’m not necessarily in a position right now where a label could do something like that.” //

Leap of Faith: In September 2017, a few months after he quit his job as a leasing manager to pursue music full time, Clay uploaded “Cold War” to SoundCloud, a wistful, sensuous crooner that changed everything. Racking up hundreds of thousands of listens, the track, along with the equally buzzy debut EP Blood Type he released February 2018, made Clay a bona fide artist to watch in critic’s circles. “Cold War” was eventually featured in a pivotal scene of HBO’s Insecure. “You never know how people are going to react or consume what you’re putting out. So you just got to really enjoy what you’re doing. So I’m just like, Let’s keep making music. I’m going to just put my best ideas forward.”

Big Fan: Clay was featured as a musical guest on John Mayer’s Instagram Live talk show Current Mood. But their relationship actually started when the guitar superstar followed Clay on Instagram. They began talking via direct messenger and soon were collaborating in the studio. Mayer plays guitar on a track on Clay’s upcoming EP, expected early this year. “It’s been really eye-opening, how open and transparent the internet can be. It’s really just been kind of a hearts and minds type of thing, where there’s not much of a radio push, or any kind of a big machine.” 

What’s making you laugh right now?
Twitter. I can’t think of anything specifically to say honestly, just funny things I see like different memes.

What’s your most treasured item?
Probably my laptop. I’ve had it for about two years. It has music, lots of music. Lots of ideas.

What’s one thing people don’t know about you?
I used to pole vault. I qualified for states in pole vaulting [at Benedictine High School].