Clever has never been one to colour inside the lines. The Alabama-born artist first made a name for himself in hip-hop circles, earning a reputation for his poetic lyricism and emotional intensity before turning heads with his country debut. What began as a daring experiment—a rapper blending R&B textures with country storytelling—has evolved into something much larger. His new album, ‘Coyote,' expands on the promise of last year’s self-titled EP, weaving together twang, trap, and tender confessionals into a sound that’s entirely his own.
With ‘Coyote,' Clever doesn’t just flirt with boundaries—he breaks them. Produced with cinematic sweep and emotional precision, the record drifts between smoky barroom storytelling and late-night introspection, between the heartbreak of old country and the pulse of modern pop. Tracks such as ‘Amaretto Sour' and ‘Stuck in It' pulse with neon-lit melancholy, while ‘You Didn’t Hear It From Me' strips things back to raw honesty. It’s an album about duality—between toughness and tenderness, between the outlaw spirit and the ache of vulnerability. In this interview, Clever opens up about the journey that shaped ‘Coyote,' the sound that defies easy labels and the heart that drives it all.
Thank you for your time today, Clever, I know how busy you must be in release week.
Absolutely, you as well, you as well. It's a beautiful day here in Alabama!
Growing up in Alabama, what role did Country music have on your life?
My mom and dad's music was the first music I listened to as a child. My dad would go back and forth between stuff like Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Allman Brothers, you know? Maybe some Led Zeppelin too alongside Vince Gill, Travis Tritt and Garth Brooks. I got a touch of that and my mother loved things like Earth, Wind and Fire and The Gap Band so she brought the soul, right?
I was really influenced by Hip Hop music and R&B and nowadays music is more of a blend of everything. When I was a teenager Hip Hop was really popular so but I also grew up listening to bands like Korn and Limp Bizkit. Back then Ice Cube was doing stuff with Limp Bizkit and Korn had a lot of Hip Hop ties around the ‘Family Values' era. Jay-Z was huge and he influenced my, lyrically too so there was a lot of different sounds, styles and influences!
I also spent a lot of time singing in church growing up so that had an impact on me too. I was always singing, playing guitar and playing piano. I taught myself how to play both. Deep down I was always Country. I dabbled in Hip Hop but eventually I brought it back home to Country.
Do you approach writing the songs same now as you did when you were writing Hip Hop and R&B before the pandemic? Is it the same approach and just the instruments and production has changed?
Yes, basically. There are times I've put out stuff that is a little more traditional Country to make sure I'm not so offensive to everybody in the Country space, right? I was raised on traditional Country, Charlie Daniels and all that – I get it – I'm from Alabama and I live Country with 50 chickens in the backyard and I'm drinking sweet tea from a mason jar, you know what I mean? (laughing) My approach is the same but I have a wider set of goals and influences let loose right now!
I have the same writing style, the same rhyme schemes and the same multi-syllable wordplay – all of that is still essentially poetry with melody added in alongside.
The cover art for the ‘Coyote' album calls it ‘Outlaw Music.' What does being an outlaw mean to you in terms of Country music in 2025?
To me, it means going against the grain and not confirming to expectations. I think everything I do is a little left of centre. I like to lean in on that. Being willing to break the rules of what the industry says should happen.
My perception of a coyote is of a scrappy, restless animal, a survivor. Is that why you went with that metaphor for the title of the album?
Yes. To an extent. Growing up I would stay the night on my grandfather's huge farm and you could hear coyotes in the distance. I never saw them, it was so dark and but I could hear them howling. I like to think that my music has always been a voice in the darkness – to me that's what a coyote is.
The album pushes the boundaries and blurs expectations. What do you consider to be the most ambitious track on ‘Coyote?'
People need to relate to music but I think it's also important to be surprised by it, which keeps things fresh. Blending genres together is a lot of fun and there have been times when I've been really intentional about it so a part of me wants to bring in stuff from out of left field but I also think it's important to tie it all in with a common experience so that people can relate to it and it's cohesive.
A song like ‘Dale Murphy,' to me, feels ambitious. This album, for the most part, is about heartbreak and redemption, I feel like it speaks to a kind of person who will relate. I'm a very happily married man but that whole idea of heartbreak is something that fascinates me and I feel like it relates well to a lot of my fan base but ‘Dale Murphy' is a little outside the box in terms of the melodies and it hits a lot of borderline ‘Is this Country?' questions that some people will say yes to and others will need to think about.
I really love ‘You Didn't Hear It From Me' which sounds like something you'd find on a Thomas Rhett album.
I did that song with Forrest Finn and Sydney Cubit. Sydney is singing in the background of that track and her voice is just beautiful. She also came up with the concept and idea for the song. I like that idea of putting on a mask and letting the girl know that she hears that I'm doing better from people around town but you didn't hear it from me! It's another beautiful heartbreak song that is a little outside of the box.
Songs like ‘Amaretto Sour' and ‘Stuck in It' feel like really big live songs. When you're writing a song do you have half a mind on how it will sound live or do you just like the muse run wild and what will be will be?
I've done that before but I mostly let that muse do what it will. Honestly, I will say that I think I should pay more attention to the live aspect because I think I have a lot of ballads and you don't want a whole set full of ballads! (laughing) I'm a mid-tempo kind of guy, ultimately, although every now-and-again you do need to crank it up a little bit!
I get a lot of people and voices telling me what I need to try and need to do that I tend to just wanna write the song, you know what I mean? It started as an escape to get emotions off my chest and I still want writing to be like that, not a calculated way to make money. People can smell, from a mile away, whether I really feel a song or not.
Another aspect of the craft is the videos and I love the videos to songs like ‘Cowboy Killers' and ‘Still.' They are very cinematic – do you enjoy making them and how much impact do you get to have on them?
A lot! Those two videos were shot by the same person so I suspect you must like his vision and work! They were done by a guy called Opus Mercury out of New Orleans. We met through my wife who was a friend of his and we've been working together for a few years now and we love to just ‘running gun' it – we set up anyway and try to capture the realism of the moment. He goes above and beyond, I can tell you!
Me and Opus have a great relationship and he knows the kind of stuff I like and what suits my music.
Which song on the album are you most excited for people to hear?
‘Amaretto Sour' is cool. It has a kind of 90s guitar, Soundgarden style. ‘Stuck in It' was a really fun song to put together that I think people will like. ERNEST was involved in that one – he happened to pop his head in the room when a joint was going round and the rest was history, man! I think he thought the song was more Hip Hop than it was going to be so he came in hard free-styling.
Getting Struggle Jennings on ‘Kansas' was a big moment……
He's a huge friend of mine. I've got some friends in this business and then there are some fickle people. Struggle is like a brother to me. He even made me the rings I'm wearing right now and gave them to me on a podcast that he does.
Are there any other artists you'd like to bring into Clever's world and work with, maybe on your next project?
I've got a lot of friends which I'm really thankful for but I'd love to do something with folks like Ludacris or Teddy Swims – keep it fresh and diverse, right? Both are amazing artists with very different styles and voices. Thinking outside the box. I need to do something that inspires me and isn't just about the cash grab.
That theme seems to come out of you a lot during this interview…….
Absolutely. I've been in situations where labels have thrown money at me and projects but in the end I have to look at my body of work and love it for what it is and have to feel proud of it. That sometimes means going against the grain and the norms.
Go check out Clever's new album ‘Coyote' album – out in all the usual places right now.
