Cautious Clay

Karpeh was born on January 30, 1993, in Cleveland, Ohio and attended Benedictine High School. He graduated with a degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University in 2015. His maternal grandfather was an obstetrician who performed as a percussionist while studying as an undergraduate exchange student at Lincoln University in Chester, PA in the 1950s. He was of Kru ethnicity from Liberia. Karpeh worked as a real estate agent in New York City for two years and in advertising for a year before pursuing music full-time.

Karpeh learned music production at George Washington University by remixing beats for friends. His music style is influenced by hip-hop, organic and electronic sounds. He plays multiple instruments including the saxophone, flute, guitar, bass, keyboard and drums.

Known by his stage name Cautious Clay, Karpeh, on September 22, 2017 released "Cold War", the first single from his debut EP Blood Type, which was first released on February 21, 2018, and then re-released on April 13, 2018 with the additional single "Stolen Moments".

Karpeh's second EP Resonance, was first released on May 30, 2018 and then re-released on August 22, 2018 with the additional song "Crowned". His third EP Table of Context, was released on March 27, 2019.

Karpeh played at the 2019 Billy Reid Shindig in Florence, Alabama. He also featured on the soundtrack of 13 Reasons Why: Season 3 with the song "Swim Home". Swim Home is one of two collaborations with John Mayer, the other is "Carry Me Away", featured on Table of Context.

"Cold War" was sampled on the song "London Boy" for Taylor Swift's seventh studio album Lover (2019).

Karpeh released his first studio album, Deadpan Love, on June 25, 2021, which included previously released singles "Agreeable," "Roots," and "Dying in the Subtlety," and was accompanied by a music video for song the "Karma & Friends". A deluxe version followed on February 11, 2022, featuring four new songs and an additional four tracks of existing songs now featuring strings. In support of the album he embarked on his Karma & Friends tour across North America and Europe.

On November 11, 2022, Karpeh released his fourth EP Thin Ice on the Cake, a collection of three singles previously released throughout 2022 with three new songs.

Karpeh released his second studio album, Karpeh, on August 18, 2023.

Studio albums

• Deadpan Love (2021)
• Karpeh (2023)

Extended plays

• Blood Type (2017 and 2018)
• Resonance (2018)
• Table of Context (2019)
• Thin Ice on the Cake (2022)

Singles

• "Cold War"
• "Joshua Tree"
• "Stolen Moments"
• "French Riviera"
• "Crowned"
• "Reasons"
• "Sidewinder"
• "Swim Home"
• "Erase"
• "Cheesin" (with Cautious Clay, Remi Wolf, Still Woozy, Sophie Meiers, Claud, Melanie Faye & HXNS)"
• "Agreeable"
• "Dying in the Subtlety"
• "Roots"
• "Karma & Friends"
• "25/8"
• "Ohio"
• "Another Half" (featuring Julian Lage)

Songwriting credits