# Cautious Clay

Joshua Karpeh (born January 30, 1993), known professionally as Cautious Clay, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer.

## Early life and education

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 is an obstetrician who performed as a percussionist while studying as an undergraduate exchange student at Lincoln University in Chester, PA in the 1950s. He is 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.

## Career

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's single, "Erase", was featured on the soundtrack of FIFA 20.
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.

## Discography
### 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

| Title | Year | Artist(s) | Album | Credits | Written with |
| "Floating" (featuring Khalid) | 2018 | Alina Baraz | The Color of You | Co-writer/Producer | Alina Baraz, Khalid |
| "Devil in Paradise" | 2018 | Cruel Youth | — | Co-writer | Teddy Sinclair, Willy Moon, Michael Tighe, Stelios Phili, Jacob H. LiBassi |
| "Hey Nice to Know Ya" | 2018 | LP | Heart to Mouth | Co-writer/Producer | LP, Patrick Morrissey |
| "Matches" | 2019 | Quinn XCII | From Michigan with Love | Co-writer/Producer | Quinn XCII |
| "London Boy" | 2019 | Taylor Swift | Lover | Co-writer | Taylor Swift, Jack Antonoff, Sounwave |
| "Sober" | 2019 | Sebastian | Thirst | Co-writer | Sebastian, Bakar |
| "Actions" | 2020 | John Legend | Bigger Love | Co-writer | John Legend, David Axelrod, Sebastian Kole, Oak Felder, Keith "Ten4" Sorrells, Alexander Niceforo |
| "One Life" | 2020 | John Legend | Bigger Love | Co-writer | John Legend, Anderson Paak, Jeff Gitelman |
| "Bigger Love" | 2020 | John Legend | Bigger Love | Co-writer/Producer | John Legend, Toby Gad, Ryan Tedder, Zach Skelton |
| "Pluto" | 2023 | Melanie Martinez | PORTALS | Co-producer | |