Cautious Clay is among the more thoughtful and creative fusionists of contemporary pop and R&B. A singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer whose apt performing name is based on the birth name of Muhammad Ali, Clay has gradually built his discography since breaking through with the sparse and aching ballad "Cold War" (2017). Starting with Blood Type (2018), the Brooklyn-based artist has released three EPs, as well as the full-length Deadpan Love (2021), all the while heightening his commercial profile with connections to the likes of John Mayer, Taylor Swift, and John Legend. 2022 saw the release of the lush single "Rapture in Blue," which appeared on the deluxe edition of Deadpan Love.

The left-handed Cautious Clay (born Joshua Karpeh) started teaching himself upside-down right-handed guitar in middle school, and by the end of high school had played saxophone and flute in concert and jazz bands. He got into music production after he left his native Cleveland to earn a degree in international affairs at George Washington University. In 2017, after he had moved from D.C. to New York and worked in advertising and real estate, he opted to pursue music full-time. That September, Clay uploaded the song "Cold War" to SoundCloud, which quickly took off and ranked number one at Hype Machine within a couple weeks. The more rousing "Joshua Tree" followed soon after. Both songs appeared on the Blood Type EP in February 2018. Later that year, "Cold War" was heard in an episode of Insecure, and Clay branched out with an assortment of collaborations, most notably as the sole writer and producer of Alina Baraz's "Floating," featuring Khalid. He also released his second EP, Resonance.

In 2019, Clay put out another EP, Table of Context. He reached new audiences through an episode of 13 Reasons Why, which used his song "Swim Home" (written with Teddy Sinclair and John Mayer) and Taylor Swift, who sampled "Cold War" for "London Boy." The next year, Clay teamed up with Still Woozy, Sophie Meiers, Remi Wolf, Claud, Melanie Faye, and HXNS for the song "Cheesin'," released to benefit the MusiCares Covid-19 Relief Fund. He also co-wrote three songs for John Legend's Bigger Love, including the title song, which he also co-produced. Despite the mainstream exposure, Clay opted to remain independent. Preceded by a handful of preview tracks, Deadpan Love, Clay's acclaimed debut album, arrived in June 2021. A deluxe expanded edition of the LP appeared the following year, and included the singles "Rapture in Blue" and "25/8." ~ Andy Kellman & Marcy Donelson, Rovi