\n<\/p>\n
\n\tMusic fans, and specifically pop fans, may know the rapper who goes by \u201cClever<\/a>\u201d from his feature with Post Malone<\/a> on Justin Bieber\u2019s<\/a> 2020 hit \u201cForever.\u201d<\/a> But to country music listeners, Clever \u2014 born Joshua Huie \u2014 is mostly a complete unknown. The Alabama-born artist is on a path to changing that.<\/p>\n \n\tOver the last year, Clever has released a string of country songs, including \u201cBuy One Get One,\u201d \u201cUndressed,\u201d and, most recently, \u201cStill,\u201d that showcase his singing voice, tap into a country sound, and further the theme of overcoming life\u2019s struggles that Jelly Roll has turned into a hot topic. Clever says he\u2019s drawn more to the dark themes of country than its easygoing party anthems.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cThere\u2019s always been heartbreak songs in country, and people try to push me in the direction of wanting to do happier stuff. But I think Jelly Roll is in the same boat, just what we\u2019ve been through in our lives, that\u2019s the people that we relate to,\u201d Clever says on Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s Nashville <\/em>Now podcast. \u201cI wish I was \u2018way down yonder on the Chattahoochee,\u2019 but I\u2019m a little more Keith Whitley\u2026than Alan Jackson.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tIt\u2019s worth noting that before his own country stardom, Jelly Roll also got his start as a rapper.<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cJelly Roll kind of started a wave,\u201d Clever says. \u201cYou see Beyonc\u00e9 coming through doing her thing. I think it\u2019s great for the genre. But\u2026I\u2019m trying to do my thing to stand out.\u201d<\/p>\n