Cliff Fields is a musician, poet, and illustrator - Maryland-raised, Pittsburgh-based - whose whose hip-hop features incisive lyrics, jigsaw puzzle imagery, and ear-pleasing rhyme schemes delivered in a gruff, authoritative low register over dusty boom-bap beats. He released his latest tape, Something Something–a collaboration with producer Sunman–in early April. Fields answered a few questions to mark the occasion. 

Pittsburgh Manifold: Who is Cliff Fields? A catchphrase or tagline, if you will.

Cliff Fields: I am a lyricist at heart. I create compulsively and am an overthinker so when I discovered songwriting at an early age it gave me an outlet for everything that I would overthink about. Originally born and raised in Maryland and then came to Pittsburgh for college. All of these songs that I've made in my bedroom originally stemmed from my open mic performances. That's why I drew the microphone unplugged for this album. I've always been a person who talks to himself and this album is a celebration of that. My tagline has always been “Make a song about it.” I also love keeping a heavy nostalgic vibe to my music with the visual art that I pair it with.

PM: How did you get your start in music? 

CF: I genuinely started writing songs back in 3rd grade. I still have my old song books from the 90’s. I saw the VH1 documentary, 30 Years of Hip-Hop, around 6th grade, and I think the Dave Chappelle show was coming out around this time. Kanye West, Jill Scott, and Common were the coolest humans on earth to me at the time. Dave’s Block Party also severely inspired me to put my ideas over my cousin’s instrumentals specifically. A lot of people in my family are also very artistically talented. My cousin used to play the drums and I used to rap over him improvising. Eternal thanks to Aunt Carol. I’m so sorry for keeping you up after your hospital shifts.

PM: Your Bandcamp bio describes your work as “observational music.” What does this phrase mean to you? 

CF: Funny enough I've been thinking about changing that description. It was a half joke on the fact that I wasn't doing much else in my life but witnessing humanity through screens and reflecting what I see in my music. It was taking the pressure off of having to decide on a certain style of rap. Giving myself the freedom to be like "I was inspired by a barbeque, or news article, or passing an argument at the bus stop." A lot of my early music is directly sampling the sounds and conversations around Pittsburgh. City of God is my favorite movie and the main character is a photographer who lived in Rio de Janeiro during a rough period and instead of joining in on the destruction he turned it into art. That has always inspired me to document my journey instead of allowing my circumstances to destroy me. 

PM: What is your writing process like? Do you try to have your lyrics circle a central theme, or are they more free-associative? 

CF: I try my hardest to have my lyrics circle a theme. For Something Something, the main topic that kept weighing on me was "the importance of art when the world is crumbling". It can feel like you're just talking to yourself as an indie artist. I wanted to capture that worry with the actual lines. In songs like "feet from the mud,” I’m directly talking about the rap/music industry games that artists have to play to merely be heard. Lines like, "Shoulder to shoulder we've been deceived, cold as voters in the freezing snow with nowhere else to sleep," were inspired from my previous experiences with desiring a record deal. As if once I got one, it would fix everything. I heard horror stories about artists signing deals and then just being shelved. I’d rather have the reach that I DO have, than be silenced over tricky businessmen. I find so much freedom in being able to say whatever I want to. What did Q-tip say about industry rule number 4080? Haha

PM: You’re not only a musician, but an illustrator as well. Do your two mediums influence each other at all? 

CF: Yes! I like to look at music and illustration as both of the oars pushing me through the water. They have to work together as brainstorming tools for each medium. I was inspired by Wes Lang, Aubrey Beardsley, of course Jean-Michel Basquiat, Jacob Lawrence, Cy Twombly. I want to give an enormous shout out to Dakarai Akil for inspiring me to incorporate collage art more into my work also!

PM: How would you compare/contrast your new tape, Something Something, with your previous work? 

CF: This tape is a lot more urgent. Stripped of even my own stubborn decoration. It's my quickest tape also. We made it in like 4 to 5 months. It was originally going to be just 4 songs; we made 10, then shortened it to 6. I took the safety locks off for this album. I kept a standard format for each song approach but then varied the flows, rhyme schemes, and verse lengths, just to give it a more unpredictable feel. This one is driving without brakes. This one isn't being so sensitive of what everyone else thinks. All of my pure thoughts. A lot of the songs contain tiny freestyles where I was just like "why cut this". Less limits and more direct intention.

PM: Who/what were some of your influences this time around? 

CF: Rome Streetz has an immediacy with his delivery that really inspired me. To just get out of my own way and "SUPER SAY" whatever I'm talking about. Igwe Aka has incredible delivery. AKAI SOLO as always. Redveil is another one that has just been inspiring me to control my own narrative. Qari's recent tapes Violent Jack, Can't Hide Inside, and Stronghold all have been getting heavy replay. He might possibly be my favorite atm. Mavi's latest album, The Pilot, was so fluid. I also keep going back to Billy Wood's Aethiopes album. His ability to confront so much within each line made me truly cut the nonsense out of this writing process. Maxo is a genius. Also, Noname’s Sundial tape. 

PM: The new tape was produced by Sunman. How did the two of you link up?

CF: We met through genuine love of the artistry of hip-hop. It had to spark from a post I made and we just kept the conversation going on our intentions in music. I just want people to hear the art and witness idea-sprouting lines. Get inspired from the sentences, especially in a time where it feels illegal to give af. We started the tape in October of last year and then finished it around the end of February. It was the coolest experience to work so fluid together with the mindset, "whatever we do is gonna be heavy"

PM: Is there a track on the tape that you’re especially proud of? If so, what makes it especially special?

CF: "2000&wrong" sticks to me like the burn from a slap to the face. I found myself tearing up at the chorus. Okay so the cover art is me looking in a mirror. I think there's some miscommunication from what I present and what my intentions are musically. So in the chorus of the song I say, "I caught ‘em screaming towards the sky, often trusting bus routes." In adulthood we go through so many life-changing heavy moments, often alone now. We had someone to at least talk us through these feelings, but in adulthood it's like, "deal with these emotions on your lunch break and don't miss that bus home so you can be back to work tomorrow." The chorus just makes me reflect on how we all age. I thought the problems of the early 2000's would last forever, and they didn't. Also "freedomland"; when I was writing it, I realized that "Cauterizing hand grenades" and “Caught a rising hand grenade" sound the same, and I just think that’s an ill line.

PM: Who are some other Pittsburgh artists that you’ve been listening to?

CF: Royal Haunts, Corrine Who, Toxie, Charles Hussle, Rivka, feeble little horse, Billy Hoyle, Attirer Grandeur is doing a lotta interesting things with their artists right now, Yak the Atlas, Abstract Theory, Sinia, Reasun, Princess Nostalgia.

PM: Is there anything that I forgot to ask or that you’d like to let people know about you, your music, or anything in general?

CF: Haha, I have more tapes coming out this year. I’m not afraid of collaboration. DM me; we can work on whatever. I always have so much creative energy; just hit me up. Any genre. I care about creating a dope piece of artwork every time. I’m always about spreading peace and love! I truly have so much fun documenting my thoughts over music. I do not have a production background, but I produce the music that I think specifically gets my ideas out. I was inspired my whole life from other adults who gave up on their artistic dreams. There’s no reason to give up. Keep reminding yourself why you started. Thank you so much for this opportunity and check out Something Something, guys!

Featured Track: WRETCHED FIXATION - “Forsaking the Human Soul (Phantasmic Domination)  “

Black metal duo WRETCHED FIXATION has been putting out strange and experimental heavy music since 2024. Their new release, Forced Projection, cuts the genre’s traditional components–blast beats, sledgehammer riffs, demonic roars–with passages of quiet-yet-ghoulish atmosphere. “Forsking the Human Soul (Phantasmic Domination)” bludgeons the ears with tremolo-picked zigzags of guitar, tumultuous drums, and dungeon-belched vocals. Then, four minutes in, everything cuts out, leaving nothing but a swirl of horror movie synths. The guitars and drums return slower and doomier before working up to their previous fury, but the vocals, once they’ve clawed their way back into the mix, are no longer even remotely human. A gripping and slightly frightening experience. Catch WRETCHED FIXATION live at the Government Center on Wednesday, 4/22, with fellow headbangers Imipolex (Maine), Úzkost, and Mires (both local). Music at 8, $10. 

‍Record Store Day

This Saturday, 4/18, physical media purveyors and enthusiasts nationwide will celebrate the 19th annual Record Store Day. Many businesses open early, and some offer discounts and limited edition records. Make sure to visit your favorite local shop, or check out a place you’ve never been before. 

  • Starting at 1pm, the Government Center, located in the North Side, will host a full slate of live acts, including sludge-rockers Tony From Bowling, eco-folkies vireo, distortion-mongers James Castle, and schizo-punks Jon Bygone. The shop opens for crate-digging at 8am. 
  • Squirrel Hill staple Jerry’s Records will hold a $1 sale in their basement running from Friday, 4/17 until Sunday, 4/19. 11-7 Friday, 10-6 Saturday, 12-5 Sunday. 
  • There’s always an early line at Millvale’s Attic Records, so make sure to bring a wishlist for the store’s intrepid employees to fill while you wait. Show up later in the day if you’d like to browse. Opens at 8am. 
  • New Kensington sister locations Preserving Record Shop and Preserving Vinyl are offering 50% off all records $5 or less, and everything in Preserving Vinyl’s bargain basement will be 50 cents. Saturday will be Preserving Vinyl’s last day in New Kensington; they’re moving to Dormont on Sunday. Both locations open at 9am. 
  • Vinegar Syndrome, a newer South Side venture, will divert its focus from DVD and VHS to offer 30% off used vinyl/CDs/cassettes and 10% off new on Saturday and Sunday. Opens at 12pm. 
  • Mt. Lebanon’s Vinyl Remains will sell all of their records at a 30% discount–and offer free drinks to boot. Opens at 8am. 
  • Rosie’s Records, who recently celebrated one year at their Lawrenceville location, designed a special Record Store Day poster featuring the store’s namesake French bulldog, whom you may very well meet while you browse. Opens at 8am. 
  • Bloomfield’s Groove Records, another newcomer, doubles as an art gallery; treat your ears and your eyes. Opens at 10am. 
  • Hellbender Vinyl will host a merch marketplace from 7-10pm at Jackworth Ginger Beer in Larimer. Buy directly from local artists–including post-punkers Valleyview, synth wizard Chameleon Treat, and hip-hop partystarter Livefromthecity–and enjoy music from DJs BusCrates and Gold.Fix.

Edhochuli Euro Tour Kickoff 

Next week, hardcore heroes Edhochuli–whose latest album, Higherlander, was one of our top records of 2024–start a Europe tour, which will span France, Spain, Switzerland, and Germany. Come see them off at Gooski’s in Polish Hill on Saturday, April 18th, once you’ve had your fill of record shopping. Doom-poppers Natural Rat (Morgantown/Pittsburgh) and mathy oddballs Lahar (Pittsburgh) will support. Music at 9, $10, 21+.

‍Clan of Xymox

Dutch band Clan of Xymox, formed in 1981, is often cited as one of the most influential acts in the history of dark wave, a gothic, romantic musical style that combines electronic and rock instrumentation. Catch their current iteration live at Spirit Lodge on Sunday, 4/19, along with fellow gloomers Shadow Age (Richmond) and Death Instinct (Pittsburgh). Music at 7, $30 advance, $35 day of, 21+. 

Roll-A-Woodstock  

Celebrate 4/20 at Millvale’s Poetry Lounge on Monday evening. Their Roll-A-Woodstock event, hosted by rapper and streamer The Dapster, features raffles, auto-tune karaoke, live hip-hop, and a DJ set from Vance Vaughn. Performers include the rabble-rousing Fir$tlady, the tuneful PaigeGod, the fast-spitting Ace Da King, the icy-cold BoujeeJune, and the up-and-coming Aryanaa Kapree. Pre-show at 6, show at 7, karaoke at 10, $12 presale, $15 door, 21+.