Clay 'Krucial' Perry III Shares New Project 'Clay'

At the forefront of a musical renaissance in Memphis, TN, the city's own Clay "Krucial" Perry III has unveiled his most personal project to date titled CLAY via super-producer Tay Keith's Drumatized (DOA) label.

CLAY is a view into the world of an artist who has willed his way to the big leagues - from the streets to the studio as an audio engineer who engineered for big-name artists like NBA Youngboy - to becoming a regional star himself.

Clay lays down his life story on the project, describing the highs to the lows in the game with some help from an all-star cast of features like G Herbo, BIG30, and Tay Keith. Clay's deep musical breadth and range are on full display on tracks like the thunderous, club-ready Tay Keith-produced "Done Did," the sampling of Tame Impala on "Karma" featuring BIG30, and the Grizzly Bear-sample prominently featured on project standout "Gangsta."

You'd be hard-pressed to find an artist bringing some of these sounds into trap music, but Clay "Krucial" Perry III makes it bang. The new body of work is a testament to the limitless potential he has continued to exhibit since stepping into the spotlight.

Additionally, the project arrives on the heels of the music video for his latest single, "Wafi" [feat. G Herbo]. Previously, he released a conceptual video for "Karma," which COMPLEX asserted, "Gliding on the beat with his lyrical ability and crooning through the hook, Clay demonstrates what the current Memphis rap scene has to offer."

Building on the foundations he laid in 2021 with his major-label debut mixtape, If We Must Die, which featured Trippie Redd and Tay Keith, Clay "Krucial" Perry III doubles down on his new project CLAY with his brand of passionate, bold storytelling, and unapologetic truth.

Clay "Krucial" Perry III raps like he has something to prove. The Memphis artist has been a go-to engineer in the city for years, sitting behind the boards for rap's finest: NBA Youngboy, Yo Gotti, Blocboy JB, Rico Nasty, Yella Beezy, and more. Working with stars-and working with other artists he thought he could spit better than, pushed him to step into the booth himself.

He always felt he had something to say and now was his time to share it. A sense of urgency rings out on new singles like the G Herbo-featuring "Wafi," where Krucial spits like his life depends on it, laying out a mission of world domination. If his new mixtape Clay is any indication, he may be poised for just that. Krucial began recording in college, realizing no one else could make records sound the way he wanted.

Demand for his work grew as he started working with artists like Blocboy and Gotti, and soon, every big record out of the scene bore his fingerprints. He began making noise of his own with independent projects like Krucifix (2018), It Could've Been Different (2019), and Too Sad for Tomorrow (2019), and he released his major-label debut If We Must Die in 2021.

Now, as he prepares Clay, Krucial has more reasons to succeed than just self-satisfaction. He has people counting on him, mouths to feed. There's pressure, but he knows he's capable-he has to be. "It's like being in the house and the phone rings and you're the only person there," he says. "Are you not going to pick up?"

Listen to the new project here: