Clutchy Hopkins - The Life Of Clutchy Hopkins

Clutchy Hopkins - 3:02

Clutchy Hopkins - 3:24


I can't tell you a thing about Clutchy Hopkins because no one really knows who he is. Oh, there are plenty of theories (DJ Shadow, Madlib, Beastie Boys, some random genius) but the truth is, his identity is unknown. There's lots of mystery behind this guy, like where his records came from (someone found them in the bottom of a bargain bin at a tag sale sorta thing) and who's met him but it kinda seems like it might be a Blair Witchian hoax. Make up an elaborate story, get other people to think they've heard it before, ask around, create a buzz, and BAM. You got yourself Clutchy Hopkins. But who knows, maybe this guy is for real. Maybe he's just a reclusive dude who knows how to make some sweet tunes.

Clutchy Hopkins is, to me, the perfect example why you never say, "Oh, I like all kinds of music. Except (fill in the blank). Yeah, I don't like that." 'Cause The Life Of Clutchy Hopkins is what I've told myself I don't like. It's cheesy, jazzy, R&B elevator music type stuff. But it's fucking great.

OK, so there are a couple of tracks on here that make me think, "Do I actually like this or am I just buying into the whole 'Clutchy' thing?" (The verdict is still out. Especially on the opening song.) But more often than not, the songs are out of this world. Super groovy and hypnotic, sometimes totally foreign sounding and others coming straight out of an American movie from the '70s. And there are some killer beats on this record. It's all instrumental and perfect the way it is but I wonder if someone will (or already has) chopped it up and threw in some lyrics. It's only a matter of time before that happens.

Please do yourself a favor and give Clutchy a chance. I don't care if you believe the rumors surrounding this guy or if you're the type to write off all music from a certain genre, just listen to a couple songs from this record.

There is another album out, as well, (Walking Backwards) and the CD version comes with a DVD chronicling the riddle of Clutchy which I have yet to see. It may be legit but again, it's hard to tell whether the people involved are sincere or just really good liars.