"What we do know about him, and it's the most important thing, is that this music is F-U-N-K-Y...The rawest, grittiest, skin-slapping this side of The Meters..."
- Okayplayer
"The one clear thing is that the music on The Life of Clutchy Hopkins is a marvelously concocted and amazingly fresh and contemporary mesh of funk, hip-hop, jazz, and straight-out weird orchestral psychedelia..."
- All Music
"If I were an emcee, I would want Clutchy on my squad. Much like MF Doom he has the unique ability to make the inanimate articulate, as if his instruments could speak. Not only is Clutchy 'next up', but he's also on some next shit."
- Thick Magaine
"Dope beats evoke the work of the RZA, or Madlib's 'Yesterday's New Quintet', and the raw drums crackle with immediacy. The moody album evokes dark, smokey rooms humming with vintage grooves inspired by old records from swap meet dollar bins. Initially underwhelming, Hopkins' style infects the brain."
- SF Weekly
"Simple but not simplistic, Walking Backwards is a fascinating peek under a rock—whether or not the rock exists."
- Dallas Observer
"Is Hopkins a creation of this label's in-house roster of acts or a mysterious master of the groove arts? In the end, who cares? The 12 tracks here are slick, slow funkin' instrumentals (mostly) that will bring smiles to baristas faces everywhere that it gets spun."
- The Province (Canada)
"Slow-burning arrangements smolder with exotic instrumentation and ear-bendingly effective playing..."
- OC Weekly
"Forged of modern soul, downtempo, hip-hop, blues and electronica, this is one pimp-ass record of atmospheric beat music that throbs with mood, mystery and humor. Add in a clever, hilariously crafted persona that makes truth and fiction impossible to separate as a mascot and you’ve got a winner."
- Orlando Weekly
"There's a spare, spacious approach here that almost reminds us of the energy that we first felt in DJ Shadow's groundbreaking work of a decade before -- a similar love of gritty, organic source material -- and an ear for putting it together with lots of dark twists and turns that balance nicely between classic funk and current hip hop production sensibilities. The flavor of each tune changes nicely -- making the album way more than just a clichéd collection of beats..."
- Dustygroove
"The tempos are suitably slow and the rhythms nicely woozy...It makes for pleasantly laid-back head-nodding fodder."
- Now Magazine (Canada)
"Walking Backwards' dense, drifting instrumentals were built on dry snare thwacks, woodwinds and gloomy, dim-lounge organs...Hopkins is a creepy one. Whoever he is."
- Remix
"The disc is chock full of slick jazz/funk fusion hip-hop beats that plays out like a soundtrack to the life of the Clutchster himself...Walking Backwards is nice change of pace from the norm as far as instrumental discs goes, with many using more samples and synthesizers than actual live instrumentation, with Hopkins apparently manning nearly all of the instrumentation. As a result, Clutchy proves that he's hipper than your average bum off the street, and he can play a mean flute...and drums, and organ, and harp..."
- URB
"Instead of sleuthing for the man's true identity, we're better off simply enjoying his music - which is moodier than your ex-girlfriend and more deliciously layered than the cake she eats."
- Snowboard Canada
"The beats are so sticky-icky the record should come complete with rolling papers. 'Love Of A Woman' wins 'Best Song To Make Babies To' in 2008."
- Slug Magazine
November 18th, 2009 HMS Pharaohs Den Presents Free Jazz Night... Live Elliott Levin and Friends Conscious Summary, H.M.S. Collective,PEA and Seesaw Ensemble. 8pm Special Guest DJ ESP Inifiniti
The New Right On Radio Show #353 hosted by BenG is online listen here: http://www.righton.fm/player.php?radioshow=righton
01. Alice Russel - All Alone (Dj Day meets Clutchy Hopkins Rmx) (TruThoughts) 02. Clutchy Hopkins & Shawn Lee - Root Trees (Ubiquity) 03. Portformat - Mothership feat. Dudley Perkins &Georgia Ann Muldrow (Tokyo Dawn) 04. DnS - GUM (Daz-I-Kue Rmx) (Recod Breakin) 05. Hudson Mohawke - Come Get It (Warp) 06. Harvey Lindo - Rugged Individuals feat. Count Bass D (Compost) 07. Trus'Me - Put It On feat. Amp Fiddler (Fat City) 08. 6ix Toys - Sisters Of Soul, Brothers Of Funk (Greg Wilson Version) (First Word) 09. The Laughing Light Of Plenty - The Rose (Pigeon Records) 10. Esther Phillips - All The Way Down (Leftside Wobble Edit) (mp3) 11. Hot Toddy feat. Ron Basejam - I Need Love (Morgan Geist's Love Dub) (Eskimo) 12. LCD Soundsystem - Bye Bye Bayou (DFA)
CLUTCH!! I love the new tracks off Fascinating Fingers, great sound as usual! I dig Cross Rhodes and Name Game the most. I hope to run into you sometime at a flea market looking for some vinyl! Peace.
Yo!, thanks for the add! I hope all is well with you. Clutchy sure has some of the illest tracks in the world. SOURCE.R.E. Inc. & the Epidemics recently started Hip Hop City. An event with everything from (1) Spoken Word & Poetry Slams, (2) Local Artist displaying their artwork, (3) Performances by only the realist, most illest true Hip Hop crews & MCs, (4) Beat Battles where Producers go heads up with their latest musical arrangements & finally, (5) the dopest DJs spinning & scratching everybody's favorite jams. Basically, it will be a huge fun, enlightening, networking event For the Hip Hop Enthusiast. We hope that one day you can attend. It will be pleasing to all the senses no matter what type of background you come from. For the love of Hip Hop Culture. MUSIC, ART & POETRY, from all our Hip Hop Alliances, all under one roof. Dedicated at keeping our Hip Hop Culture alive & strong! Please help spread the word & add us to your top every now and then & we will reciprocate. One Love!!
yeah, got new clutchy music in the mail yesterday! still the dopest bass'n'drum grooves around! fascinating fingers, ears, songs and sounds. love it! greetz rumbleheiner