The Clutch

For other uses, see Clutch (disambiguation).

The Clutch
Origin	Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	R&B, hip hop
Years active	2004–2010
Past members	Candice Nelson Balewa Muhammad J. Que Keri Hilson Ezekiel Lewis

The Clutch was an American collective of songwriters and record producers based in Atlanta, composed of Candice Clotiel "Gg" Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick Michael "J. Que" Smith, Balewa Muhammad and Keri Hilson. They were credited on the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles Omarion's "Ice Box", Ciara's "Like a Boy", Timbaland's "The Way I Are", and Justin Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl".

A combination of two or more of the five writers on a song is considered a track "written by the Clutch" as they rarely worked as a complete fivesome. The Clutch wrote songs themselves, but also did so in tandem with fellow commercially successful producers—including Calvo Da Gr8, Bigg D, Hit-Boy, Timbaland, Danja, Bryan-Michael Cox, Bloodshy & Avant and Tricky Stewart—to create several other hit songs. ^{[1] [2]}

In June 2023, Clutch member Ezekiel Lewis was named President of Epic Records. ^[3] Prior, Lewis had been Vice President and head of A&R at Motown Records from 2011 to 2017 and Vice President of A&R at Epic since 2017. ^[4]

Discography

Main article: The Clutch production discography

Singles produced

Year	Song	Artist	Chart position
			R&B	Hot 100	Pop 100	UK
2004	"Things You Never Hear A Girl Say" (Unreleased)	3LW	—	—	—	—
2005	"Take Me as I Am"	Mary J. Blige	3	58	—	—
2006	"4 Minutes"	Avant	9	52	—	—
2007	"Only One U"	Fantasia	36	—	—	—
	"Ice Box"	Omarion	5	12	15	14
	"Cut Off Time" (feat. Kat DeLuna)		BU	BU	BU	−
	"Stunnas" / "Season's Change"	Jagged Edge	BU	BU	BU	—
	"Anonymous" (feat. Timbaland)	Bobby Valentino	17	49	—	25
	"Rearview (Ridin')" (feat. Ludacris)		C	C	C	C
	"Forever"	Jennifer Lopez	C	C	C	C
	"Like a Boy"	Ciara	6	19	27	16
	"That's Right" (feat. Lil' Jon)		P	P	P	P
	"The Way I Are" (feat. Keri Hilson, D.O.E. & Sebastian)	Timbaland	59	3	27	1
	"More Than Words (A E I O U)"	Menudo	P	P	P	P
	"Promise Ring" (feat. Ciara)	Tiffany Evans	66	—	—	—
2008	"Keep A Friend"	Raven-Symoné	—	—	—	—
	"Radar"	Britney Spears	P	88	67	46
	"Pretty Boy"	Danity Kane	—	—	—	—
	"Official Girl"	Cassie	—	—	—	—
	"Long Gone"	Chris Cornell	P	P	P	P
	"It's Over"	Jesse McCartney	—	62	31	—
	"Return The Favor" (feat. Timbaland)	Keri Hilson	—	—	—	19
	"Part Of Me"	Chris Cornell	—	—	—	18
	"Never Far Away"		—	—	—	—
2009	"One Less Lonely Girl"	Justin Bieber	—	16	21	10

^C Single release canceled

^P Promo only or limited release

^BU Reached only Billboard's Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart

References

1. The Clutch @ MySpace
2. The Clutch @ BMI
3. Mitchell, Gail. "Ezekiel Lewis Promoted to President of Epic Records". billboard.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
4. Aswad, Jem (June 2023). "Ezekiel Lewis Named President of Epic Records". variety.com. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved June 3, 2023.