The Clutch

The Clutch
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, consisting of Candice Clotiel "Gg" Nelson, Ezekiel "Zeke" Lewis, Patrick Michael "J. Que" Smith, Balewa Muhammad and Keri Hilson. They are responsible for a series of successful singles including Omarion's "Ice Box", Ciara's "Like a Boy", Timbaland's "The Way I Are", Britney Spears' "Radar" and Justin Bieber's "One Less Lonely Girl".

Any 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 launched many successful record producers, including: Calvo Da Gr8 ("Like a Boy"), Bigg D ("Wrong When You're Gone") and most notably Hit-Boy ("Forever", "Hey Young Girl"). The Clutch also wrote songs for some of the most successful producers in modern music including Timbaland, Danja, Bryan-Michael Cox, Bloodshy & Avant and Tricky Stewart.^[1]^[2]

In June 2023, it was revealed that Clutch member Ezekiel Lewis was named President of Epic Records.^[3] Prior to this, 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

Singles produced

Year	Song	Artist	Chart position
Year	Song	Artist	R&B	Hot 100	Pop 100	UK
2004	"Things You Never Hear"	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)	Omarion	^BU	^BU	^BU	⁻
	"Stunnas" / "Season's Change"	Jagged Edge	^BU	^BU	^BU	^—
	"Anonymous" (feat. Timbaland)	Bobby Valentino	17	49	—	25
	"Rearview (Ridin')" (feat. Ludacris)	Bobby Valentino	^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)	Ciara	^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"	Chris Cornell	—	—	—	—
2010	"One Less Lonely Girl"	Justin Bieber	—	16	21	10