This classic Roots groove has been looping over and over in my head for a couple days now.  I wonder why…

Over the last four years Clutchy Hopkins has put out five albums (two with Shawn Lee and one with Lord Kenjamin) and an EP with MF Doom acapellas over his instrumentals.  He also has an upcoming album on Ubiquity records, the Story Teller, set to drop April 16th.  Call me late to the party, but I just got hip to this whole “Who is Clutchy Hopkins?” thing and I must admit that I’m very intrigued.  Is he some crazy looking old dude like the guy pictured on the left, or like the guy they describe in the video below?  Is Clutchy Hopkins just one person?  Is “he” really a bunch of people?  Is he actually a well known DJ or producer like DJ Shadow, Madlib, MF Doom or Shawn Lee?   I don’t know!

What I do know is that all of Clutchy’s music that I’ve heard so far is instaclassic material.  It’s mellowed out, soulful, instrumental magic.  I haven’t heard one song of Clutchy’s that I was not feeling yet.  Seriously.  Who is making this music?!?!

   So you’re probably wondering what all this fuss is about.  Check the videos and links below and let me know what you think.  I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.  And if you have any clues, holler at your boy.

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Olubowale Folarin, aka Wale, reps his Nigerian roots hard on this track.

I’m glad they made a video for this song.  I’m not that big of a Wale fan, but this song is the joint.  It’s produced by the Apple Juice Kid, who took a classic African disco rhythm and flipped up something real nasty with it.  The original,  “My Sweety, My Sugar (Let Me Love You),” was recorded by a Sierra Leonean artist named Bunny Mack in 1979.  Bunny put out a few albums, but never hit as big as he did with this track.  Apparently, this was a big, big tune when Africa caught disco fever.  20 years later, Bunny’s song is as catchy as ever in its latest, hip hop incarnation.  Stream and download the original, sampled song here.

Just in case you’re the type of person that still buys actual CDs , you should know that this song is only available on the iTunes version of Attention Deficit (or you can download the rough version Wale leaked himself last August from 2dopeboyz).

I knew as soon as I heard David Rodigan’s voice that this mixtape was going to be good.  He would never vouch for any sound system that’s less than the best, right?  Exactly.  This is musical fire.

Soulforce is from Krefeld, Germany.  They are bad (as in good), and they’ve been hard at work since 2005.  This mix, which was first heard on the Köln radio station WDR / Funkaus Europa, is a collection of their favorite songs from the last four years.  If you’re like me, by the time you hear the second track you’ll be scanning the internet for full versions of all these songs.

Soulforce – Essential Mix Vol. 1 (right click, save as).

Peep the massive tracklist after the jump

Apparently this mash up came out last December on an album called Best of Bangers R Mashed , released by the UK label (surprise) Bangers R Mashed.  I just heard this song the other day for the first time (call me late to the party), and  I can’t stop listening to it and staring at my itunes like I’m crazy.   A Marvin Gaye classic over  one of my favorite [Bob Marley and the] Wailers riddims, really?  You know you have to listen to this.  It might sound cheesy in writing, and maybe it is, but I’m feeling this right now.  It’s kinda like trying two of your favorite foods together for the first time and realizing you’ve been missing something all along.  I don’t know what foods those are, but you get the metaphor.

This is a great live performance of the song History, which comes off of Mos’ June 2009 release, The Ecstatic.  The album version of this track, produced by J. Dilla, is a certified heater.  With the Roots  flippin the beat and Amber Coffman and Haley Dekle of the Dirty Projectors on background vocals, it’s just bananas.

I don’t watch Jimmy Fallon’s show, but I’ve been thoroughly impressed with the musical performances I’ve caught on the net.  Yes, yes, the Roots are the shit, of course.  But watching classy artists, like the ones above, collaborate and perform these soulful tunes on good ol’ broadcast television – it’s just great.   30 or 40 years from now this clip will be part of a Time-Life compilation of classic live performances from the 00s.  Can’t you see it?  One night, when you’re up late watching TV, clicking through channels, you stop at the infomercial just in time to catch a 10-second snippet of Mos and Talib.  You’ll be all like “Ooh!  Let’s get that, honey.  It reminds me of our youth.”

Go ahead and marinate on that for a minute…  And while you’re marinating, listen to this cover of the Dirty Projector’s Stillness is the Move by Solange (ooh, that’s nice).