Luke Sick Strikes the Clutch and Tells the World To Ask the Dust

Here's a brand new release that took me by complete surprise.  Luke Sick is back with a brand new project called Strike the Clutch, a limited cassette-only single/ EP (four songs; it's right on the bubble).  Luke, of course, is the front man of Sacred Hoop and so many other groups and projects, all of which I've been covering over the years, because he's been putting out reliably dope Hip-Hop for 20 years, which is more than I can say for just about anybody.  Admittedly, I wince a little when he strays outside the genre, but even then it's always at least worth your time to check out.

So when Strike the Clutch first popped up on my Feedly, I wasn't even sure if it was another one of those punk/ rap crossovers or what.  All I knew was that this was Luke Sick in collaboration with some guy named Damien, co-released by Luke's label Megakut and some other label called I Had an Accident Records.  Never heard of 'em, but apparently they've been putting out cassette-only releases since 2006.  Scrolling through their catalog of almost 200 releases, I do recognize a handful of names, like Ceschi, K-the-I??? and Bleubird.  But Luke's the only one I'd feel safe taking the chance on.

And first of all, no, it's not punk or any other genre meshed with Hip-Hop, it's just the pure stuff.  Apparently this Damien guy is a producer from Spokane Washington, and he's not about to replace Vrse as my favorite Sick producer, but he makes some solid, moody tracks that Luke knows absolutely how to lay into.  Just reading the titles like "Fake Happy" and "Ripping Gut," you already know this tape is bloody with the same bleak attitude he cultivated on his earliest tapes.  It's like Bring Me the Head of Sexy Henrietta part 2; even the Fletch references are back.  Sonically, it's smoother, more laid back and atmospheric.  But older fans will probably get the most out of this, because lyrically, these bars laying into sucker MCs are a total throwback to his first 12" in '96:

"Maybe you get rabies spittin' that crazy, or lames who think they strange but they're lazy little babies, and crazy rats thinkin' they can rap and need to chill, while their chicks get pealed like a loose seal.  I get weeded, get drunk, now I'm rippin' good; you wonder why the shallow graves keep gettin' dug.  'Cause something's wrong when they test my worth, endin' up on the ground with their face in the dirt."

Strike the Clutch is limited to just 100 copies, which I personally think is too limited.  Like, you don't want even your biggest fans to be missing out on your projects, right?  I ordered this the same day it popped up on Megakut and it was already sold out before it even arrived at my house.  But I guess it's been working for these I Had an Accident guys for about twelve years now, so what do I know?  Anyway, as of this writing, a couple copies are still available on their bandcamp.  Hoopsters, don't miss out; it's a tight little tape.