SICK LUKE

Prodigious producer Sick Luke has cemented his name in the Italian rap history books. 

Son of old-school Italian rapper Duke Montana, Luke was born and raised in the States yet moved back to Italy in his early adolescence. 

According to his own recounting of events, he would grow up listening an American hip-hop scene that was rapidly and violently shifting in tone. 

This shift would be the one from the Bling era of rap to the braggadocious and self-aggrandizing nature of what would evolve into the sounds of the 2010s. 

Armed with a set of sensibilities brought about by absorbing this sound, Luke would emigrate back to Italy with a wish to produce beats. 

After an expectedly rocky start to his production career, the teenager would start inviting over artists eager to be produced by him. 

One of the artists, or rather one group of artists, that would start working with him is who we now know as Dark Polo Gang. 

It seems useless to talk about them in obscure terms given that their sound is very well established nationally as well as internationally, but it is important to emphasise that it was this first collaboration with Sick Luke that would ultimately define their successful aesthetic. In fact, Luke was the main sonic architect of the clique’s first and most pivotal projects: Full Metal Dark, Crack Musica, Succo di Zenzero and The Dark Album. 

Through these four projects the producer would learn how to compose the dark aesthetic of the group, but also how to edit their main tropes to more melodic and cheerful vibes. 

Besides the useless pursuit of explaining DPG’s rise to success, which is self-evident to everyone, we can at least say that Luke’s experiences and accolades in the group helped him with the numerous subsequent collaborations he would do, as well as with his present solo career as a vocalist. 

His link-ups span from Italian stars such as Sfera Ebbasta, Ghali, Zoda, Drefgold to smaller underground acts such as his girlfriend Marina. 

Nonetheless, his collaborative input is not limited to the Italian peninsula. Contrarily, Luke’s American descent and sensibilities enabled him to collaborate with many different international acts such as Hoodrich Pablo Juan, BlocboyJB, Killy and possibly Icy Narco. 

Having developed his sound to the fullest, editing every single sound to make it a trademark of Sick Luke, the Italian would later move on to solo-work. Dropping tracks such as “Ali Di Farfalla Mezzo Pipistrello” featuring Side Baby and "Aqua Jetski" produced by Youngotti and "Castello”, Luke is now attempting his luck at a vocalist career. 

Complete success with regard to this is yet to be achieved, but Sick Luke’s prominent position in the Italian rap game, added on his clear knack and talent for beatmaking, ensures this new venture to be a successful one.