Whereas other metropolitan harbors of hip-hop tend to have a unified sound, be it with Chicago’s soul-R&B, Atlanta’s sultry trap, East Coast grit or West Coast funk, the steadily developing Austin scene is much more easily defined by its major players rather than any genre descriptors. Take for example native Austinite lyricist Eric Mikulak, who’s become town-renowned under the name Click-Clack.
On top of a robust (though largely non-streamable) discography, Mikulak’s definitely put in well beyond the standard 10,000 hours for his craft, dating back even before his college days fronting alt-rap-rock outfit Karmatron. Decidedly not a stranger to the one-man-studio approach, Mikulak’s production skills (under the moniker White Jamal) are neck-and-neck with his rapid-fire lyrical abilities, having already produced beats for artists around the globe in addition to his recent endeavor as engineer mentee. It’s rare to catch this hermit onstage, but you can reap the latest fruits of Click-Clack’s labor with the baker’s dozen follow-up to Blue Eyed Black Boy: Songs I Don’t Hate. Keep an eye out for Mikulak’s name on production credits in the future and go straight to the crux of the new record with his self-produced “Luke Cage”!
–Jack Anderson
