In true sophomoric, Beastie Boys fashion, rapper Luke Sick (Luke Oakson) and producer Vrse Murphy (Patrick Murphy) of indie rap duo Sacred Hoop sift through personal and surreal anecdotes of drugs, sex, women, and everything else in between with a throwback hip-hop flavor. Aided by a cast of usual suspects -- namely scratch technicians DJ Quest and DJ Raw B in addition to MCs Z-Man (of One Block Radius) and Eddie K. -- Sacred Hoop has been recording material since the mid-'90s via their independent Miasmatic Recordings label. Starting with their eight-track release Retired (1998), the two built a select, underground following in the Bay Area, particularly within their Palo Alto, CA, stomping ground. Luke Sick widened that fan base when he helped found the rap-rock band Brougham. Sacred Hoop's 2001 effort Sleepover and 2006's Go Hogwild received more proper distribution, which helped garner the latter album some high praises, though mainly from small-time music publications and Internet sites. ~ Cyril Cordor