As legendary wordsmith and Freestyle Fellowship vet Aceyalone reminded us on his first solo effort, if he didn’t have a mic check he wouldn’t have a check at all. That thought recurs often while listening to the crunk-hall sound of Lightning Strikes, courtesy of L.A. producer Bionik, who wraps Acey’s frenetic raps in digital wizardry that too often comes off as wankery. No offense to Bionik or dancehall’s postmodern incarnation, but their overproduction overwhelms Acey’s mind-blowing rhymes on the title track, “Genie,” and on “Easy” (with fellow Good Life grad and Jurassic 5 baritone Chali 2Na). Yes, anything from Acey is worth your cash, but I can’t wait until he goes retro with analog drums on reel-to-reel.