Album Review: Brotha Lynch Hung – Dinner and a Movie

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blhBrotha Lynch Hung is one of most influential emcees from the West Coast that you’ve probably never heard of.  Considered a pioneer in the gore subgenre of Hip Hop, Brotha Lynch’s lyrical exploits have influenced everyone from Snoop Dogg to the Gravediggaz.  Inarguably, Lynch’s influence has fallen on the ears of independent powerhouse, Tech N9ne, whose rapid-fire delivery and macabre lyrics bear a striking similarity.  Therefore, it was not a surprise when Tech signed Brotha Lynch to his Strange Music label last year.  With a discography that nearly spans twenty albums, Hung returns for the aptly titled Dinner and a Movie, in which he glosses over his typical routine of murder, torture, and yes, cannibalism, except this time with more refined production than ever.

I don’t have to kill anyone, I just think it.  It’s all up here; believe me if I started killing anyone there would be none of you left,” utters Hung on the album’s intro before describing horrific torture on “Colostomy Bag” (“I put tools on their nuts and twist it with the pliers“).   “D.O.A” is a perfect example of how Hung has influenced Tech N9ne, as his flow sounds identical to the latter.  The Brotha kills it on “Sit in That Corner B*tch” as he describes killing a woman in the bedroom, before hinting at eating her.  Somewhere Necro is nodding in approval as Lynch drops multisyllabic rhymes before a sampled Charles Manson rant.   “Murder Over Hard” has a somewhat laughable chorus, although it’s quite fitting for the topic at hand (“it was murder over hard like I like my eggs/eat em up, she don’t need no motherf*cking grave“).  Although Hung runs the lyrical gauntlet, it becomes apparent that his guest, BZO, can’t keep up with the underground legend.  Proving no catastrophic event is fallible, Hung goes in on “I Tried to Commit Suicide.”  Surprisingly this track isn’t exploitative of suicide, rather an in-depth look into the mind of someone ready to take their final leap (“I had a lot of on my mind/I couldn’t figure nothing out, and my mamma just died/it’s like everything’s blowing up in my mind/I can’t figure out what’s wrong or right“).  On “Split Personality,” Brotha Lynch once again touches on cannibalism and rape while rapping in double-time.

At this point, Brotha Lynch Hung reverts from his fantasy world to reality.  On “Meat,” Hung expresses his struggle, telling the listener, “I only got enough money for some top Raman noodles/my son looking at me like he don’t want to come too close/he saw me in the bathroom crying, it was too late/I couldn’t even keep a straight face like a toothache.”  The track’s production excellently fits the mood and is provided by Justin “Axis” Patton who produced several tracks for the LP.  “Siccem,” which is the album’s weakest cut, provides a West Side feel similar to some of Hung’s earlier work like “Locc 2 da Brain.”  Hung’s label mates, Krizz Kaliko and Tech N9ne join in on the posse cut “Don’t Worry Momma, It’s Just Bleeding.”  Hung opens the track with his typical rapid-fire delivery, but is later shown up by Tech, who kicks it into overdrive. The result isn’t particularly extraordinary, perhaps due to the production, but it’s an interesting combination nonetheless.  As if Hung couldn’t get more explicit, he ups the ante with songs like “I Plotted My Next Murder” and “Nutbagg” which are dedicated to what else, but murder.  On “I Heard That B4” warns his enemies, “I make em red like the 49ers” before showing up Snoop and the Dogg Pound on “Anotha Killin.”

Although most rap albums have forgettable skits, Lynch perfectly executes each one in order to tie together the album as a whole.  For instance, the skit after “Murder Over Hard” demonstrates that even though the visions painted by Lynch are nothing more than fictitious, we can’t simply laugh them off entirely, as he goes into detail about dumping a corpse in a river.  The horrific overtones on Dinner and a Movie are comparable to watching a staged snuff film like Cannibal Holocaust.  Even though we understand the images depicted are works of fiction, the illusion is so strong, that we can’t help but cringe.  Authentic art is designed to make a person feel; whether the emotion provoked is one of pleasure or disgust, the artist intends on making the viewer exhibit and emotion that they lacked prior to encountering the work at hand.  Such is the case with Dinner and a Movie.  Although there are times where it’s acceptable to smile and even rap along to the tales of violence, there are moments where the average listener would cringe upon hearing the gory details of Brotha Lynch’s alleged escapades.  For that reason, Dinner and a Movie is one of the best albums of 2010 thus far, and is easily the most polished effort in Brother Lynch Hung’s catalogue.

4mics

4.0/5

Purchase Dinner and a Movie on iTunes

Brotha Lynch Hung “Meat”

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Brotha Lynch Hung “I Plotted”

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Brotha Lynch Hung “Colostomy Bag”

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