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Brotha Lynch Hung

Kevin Mann built a career on some of the most extreme content in American rap, from a city with almost no rap infrastructure, and has been consistently cited by artists far more famous than he ever became.

Early life and origins in Sacramento

He grew up in Sacramento's Meadowview district. The city had no meaningful rap scene when he started, and he built one largely through Black Market Records and sheer local sales volume.

Album discography

24 Deep (1993), Season of da Siccness (1995), Loaded (1997), EBK4 (2000), and the Strange Music trilogy Dinner and a Movie (2010), Coathanga Strangla (2011) and Mannibalector (2013). Season of da Siccness is the record that defines him and one of the earliest horrorcore albums to chart nationally.

What he is known for musically

Horrorcore — violent, graphic narrative delivered in a calm, almost conversational voice over melodic G-funk-adjacent production. The contrast between the delivery and the content is the entire effect, and it is far more disturbing than shouting would be. He is also a genuinely skilled technical rapper, which gets lost in discussion of the subject matter.

Influence

Tech N9ne, Eminem and a substantial part of the Midwest and West Coast underground have named him. He signed to Strange Music in 2009, which brought him a larger audience late in his career than he had at his commercial peak.

Sacramento

He is the reason Sacramento registers on the map of West Coast rap at all. Mozzy and the current Sacramento wave came up in a scene he effectively started.

Season of da Siccness

The 1995 album reached the Billboard 200 despite content that guaranteed no radio play, no video rotation and no retail promotion. It sold on word of mouth and remains the record the entire horrorcore subgenre is measured against.

The production

He produces much of his own work, and the contrast between the melodic, funk-derived instrumentals and the content is the point. Listeners who encounter the beats first are frequently unprepared for the lyrics.

Black Market Records and the disputes

His relationship with his early label was contentious and litigious, and he has spoken about releases appearing without his involvement. It is a common story for regional artists of that era and a large part of why his catalogue is confusing to navigate.

Strange Music

Signing to Tech N9ne's Strange Music in 2009 gave him distribution, a touring circuit and an audience of a size he had not previously had. The resulting trilogy — Dinner and a Movie, Coathanga Strangla, Mannibalector — is more polished than the 1990s work and generally considered less essential, which is a trade he made knowingly.