Dinner and a Movie (album)

Background

The album was inspired by horror film directors such as Rob Zombie and Wes Craven. Music videos were shot for three songs on the album: "Meat," "I Plotted (My Next Murder)" and "Colostomy Bag."

Plot

Dinner and a Movie is the first album in a trilogy of conceptual albums, preceding Coathanga Strangla and Mannibalector. The fictional main character is the known as The Hang, a normal, everyday man who transforms into a serial killer at night, murdering rappers. It begins in an interrogation room, where the Coat Hanga Strangla is promising to confess to his crimes. The skits throughout the album tell of how the local police department are desperately trying to put a stop to the murders.

Commercial performance

The album debuted at number 69 on the US Billboard 200, selling 7,900 copies in its first week of release. It is his best debut on the charts since his album Loaded (1997). Dinner and a Movie sold 3,100 copies in its second week of sales, bringing total sales to 11,000 copies. According to an interview with the Strange Music's Travis O’Guin, the album was under-shipped by retailers. Strange Music was planning to have this shipped between 35,000 and 40,000 copies, and yet it only have sold 12,120 units that were shipped due to difficulties with their distributor, Universal Fontana. To date, the album has sold over 45,000 copies in the US.

Critical reception

Dinner and a Movie received critical acclaim from music critics. David Jeffries of Allmusic remarked that Brotha Lynch Hung is "not only on top of his game on this 2010 effort, but he’s also found a perfect match when it comes to labels." Jeffries also praised the plot, mentioning that the story "goes from gross to scary to sympathetic and personal, and then back again, all without losing a step or trying your patience." HipHopDX also gave the album a positive review, saying that its "honesty and delivery that mixes with the horror make this album both a brilliant comeback story, and a career milestone." iHipHop affirmed this, describing Dinner and a Movie as "one of the best albums of 2010 thus far, and is easily the most polished effort in Brother Lynch Hung's catalogue." All three reviewers gave the album four stars out of five.