The Ripgut Collection

A misleadingly titled collection of first-rate West Coast hip-hop, The Ripgut Collection presents itself as a slice of unrelentingly gory Horrorcore. Instead, listeners will find Brotha Lynch Hung to be a profoundly gifted MC whose occasional lapses into Horrorcore shock tactics are excused by his unstoppable flow and inventive rhymes. Brotha Lynch Hung first emerged from the Sacramento hip-hop underground with the release of his seminal 1993 debut 24 Deep. Unsurprisingly the tracks that The Ripgut Collection culls from this stellar effort provide the majority of this disc’s outstanding moments. The profoundly menacing “24Deep” rides a gut-wrenching two-note bass line to all-time classic status, while the frantic paranoia of “My Mind Ain’t Right” rivals the Geto Boys immortal “My Mind’s Playin' Tricks On Me” for sheer sweat inducing terror. Though The Ripgut Collection features a couple of regrettable selections from Lynch Hung’s more recent albums there is more than enough classic material here to satisfy the most demanding hip-hop fanatic.