''Large and in Charge'' is a 1989

comedy rap Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

album by

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted a late-night talk show, '' The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', '' Comi ...

, released under the name of his "portly rapping

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

" Chunky A. It is his only release under this name.

Background

Arsenio Hall began hosting ''

The Arsenio Hall Show ''The Arsenio Hall Show'' is an American syndicated late-night talk show created by and starring comedian Arsenio Hall. There have been two different incarnations of ''The Arsenio Hall Show''. The original series premiered on January 3, 1989 ...

'' in 1989, and that same year, recorded and released the ''Large and in Charge'' album as Chunky A. Chunky A was marketed humorously as Hall's overweight younger brother who had been a roadie for

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. Hall wrote the album and was a co-producer. The album was a minor hit, reaching #71 on the

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

, and one single, "Owwww!", charted, reaching #77 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100, also known as simply the Hot 100, is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), ...

. "Owwww!"'s

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

featured Hall in a

fatsuit A fatsuit, also known as a fat suit or a fat-suit, is a bodysuit-like undergarment used to thicken the appearance of an actress or actor of light to medium build into an overweight or obese character, in conjunction with prosthetic makeup. Fatsui ...

wearing a necklace chain with a large golden "A" on it."As the bulky rapper dances around, he risks being bludgeoned by the giant gold "A" on his necklace. His body shifts around like it's, well, padding. And it is ...". "Chunky A". ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly news magazine based in New York City. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely distributed during the 20th century and has had many notable editors-in-chief. It is currently co-owned by Dev P ...

'', Vol. 114, 1989, p. 79. "Sorry" was also released as a single, but did not chart. The album included the tracks "Ho Is Lazy" (a parody of

Fine Young Cannibals Fine Young Cannibals (FYC) are an English pop rock band formed in Birmingham, West Midlands, in 1984 by former The Beat band bassist David Steele and guitarist Andy Cox with singer Roland Gift (formerly of the Akrylykz). Their self-titled ...

' "

She Drives Me Crazy "She Drives Me Crazy" is a song by British group Fine Young Cannibals, released in 1988 by London Records as the first single from their second and final album, '' The Raw & the Cooked'' (1989). The song was written by the group's frontman Ro ...

") and "Dope, the Big Lie" (an anti-drug song featuring

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

Wil Wheaton Richard William "Wil" Wheaton III (born July 29, 1972) is an American actor and writer. He portrayed Wesley Crusher on the television series ''Star Trek: The Next Generation'', Gordie Lachance in the film ''Stand by Me (film), Stand by Me'', ...

, and

Ice-T Tracy Lauren Marrow (born February 16, 1958), known professionally as Ice-T (or Ice T), is an American rapper and actor. He is active in both hip hop music, hip hop and heavy metal music, heavy metal. Ice-T began his career as an underground r ...

). Contemporaneous reviews of the album were mixed. The ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' remarked, "Although he's occasionally mildly funny, Chunk's rhymes are less def than deficient - and less dope than dopey."Parry Gettleman,
Chunky A: Large and In Charge
. ''

'', January 5, 1990. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' gave the album three stars out of five, describing the album as "a raunchy, frequently hilarious album that's part rap--reflecting influences by

the Fat Boys The Fat Boys were an American hip-hop trio from Brooklyn, New York (state), New York, who emerged in the early 1980s. The group was briefly known originally as the Disco 3, originally composed of Mark "Prince Markie Dee" Morales, Damon Wimbley, ...

and

Heavy D Dwight Arrington MyersCuda, Heidi Sigmund Keeping it reel. '' Vibe'' ("born Dwight Arrington Myers")Samuels, Anita M. (January 12' 1996)Heavy D, the C.E.O. ''New York Times'' (May 24, 1967 – November 8, 2011), known professionally as Hea ...

--and part funk, done in the talk-singing style of George Clinton and Cameo's

Larry Blackmon Larry Ernest Blackmon (born May 29, 1956) is an American vocalist and musician, known as the lead singer, founder and frontman of the funk and R&B band Cameo. Musical career Starting the band "East Coast", Blackmon formed the "New York Ci ...

."Dennis Hunt
Rap / Funk Raunch by Arsenio's Little 'Bro' : ARSENIO HALL "Arsenio Hall Presents Chunky A--Large & in Charge." MCA ***
''

'', November 26, 1989.

Track listing

#"Owwww!" #"Large and in Charge" #"Stank Breath" #"Ho Is Lazy" #"Sorry" #"I Command You to Dance" #"Very High Key" #"Dipstick" #"Dope, the Big Lie"

References

{{authority control 1989 albums Hip-hop albums by American artists Comedy hip-hop albums