Hip-hop has always had its fair share of food-related lyrics-- with Outkast repping for fish and grits, Lil Wayne comparing himself to lasagna and MF DOOM releasing an entire food-inspired album-- but it's not often that a rap lyrics sheet resembles the menu of a five-star restaurant. That is, unless we're talking about Action Bronson.
For the Queens native, rapping began as a hobby, with gourmet cheffing taking precedence in the early stages of his career. Before he began dropping mixtapes in 2010, he had an online cooking show called "Action In The Kitchen," and before that, he studied at the Art Institute of New York City’s culinary program and worked in the kitchens of steakhouses, a vegetarian restaurant in downtown Manhattan and Citi Field. Unlike other rappers with day jobs, his previous profession went on to inform his music, to the point where any given 16 by Bronsalino is most likely peppered with a food reference.
Usually used to portray his lavish lifestyle, food often comes in handy for metaphors, and even when he talks about sex, he does it using the language of food. "Go on a date, I'm at the crib with the chef and uh, that's me," he raps on the newly-released "Baby Blue," "And you could order whatever/The specialty is white snake and underwear sauce."
Most of his culinary language is less gross-- on the contrary, it's usually mouth-watering. Name-dropping the finest dishes (as well as some standard favorites), Bronson gives us a wide array of options to pick from in his lyrics. We've selected our favorites, organized them by meal and/or course, and made you a menu of his best food references. Here are five courses of Mr. Wonderful's best food lyrics.
breakfast
Breakfast
- Golden brown biscuits - "My beard is golden brown just like a biscuit / Everyday I’m thinking should I risk it, add another number to statistics" - "The Madness"
- Crispix served in breast milk - "Use the breast milk to eat my Crispix" - "The Madness"
- Cheerios - "Cheerios shift lip like Rey Mysterio / We laid up with big money be the scenario" - "Practice"
- Eggs Rothko - "Eggs Rothko / The handmade suit cloth I got the sports coat" - "Twin Peugeots"
- Croissants served with mad butter - "The joint rolled like a croissant, mad butter" - "No Time"
- Pancakes served with syrup - "You can catch me in the trees like the shit for the pancakes" - "Amadu Diablo"
- Two farm-fresh scrambled eggs served with grits - "Make two farm-fresh scrambled eggs with the grits / Glass of club soda, splashed with the twist" - "I Adore You"
- Raisin bread served with jalapeño cream cheese - "Jalapeno cream cheese on the raisin bread / That’s for breakfast" - "103 & Roosy"
lunch
Lunch
- Spicy coconut curry - "Chuck Knoblauch / Spicy coconut curry from the Thai spot" - "Terry"
- Quatro formaggio pizza - "Wood burning brick oven, shit with the furnace / Quattro formaggio" - "Tapas"
- Figs served at the peak of their ripeness - "From the farm right to the table, air straight to the plate / I doubt you can relate, figs at the peak of their ripeness" - "Tapas"
- Cow’s feet soup - "I’m a wild freak, here’s shorty with the child’s sleeve / While her mother makes soup with the cow feet" - "Contemporary Man"
- Tacos - "Strictly cop and go's, until we laid in the Galapagos / Eating tacos, higher than an opera note" - "Pouches Of Tuna"
- Tamarind punch from Morandi - "Three different types of forks from Morandi lunch / Tamarind punch, higher than the javelin jump" - "Midget Cough"
- Calf’s brain from Osteria Morini - "We had the lunch at Osteria Morini, I had the calf’s brain / Half glass of Cabernet on the PATH train" - "It's Me"
- English muffin served with butter - "English muffin / With butter at the Yiddish luncheon" - "Flip Ya"
- Turkey sandwich in aluminium foil - "Turkey sandwich in aluminum foil / The game been fixed" - "Amadu Diablo"
apps
Appetizers/Snacks
- Sun Chips - "Wearin’ all green outfits / The butter look like Sun Chips" - "Jackson & Travolta"
- Saganaki (burning cheese) - "Rock this Shawn Kemp, kamikaze / Burning cheese, Saganaki" - "The Rockers"
- Seven different kinds of cheeses - "Seven different kinds of cheeses / My silhouette resemble Jesus" - "Through The Eyes Of A G"
- Salad with no croutons - "I’m eating salad but i’m leaving off the croutons" - "Ronnie Coleman"
- Twisted soft pretzel - "Twist the pussy like a soft pretzel" - "Nordic Wind"
- Prosciutto crudo - "Il prosciutto, legend, Phil Rizzuto / Marijuana like the pussy, I keep it crudo / That’s raw" - "Cocoa Butter"
- Melon & prosciutto - "All my women play the flute, saw me place a melon and prosciutt’" - "Actin' Crazy"
- Gypsy salami served with cheese from the cave, dandelion greens and crisp parmesan - "Gypsy Salami cheese is from the cave / Wild dandelion greens dressed up on the plate / Parmesan crisp, we wildin’ in Marea" - "Ron Simmons"
- Poutine - "I'm on the art and the food scene / Fuck rap, laying back eating poutine" - "Tapas"
- Roasted bone marrow spread on lightly toasted rosemary bread, drizzled with vinaigrette - "Bone marrow roasted/Spread it on the rosemary bread, lightly toasted/Drizzle with the vinagrette” - "Tan Leather"
entrees
Entrees
Since Bronsalino is such a connoisseur of fine meats, we had to separate this one into two categories.
Surf
- Octopus served with olive oil and lemon - "Barehanded snatch up a octopus I'm a winner / Grill it, hit it with olive oil and lemon" - "It Concerns Me"
- Five styles of freshwater bass - "Hall and Oates be at the benefit for wild owls / They have the freshwater bass served five styles" - "It Concerns Me"
- Cuttlefish served with lime juice and ink - "Cuttlefish cut up on the beach out to sea / Mix it with the lime juice / Smidgen of its own ink" - "Dreamer"
- Bucatini and razor clams - "She grew a bush like a baby plant / Still I ate it, just think of it as bucatin' and razor clams" - "9-24-11"
- Calamari & boudin blanc - "My dad was right when he said I was a deranged fuck / Now every meal is calamari and boudin blanc" - "Twin Peugeots"
- Simmered mussels - "Dabble in truffles, Sauvignon Blancs, simmer the mussels" - "Blood Of The Goat"
- Eel by the dozen - "Woke up naked at the Hilton with a bitch that look like Seal's cousin / Bite the eel by the dozen" - "Easy Rider"
- Shark - "Catch the shark, skin the shark, hang the shark in the shed / Every dinner got the marvelous spread" - "Blood Of The Goat"
- Crabs seasoned with Old Bay - "And lay John Coltrane play with that cocaine face / I know your crabs from that Old Bay taste" - "Easy Rider"
- Abalone - "Red suede shoes, a holiday in Arizona/Cocaine knives open up the abalone" - "Sylvester Lundgren"
Turf
- Rabbit served with chocolate sauce - "Did I mention, steer the whip with one arm like Jim Abbott / Chocolate sauce over dead rabbit" - "Midget Cough"
- Steak - "Every meal I eat steak to make a statement / Patrick Bateman" - "Practice"
- Lamb served with lemon and lightly battered yam - "Lightly battered yam / A squeeze of lemon over lamb" - "Flip Ya"
- Pan-roasted lamb rack served with fennel and a yogurt drizzle - "Got the lamb rack, pan-roasted, laced it with fennel / Little yogurt that been drizzled over—might be a winner” - "Nordic Wind"
- Lion’s neck - "Twisted off the Jenkem, watching Iron Chef / The secret ingredient was lion's neck" - "Terry"
- Rooster’s testicles served in sesame and plum sauce - "Catch a rooster, cut his fucking nuts off / Serve ‘em for a hundred dollars, sesame and plum sauce" - "White Silk"
- Pasta served with olive oil and bacon - "Extra virgin olive oil drizzled on the pasta / Fry the bacon, make it sizzle for the chazers" - "Bag Of Money"
- Barbecued venison (paired with a great stout) - "Too beaucoup, fresher than a lake trout / Barbecue the venison, pair it with a great stout" - "Buddy Guy"