In case you missed it, music-comedy king “Weird Al” Yankovic made his return to the blogs this week with the viral hit “FOIL,” a parody of Lorde’s “Royals” that’s more concerned with wrapping up leftovers than denouncing materialism (or whatever the hell Lorde is talking about).
The track got me thinking about parody songs that combine our two favorite things here at First We Feast: rap and food. It’s seemingly fertile territory, though surprisingly the combo often falls flat—more oil and water than chicken tenders and fries, you might say. In fact, the most hilarious food-rap tracks tend to be actual songs rather than send-ups, like the Fat Boys’ seminal “All You Can Eat.”
The true parodies tend to miss the mark—see the Bone Thugs-referencing “See You at McDonald’s“—though there are some diamonds in the rough if you do a little YouTube crate-digging. From the iconic “Lazy Sunday” to a Grecian ode to feta, here are our favorite comedy rap songs about food:
Peter Rosenberg, “Throw Some Cheese On It”
Hot 97 radio host and hip-hop class clown Peter Rosenberg hopped on the Rich Boy hit “Throw Some D’s” for this absurd homage to curds consumption. I’ve long since forgotten about Rich Boy, but Rosenberg’s parody has stood the test of time.
KeithFromUpDaBlock, “Amen (Meek Mill Parody)”
We’ve called KeithFromUpDaBlock “the Weird Al Yankovic of food rap,” and this fried chicken-inspired remake of “Amen” is a fine example of his talents. Not only is he hilarious, but he may actually be a better rapper than Meek Mill.
“Lazy Sunday” (SNL Digital Short)
This SNL Digital Short launched a whole movement of parody songs and gave The Lonely Island the platform to bring us videos like “Jizz in My Pants” and “3-Way.” None has matched the sheer silliness of this Adam Samberg and Chris Parnell joint, which resurrected the phrase “snack attack!” and referenced munchies ranging from Magnolia cupcakes to Red Vines.
“Mixologist”
DJ Dave and Barney Kook—the dudes who brought you “Whole Foods Parking Lot” and “Yoga Girl“—hit their stride with this send-up of the nouveau speakeasy, which calls out cocktail-world cliches like enormous ice, waxed mustaches, and $20 drinks.
“Mom’s Spaghetti” (Eminem parody)
Such a simple concept, so well executed. See also: Future, “Onions.”
Gillie Da Kid, “Chicken Man”
It’s unclear whether this song was actually meant to be for real, but one hopes for hip-hop’s sake that it’s tongue-in-cheek. Gillie Da Kid—the Philly rapper who is best known for claiming to be Lil Wayne’s ghostwriter—manages to draw out an impressively extended metaphor equating fried chicken and drugs, with shoutouts to Crown, KFC, and Popeyes along the way. Other great things about this video: The excellent chicken dance, rhyming “Chick-Fil-A” with “brick a day,” and a Meek Mill cameo.
So Tiri, “Feta Kai Psomi”
Plenty of rappers talk about “cheese,” but they’re usually referring to money, not actual curds. Bronx rapper So Tiri has flipped the script though, penning an epic ode to salty feta—in Greek, no less. If the hook seems familiar, it’s time to revisit Jeremih’s super-catchy “Down on Me.”
Curious about the lyrics? Check out lyrics video, which includes the English translation to the gloriously odd song. Sample line: “I love you very much, I drink the broth from the pail / I wrote a song for you feta, I love you, I’ve gone mad.”