Today, Queens rapper and all-around entertainer Action Bronson dropped his debut album, Mr. Wonderful. You might have heard.
In true Bam Bam fashion, the 13-track project is packed with quotables from front to back. The lyrical mortar fire manifests itself not only in the absurd (“The falcon flies back to the glove when I whistle / Don’t try to put me in a box like a tissue”), but also the epicurean.
Bronson has already established himself as the G.O.A.T. when it comes to referencing food and drink in his rhymes, and he lives up to his reputation on Mr. Wonderful. While his bars here aren’t as densely packed with arcane food references as they are on his mixtapes, he still manages to name-drop De Cecco pasta, mango lassi, and spicy coconut curry, among many other delicious things.
And to prove that he really lives the life he raps about, Bronson celebrated the album by feasting with Mario Batali at Eataly, and teasing a forthcoming cookbook with recipes from the likes of Michael White and Michael Voltaggio.
“BRAND NEW CAR”
“The only one drinkin’ mango lassi in the bullpen / My lips are sealed like the singer with bad skin”
“Got to the door, twist the key, elevator waitin’ for me / 100, got upstairs and fixed eleven bowls of Crispix”
“Grabbed a Snapple out the bin, no one’s an even match for the kid”
“WHEN I RISE”
“Fly Mary in to sing to that cow before we slaughtered it / And then I ordered it”
“Seasonal vegetables lookin’ exceptional”
Big Body Bes: “But it’s alright though, I got this stupid mothafuckin’ lawyer. He told me, ‘Don’t even worry about that shit, Body. I’ll make that go away. Now what’s for lunch?’ I told him, don’t worry, I got the hookup. Anything you want. Crown Fried on me, 1 through 6 only.”
“TERRY”
“Shorty couldn’t take it no more, she went loca / No stranger to a rum and soda”
“Should I get a skybox or an ’89 IROC? / It’s always poppin’ at the iHop”
“Chuck Knoblauch, spicy coconut curry from the Thai spot”
“Twisted off the Jenkem, watching Iron Chef / The secret ingredient was lion’s neck”
“ACTIN’ CRAZY”
“Uh, all I do is eat oysters / And speak six languages in three voices”
“All my women play the flute / Saw me place a melon and prosciutt'”
“FALCONRY”
“I know you see me on the TV, lookin’ like a hunk of beef”
“‘Cause I push you in the box with a pink suit / Fuck around and have some squid-ink soup, bitch”
“I learned quick I couldn’t follow suit / ‘Cause the devil put the pork inside the dollar soup”
“A LIGHT IN THE ATTIC”
“Damn, these ladies love me out in London / Laurenivici served the granulated onion”
“BABY BLUE (FT. CHANCE THE RAPPER)”
“Go on a date, I’m at the crib with the chef and, uh, that’s me / And you could order whatever / The specialty is white snake and underwear sauce”
Chance The Rapper: “I hope every soda you drink already shaken up”
Chance The Rapper: “And [I hope] you work at a Friday’s that’s always busy on Fridays”
“GALACTIC LOVE”
“At the piano with a glass of pinot / All red silk like I’m nino”
“EASY RIDER”
“Shit, I might cop a chest and a dresser / A little machine to make espresso”
“I heard your bitch still wears Ecko / Hide drugs behind the box of De Cecco”
“I know your crabs from that Old Bay taste”