The Soundtrack to Eating: Action Bronson and the Chef Lifestyle in His Lyrics

A food reference is more than just a look into the diet of a rapper. How Action Bronson uses food in his raps shows who he is.

The Soundtrack to Eating is a series in which staff writers write about how food and music are intertwined.

Written by Glenn Rodgers

Food’s necessity to life makes it a defining part of our earliest experiences. A baby doesn’t question whether it’s hungry and neither does Action Bronson. After a kitchen accident that broke his leg, the chef turned rapper spends the time he isn’t writing music traveling the world and trying local cuisine. This is captured best by his Munchies YouTube series “F---, That’s Delicious.” Even though the show only aired from 2016 to 2018, Bronson has remained a staple in Munchies’ “how-to” videos. Aside from his YouTube shows and cookbook, Bronson also shows his love of food through his lyrics. In a Genius dissection of Bronson's lyrics from 2011 to 2017, it found that out of 180 songs, Bronson mentioned food in 79% of them. But what is actually in a reference? And how does Bronson use rap and food together?

Lyric choice is everything in rap, and there’s no exception for food references. In the Vice article “How To Rap About Food,” writer Phillip Mlynar breaks down different types of food references to demonstrate how they’re used in an artist’s message. Mlynar states that a food reference can be used as a way to carry a metaphor, alienate an audience, and/or relate to an audience. This, however, is taken a step above by Bronson, by providing listeners the perspective of a chef. By knowing the ins and outs of the food industry, Bronson is able to paint detailed pictures.

Rap’s metaphorical food references are probably the easiest to understand. This can be something as straightforward as saying “cheese” instead of money or some of rap’s more specific motifs of Grey Poupon and fish. In Mlynar’s Vice article, rap group The Doppelgangaz (Dopp Gang) explains that Grey Poupon is a symbol of upward mobility, likening it back to its commercials of socialites eating in the back of a Rolls Royce. They also explain the seriousness of fish, citing that it’s the only thing on a menu listed at market price. Fish operates under an “if you have to ask, you can’t afford it” mentality. These references are also heavy in Bronson’s lyrics — the Genius article cites fish and cheese being Bronson’s most common references behind alcohol. Bronson raps about all sorts of fish from swordfish to ceviche and cheeses from mozzarella to regional bourgeois italian cheese and Saganaki (a Greek fried cheese dish). Bronson’s demonstration of his culinary knowledge shows his intimacy with these foods as an intimacy with what they tend to mean in rap. We can only assume that a man who “laces the swordfish with garlic and cream” might know the price of it and where to obtain it. Most important, though, is that this creates a divide between the Bronson and the listener.

Food can be used to alienate the audience and demonstrate rap's ongoing concern with braggadocio. Price point is an important part of rap and in showing the expense of your meal, you’re showing your wealth. Rappers show this through the aforementioned expense of fish or more commonly, alcohol. The Genius article marked alcohol as Bronson’s most common reference to food, but unlike most rappers, Bronson gets specific with what he’s drinking. Over half of Bronson’s alcohol references are wine. Bronson will point out the specific wine he’s drinking or even what he’s pairing it with. On “Moonstruck”, Bronson raps, “Beautiful wine, we in Sonoma yo / The cheese plate, fish a pike out the lake,” showing his familiarity with the Sonoma County wine industry as well as the local fishing game of Northern Pike. In line with this, Bronson has a tendency to shout out exotic drinks and dishes such as snake’s blood or shark fin soup. Not only are these hard to come by, they’re borderline illegal. Having access to these dishes of the upper echelon further demonstrates that Bronson knows something that the listener doesn’t. Alienating the listener seems as if it would disinterest them, but it does exactly the opposite. Listeners can only be impressed by Bronson’s culinary knowhow and thus intrigued.

However, for those of us who haven't tasted everything that Bronson has, there’s something for us too. Food can also be used to relate to the audience. Rappers can give specific references to food to show their struggle, hometown love, and cultural heritage. As Mlynar points out in “How to Rap About Food,” the come up in rap can best be demonstrated when Biggie sings, “Remember when I used to eat sardines for dinner,” in “Juicy.” By mentioning a normal, low cost food item, Biggie shows that he’s a man of the people that understands their struggle. Bronson has also used something similar to this. In “Let it Rain” Bronson raps about getting drunk in front of a Mcdonald’s, showing Bronson isn’t afraid of the people’s food. Bronson tends to lean on the side of showing love for locations and cultures in his lyrics when trying to connect with the audience.

Coming from a diverse background of Albanian-Muslim and Jewish heritage and growing up in New York, Bronson was brought up around a lot of cultures. Bronson's lyrics often contain references to specific New York locations, creating a place for New Yorkers to see themselves in his rap. People enjoy the connection they can gain with Bronson by visiting the places that he has. This mirrors the tradition of having portraits of celebrities that have dined at specific restaurants.

The rapper also creates a space for other cultures in his raps. His deep understanding of how certain dishes are prepared, like the previously mentioned Saganaki and Ćepavi (a kebab from Serbia and Hungary), demonstrate more culturally specific references. Bronson introduces his listeners to cultures they might have not known about while he expresses his own.

Bronson leaves listeners with no doubt of his passion for food. His distinct references are what makes his music standout from other rappers. Whether he’s trying to flex his status, relate to others, or just simply put his listeners onto a good-ass meal, Bronson’s music is a love letter to food everywhere.

AESTHETICSAfterglow ATXApril 27, 2020