Action Bronson: The Rapping Chef

KITCHEN WIZARD “Nobody raps about food like I do,” says Action Bronson, who’s become an un­derground hero this year thanks to two albums (this spring’s Dr. Lecter and the brand-new Well Done) stuffed with mouthwatering references to delicacies like carpaccio and duck prosciutto. “I rap about fine dishes — things that only real foodies know about.” That’s because Bronson was a working chef until just 18 months ago, when he left his job cooking postgame meals for the Mets to start rapping. “I worked in kitch­ens my whole life,” says the half-Albanian, half-Jewish Queens native. “But all my friends were making music, so I said, ‘Fuck it. If everybody else can do it, why can’t I?'”

HOLY GHOST Close your eyes when Bronson kicks a verse, and you’ll swear you’re listening to the Wu-Tang Clan’s Ghostface Killah: The resem­blance is uncanny, from the insistent, nasal vocal register to the tough yet jovial attitude. “Ghostface is one of the best rappers ever,” the MC says — but even so, he’s getting a little tired of the constant comparisons. “I’m my own per­son,” he says. “I can’t change my voice.”

SPECIAL SAUCE Bronson doesn’t cook for a living anymore, but he still spends plenty of time in the kitchen. “My go-to dish is a bucatini pasta with olive oil and a little bit of sour diesel mixed into it. I extract the sour into the oil, then I toss it with some broccolini, red-pepper flakes and toasted garlic. I could eat that every day. It gets me goddamn demolished, man.”