There’s a real buzz in the air at Melbourne’s Forum as the growing crowd wait in anticipation for chef-turned-rapper Action Bronson. The Queens identity has finally made it back down under after postponing last year, with tonight’s show the last leg of his tour. As punters mill around patiently for the star, local DJ Slick P spins a smorgasbord of modern hip-hop tunes, notably dominated by Kendrick Lamar tracks, as the generally male hip-hop fans gather about the stage.

Bronson’s good friend and fellow rapper Mayhem Lauren opens proceedings with an energetic set of 90s influenced raps. Lauren gets the crowd amped when he raps his verses from Bronson’s Bag Of Money and Jackson & Travolta before debuting two new tracks and shouting out his upcoming album. While he didn’t blow me away, Lauren is affable enough, and I’m certainly interested in checking out his album.

Surprisingly, the time between Lauren’s set and Action Bronson’s appearance is relatively short. As the crowd chant his hame and the occasional empty flies through the air, the lights dim and Bronson’s DJ appears, signalling the main event. As a reggae track announces Bronson’s arrival, the crowd erupts as he saunters on stage, his majestic beard overflowing down the striped tee he sports. The strains of Brand New start before Bronson cuts things short, yelling, “Fuck that. Let’s start this again.” The added theatre is well received, with the crowd laughing and cheering as Bronson restarts things amid a haze of weed smoke.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFHGkCMETqk]

Silverado and Terry have punters bouncing along before hit single Actin’ Crazy has much everyone rapping with their best Bam Bam impersonation, but it’s noticeable Bronson is struggling. He tells us he’s come all this way to perform and now his voice is going and apologises sincerely. While it’s only when he attempts to sing that his voice fails, it’s taking its toll, as the frenzied energy you associate with Bronson is a little diluted. There’s no naked torso, weed smoking or jumping in the crowd, with the rapper making regular exits between songs. Lauren makes another appearance, dropping another couple of tracks while Bronson stands to the side, helping out when needed. While a slight distraction, it doesn’t seem to bother the near capacity crowd who can’t get enough. Strictly 4 My Jeeps has punters jumping while the 80s pop sampling Contemporary Man ends with Bronson dropping the mic and striking a God pose.

Baby Blue gets the biggest response and features an extended outro of Biz Markie‘s Just A Friend, before Bronson urges the crowd to spark their weed (something they’ve been doing all night without hesitation), ending with the ’60s psychedelica of Easy Rider.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58RSC7HO9aU]

The stage goes dark and the inevitable encore is coming, with punters stomping their feet and once again chanting “Bronson, Bronson” until the bearded wonder returns. It’s an unusual encore, with the Tracy Chapman sampling Amadu Diablo followed by a new Jamaican flavoured tune. Apologising again for his vocal problems, Bronson disappears for the final time, much to the crowd’s disappointment.

The short set time (just over an hour) coupled with Action Bronson’s vocal problems are unfortunate, but Bam Bam gives it his all, his endearing fans appreciating his efforts as they clamouring for the last pieces of merch before riding the Harley into the sunset.

Image: Dani Hansen/Howl & Echoes

At first glance there might not seem to be a lot of common ground between New York chef turned rapper Action Bronson and legendary rock drummer Phil Collins. But as it turns out Bronson is a bit of a fan, having sampled beats from the ex-Genesis frontman on tracks Another Day In Paradise and Sussudio from 2012 LP Blue Chips 2. Bronson also grooved along to Collins’ Easy Lover in an episode of his food-travel show Fuck, That’s Delicious.

It’s also now come to light that the pair also share an affinity for Indian food, thanks to an artist-on-artist interview for Stereogum.

Both avid food enthusiasts, the pair shared their thoughts on the best New York and London cuisine. Collins even imparted some reflective thoughts on the state of Indian food in America as a whole. “The Indian food in this country has changed a lot, because they just don’t like spices so much in this country,” he mused. It seems the drummer also held London-based Indian chefs in higher regard. “If I ask for a vindaloo, it’s going to come like I expect it, you know?” Bronson was quick to agree, “You want that vindaloo to be extremely simmering.”

Another key point of discussion was the analysis of Genesis and Phil Collins music by Patrick Bateman in author Bret Easton Ellis’ American Psycho.

“We were all sent the book, and at the time I kind of thought, that’s just what we need, another serial killer movie. But I didn’t read the book. I was living in Switzerland, and someone said to me, ‘Have you seen American Psycho? You’ve got to go see it because they do lots of things to your music…’ So I watched it and I kind of enjoyed the film, and I have to watch it again to see if I was offended or not,” Collins revealed.

It also seemed like Collins, who has largely retreated from the world of music over the last few years, wasn’t across the board on Bronson’s own musical output. “So you write?” Collins asked, following up with further questions about whether the rapper had a band.

Still Bronson had nothing but high praise for Collins work, describing it as “music that is literally a perfect bed for anything! It’s good to be rapped, sang beautifully by a songbird, whatever. It’s timeless stuff.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1mSJpOBXFU

Read more: Action Bronson is rushed into surgery after eating raw whale

Image: Stereogum 

Action Bronson has just announced via Twitter that he’s set to drop not one, but two new songs today:

The Queens-based rapper’s food show Fuck, That’s Delicious recently made its move from the Internet to TV, where it now airs on Vice-owned VICELAND. The episodes see the food-loving rapper travel the country, looking for rare or special culinary delicacies, interviewing chefs, visiting famed restaurants and more.

Two new songs are set to be heard on the Fuck, That’s Delicious takeover on Eminem‘s hip-hop radio channel Shade 45 on Sirius XM – some of the first new music since he kicked in the door with his brilliant 2015 album Mr Wonderful. The program description explains, “Eminem’s Shade 45 has invited Mr. Wonderful aka Action Bronson to our SiriusXM NYC studios to walk in the world premiere of his Viceland TV show ‘F*ck That’s Delicious’! … Guest DJ mix by Eminem’s DJ/Producer, The Alchemist and he’s prepared to play a ton of exclusives… expect a freestyle session like you never heard before!”

Action Bronson is also touring Australia next week! It will be his first visit since he toured on The Rapture alongside Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and J Cole back in 2014.

Action Bronson tour dates

Tour Dates

Monday March 7: Villa Nightclub, Perth
Thurs March 10: The Met, Brisbane
Sunday March 13: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tues March 15: The Forum, Melbourne

Click here for tickets and more info!

Image: HypeBeast

When someone says the words “Action Bronson“, there are usually three things that come to mind: His rap career (obviously), his VICE web series turned actual TV series ‘Fuck That’s Delicious’, and the countless videos and recounts of him getting very physical at his live shows. In the 90s hey-days of the WWE, Bronson would have no doubt made a guest appearance on the show – it’s just a shame that we’ll never be able to see that. Or will we?

French publication SURL Magazine has just released a supercut of oldschool wrestling footage up against punter-shot video of Bronson decking dudes with a classy VCR-style filter, over his own music. It works so well it’s not funny, but really the video is legit hilarious. Make sure you check it out below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJrtlzWG5d0

It times out pretty perfectly with Bronson’s Australian tour, which kicks off in just a few weeks. Australian moshes can get pretty rowdy, so maybe we’ll see an update to the supercut in a few weeks with Bam Bam beating up Down Under? Only time will tell, but it’ll be much better to watch in person, and luckily there are still tickets available. Check it out below, jump on tickets here, and keep it locked here for all Bronson related stories.

Action Bronson Tour Dates

Monday March 7: Villa Nightclub, Perth
Thurs March 10: The Met, Brisbane
Sunday March 13: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tues March 15: The Forum, Melbourne

Image: SURL Magazine

Westside Gunn emanates old-school New York hip-hop; his vibe and flow are reminiscent of Planet Asia and a mellow Ghostface, and are perfectly matched with everybody’s favourite foodie Action “Bam Bam” Bronson. Which is exactly what we have here on the Alchemist-produced track Dudley Boys, a reference to the professional wrestling tag-team of the same name and look. The track feels like a cypher freestyle, over a cinematic beat.

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/248433414″ params=”color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false” width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Image: http://wrestlingrumors.net/

Compare this photo to the one above. Image: http://wrestlingrumors.net/

Westside Gunn is quickly becoming one of the ‘must watch’ MCs of 2016 since he popped up on the hip-hop scene last year with his Hitler Wears Hermes mixtapes, and dope projects with his blood brother Conway, Hall & Nash and Griselda Ghost. Gunn is just pumping out the projects, with so many EPs and mixtapes he is more than ready for a full length LP- and so are fans. Dudley Boys is to feature on Gunn’s upcoming full-length FLYGOD which is set to drop on March 11.

“I feel like this album is art, a modern classic, every beat, every bar, to the features, all the way down to the skits,” Gunn said about his Roses Are Red… So Is Blood project. “It just gives you that feeling back, the golden era but in 2016.”

In addition to featuring Bronson, FLYGOD will also feature appearances from Danny Brown, Skyzoo, Roc Marciano, and Your Old Droog. Pre-order it on iTunes before it drops.

While you wait for FLYGOD, stream this month’s project Roses Are Red… So Is Blood below. Roses Are Red… So Is Blood is entirely produced by The Purist and features fellow kush smokers Freddie Gibbs and Danny Brown.

Cover image via Complex

It’s been a while since we have had any new Action Bronson to jam into our ears. His latest album, Mr Wonderful, was released back in March, but since then he’s been pretty quiet in that department. However, thanks to a couple of tweets yesterday, that could all be about to change.

First tweeting “#HumanHighlightReel”, Bam Bam had everyone’s intrigue well and truly piqued when he went on to clarify whatever it is that he means.

“I know I haven’t dropped new music in a minute but *The Human Highlight Reel* is coming real early next year. #It’s Me,” he tweeted, raising even more questions from fans.

Whilst we’re not even sure what “The Human Highlight Reel” is, we are pretty fucking excited nonetheless. Bronson did announce an Australian tour for March next year, so maybe this is indicative that new music might be on the way for that? As Pigeons and Planes pointed out, the title could be in reference to a sports star like “legendary NBA forward Dominique Wilkins or wrestler Chris Jericho” as both have been referred to as human highlight reels themselves, and Bam Bam does love sports. Whatever it might be,

Action Bronson is set to touchdown in Australia for his four-date tour on Monday March 7 in Perth, before hitting Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Check the details below and jump on the remaining few tickets – who knows, it might be your chance to hear some brand new material from Mr Wonderful himself!

Tour Dates

Monday March 7: Villa Nightclub, Perth
Thurs March 10: The Met, Brisbane
Sunday March 13: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tues March 15: The Forum, Melbourne

Remember that one beef between Action Bronson and Wu-Tang Clan‘s Ghostface Killah? You know, the one where Action Bronson dissed Ghostface on national television, and Ghostface retaliated by saying he would gut Bronson like a pig? It’s been a minute, so you’d be forgiven for forgetting. But never fear, now you can relive it over and over again- as it’s been immortalised into a video game.

An online developer called Swamp Penguins created the game which pits the two against each other in a Nintendo-esque, arcade platform. If their name sounds familiar, it’s because they’re the same team that are responsible for the Drake vs Meek Mill game back in August. In this game, you play as Bronson, who is being chased by Ghost’s head. You also need to dodge literal ghosts, while collecting ‘points’ in the form of the Twitter logo. It’s also soundtracked by an 8-bit version of Bronson’s acclaimed single, Actin’ Crazy. 

“The wonderful adventures of BronBron and the 36 chambers,” the game description reads, “Ghosts and ghouls and drugs and rap. Is the Wu Tang Clan something to fuck with? Will Mr.Fabulous escape the clutches of the evil face that also happens to be a ghost? How hard will ghostface grab his nuts? What about the wu tang affiliates? Will killah beez come for dem kneez? Find out next time on whats beef.”

You can play the game here, and ultimately try to escape Ghostface Killah yourself.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nmNnDuvYFQ&w=560&h=315]

Action Bronson will be hitting our shores early next year in celebration of his brilliant 2015 album Mr. Wonderful. You can read our review of the LP here.

Tour Dates

Monday March 7: Villa Nightclub, Perth
Thurs March 10: The Met, Brisbane
Sunday March 13: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tues March 15: The Forum, Melbourne

Purchase tickets here.

 

Hip-hop artist Action Bronson has announced an Australian tour! This will be his first visit since early 2014, when he joined The Rapture tour with Eminem, Kendrick Lamar and J Cole. The tour is in support of his brilliant 2015 album Mr Wonderful, his second full length but his first release on a major label. Easily one of Howl & Echoes’ favourite rap releases of the year (read our review here), we could not be more excited that the Queens, New York native will be touring in March 2016!

It’ll be interesting to see if anyone raises an issue about this tour, considering the similar controversies surrounding the cancelled Tyler, The Creator tour, as well as the protests regarding Chris Brown‘s impending tour (we’re not sure why nobody has cancelled it yet), on the basis of criminal history and offensive lyrics. While we’re all for Brown never, ever, ever entering Australia again, the issue surrounding Tyler, and a blanket ban on the grounds of lyrics penned years ago, was a questionable decision that was criticised by many outlets, locally and internationally. Action Bronson himself faced a similar problem in June this year, when a Canadian petition eventually led to him cancelling a festival appearance, after being called out for the lyrics of a 2011 track titled Consensual Rape, offensive video clips and more.

Tour Dates

Monday March 7: Villa Nightclub, Perth
Thurs March 10: The Met, Brisbane
Sunday March 13: Enmore Theatre, Sydney
Tues March 15: The Forum, Melbourne

Tickets go on sale on Mon November 23 at 9am. Click here for full details. For those extra-eager, Telstra Thanks is holding a 48 hour pre-sale for Telstra customers, from November 18  at 10 am. Details here.

 

 

The past 24 hours has definitely not been as Wonderful as Mr Action Bronson would have preferred.

According to TMZ, the NYC rapper has been hospitalised and undergone surgery in Alaska, during the filming of an episode for his food web series, Fuck, That’s Delicious. This particular episode features Bronson on the hunt for the world’s best milkshake, all the pizza in the world, copious blunts and more. Because why else would anyone want to venture to Sarah Palin’s homeland other than food and Great White Northern Green?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUxQeY2xmH0

However, things took a sudden turn for the worse, with Bronson suddenly being rushed to hospital to undergo surgery.

It came at an inconvenient time for the MC who was reportedly (and purely by chance) sampling an eclectic platter of local foods, including caribou, bowshead whale and beluga whale blubber… delicious!

The surgery follows an ironic set of tweets by the rapper, including one which encouraged his audience that “Native people live off the land, try it.”

A rep for the rapper has since confirmed that the reason behind the operation was due to ongoing hernia issues – the result of his power lifting days.

All speculation aside, the next episode of his series should be very interesting….

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVP_w1rQweE

After a little while off the air, Action Bronson is back with the latest episode of Fuck That’s Delicious. On this latest installment of Bronson’s web-cooking and food oriented show, as part of VICE’s Munchies, Bam Bam’s tastebuds revisit Hawaii after his most recent trip there, and try to recreate his favourite dish, Poke.

Bronson prepares two versions of Poke: a traditional version and a vegan rendition with golden beets. We get some footage of his trip to Hawaii, including visiting the corner store and seeing the locals, highlights of last year’s Billabong Pipe Masters surfing comp, and just visiting the farmer’s market when he’s grilled af. Make sure you stick it till the end, there’s some good extra footage of Bronson rocking out and eating a cheese pizza – it’s way more entertaining than it sounds.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGqoMTER7Jw]

Make sure to check his other episodes of Fuck That’s Delicious as well. There’s two seasons of hilarious Bronson action and absolutely delicious looking food. Apparently we’re going to be seeing way more of it all as well – “I know it’s been taking a long time, but we’ve been working pretty fucking hard to tell you the truth. You’re going to see all types of new Fuck That’s Delicious stuff coming out. You’re not going to understand what’s going on. It’s just going to keep hitting you and hitting you. You’re going to be like “please stop, not again!”, but you want more.” He’s right, what more could you want?