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Action Bronson is as laid back and unfiltered a celebrity as you’re likely to find. He prides himself on being a real, genuine person. None of that fake stuff — what you see is what you get. It’s an admirable philosophy that carries over into his pursuits of rapping, acting, writing, entrepreneurship, and, above all, cooking.
Bronson is a modern day Renaissance man with an infectious lust for life and good food. Whether the latter is served up in a five-star restaurant or on the hood of a car in Harlem, is totally immaterial to him. As long as the food tastes good and he’s surrounded by friends, nothing else matters.
Those two elements are the impetus for F***, That’s Delicious, a not-so-subtly named Vice docuseries that also happens to be Bronson’s passion project. After nearly two years away, the half-hour show is back for a fourth season, as the rapper continues his globe-trotting quest for the planet’s greatest gastronomic delights. Along for the ride is his usual entourage: Meyhem Lauren, Alchemist, and Big Body Bes.
With his show back on the air, a new album (Only for Dolphins) ready to drop, two more books in the works, and a newborn to care for, Bronson is busier than ever — even if he is stuck at home like the rest of us. Speaking with the culinary/musical maestro last week, I got a small taste of the ingredients that make Action Bronson tick.
Josh Weiss: So tell me a little bit about Season 4 of F***, That’s Delicious. What sets it apart from the first 3 seasons?
Action Bronson: At this point, we’re seasoned travelers, seasoned eaters, seasoned life-livers. We’re just living life to another notch and I feel like this [season] is a great representation of all us at this time.
JW: What was your favorite part of filming Season 4 and why?
AB: I love filming, period. Everything about it. I love getting out there, meeting people, doing fun things. [I love] walking around the city, going up in Harlem and everyone’s screaming out my name while I’m eating fish off the hood of a car. I’m eating fried fish on 145th Street and people are screaming my name in the street, saying, ‘Yo, Bronson I can’t believe you’re up here. It’s just crazy, I love it!’ And it feels good.
JW: What were some of the tastiest things you got to try this season?
AB: Man, there were honestly so many great things. From meeting one of my PBS legends, Ming Tsai, and eating at his restaurant in Boston, to creating unbelievable ice cream delicacies in Manhattan with Nick Morgenstern, to everything in between. Philadelphia, the surprising cuisine of Dublin, one of my favorite places on Earth: London. Every time I go back there, I instantly stop at Lahore Kebab House. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime flavored lamb chop that you’ll ever taste.
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JW: Since you brought up my beloved home of Philadelphia, what are your favorite joints to hit up when you’re here?
AB: I’ve been to my favorite restaurant in the country many times in Philadelphia called Zahav. It got voted the best restaurant in the country and we didn’t even realize. Once again, we got lucky on the day we [went] to see them. Zahav is a definite [place] to hit up in Philly. Everyone goes to the Pat’s, the Geno’s, even to Tony Luke’s and other stuff. But we took it to another side of the Philadelphia cheesesteak, which took me to Max’s. Max’s is definitely a different scene that anything else. It’s a one-of-a-kind scene and one of my favorites.
JW: Any special guests we should be on the lookout for?
AB: I’m trying to think, were there special guests? Hmmm, you know what? I don’t even f***in’ know. I don’t remember. I just enjoy the company of my friends and to be honest with you, everyone that’s there is always a beautiful additive. They add something amazing to it and I think that we just had our friends around this time. I don’t believe that there was anyone like, ‘Oh my god!’ It’s just us.
JW: Looking at that core group, what does everyone bring to the table?
AB: We’re all uniquely individual. I’m uniquely Queens and New York City. Body is the person you could only find in America. Mayhem brings your elegance and delight and all kinds of crazy commentary. Al is the food villain, he’s the one that everyone loves to hate, but he’s everyone’s uncle. He’s a great guy. And I think we all bring our each individual angle of culinary expertise.
I’ve cooked in restaurants my whole life, this is what I love to do — I love ingredients, I love stuff like that. We all love to eat like that, it’s just everyone explains it in a different way with their own life experiences.
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JW: It’s nice to live vicariously through someone else, especially now that many of us can’t go anywhere and try these experiences for ourselves. Do you think the show will be even more popular as it airs during the pandemic?
AB: This has been a proven commodity for years. The moment it came on the screen, it’s been a hit. People love this sh**. They love seeing real people doing real things and I’m nothing but a real person and I do nothing but real things. I’m from f***ing Queens, Flushing, New York. You know what I mean? There’s no frills, there’s no bullsh**, I give it to you straight-up.
Me and my friends are fun, we enjoy life, we enjoy culture, we enjoy people, we enjoy each other, we enjoy food, and we enjoy traveling. Just to watch everyone in pure bliss and in their element, it’s captivating for a lot of people. It’s like watching animals migrate; just watching animals run. I love watching animals run.
JW: How would you describe Season 4 in a few words or sentences?
AB: Explosive, heart-wrenching, balls-to-the-wall energy, passion, elegance, class. My music is my life’s work, my art is my life’s work, this is my life’s work. F***, That’s Delicious is my baby and it means a lot for this to come out. It means a lot because we filmed in Kosovo, we went back to my grandmother’s house [and] we did a lot of things out there. We did a whole concert with Dua Lipa and her family. It was just special times that were captured that could never be forgotten.
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JW: How have you been passing the time at home during the lockdown?
AB: I’ve just been taking care of myself. Taking care of me, taking care of my family, working out, eating healthy, keeping busy. Just making sure that [I] stay on top of everything because once this breaks, you don’t want to be behind and be down in the dumps and sh** like that. So, I’m just continuing life as we know it from wherever I possibly can, trying not to get down too much. It’s easy to fall, so you gotta keep yourself busy, stay occupied. Work out, read, draw, pick up a new hobby.
JW: What have you been cooking in quarantine?
AB: Sh**, man. You name it, I’ve made it. I got f***in’ octopus in the freezer, I got all kinds of different chicken parts in the freezer, I got duck in the freezer, I got a pork secreto in the freezer. I don’t know if I’ll ever use any of these things, but I just have [them] in there.
JW: You mentioned that you’ve also been doing a lot of reading. What books have helped you pass the time?
AB: I like reading a lot of old magazine [issues] like Sports Illustrated and little things I used to like as a kid, from the source. I like looking up all kinds of sports trivia and sports knowledge. I’m reading a lot of art books, a lot of artistic design books. I just dive into all kinds of different genres at once.
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JW: Have you been writing any new songs as well?
Action Bronson: I have a whole album ready to come out. I have so much stuff on the horizon, from all different artistic endeavors: music endeavors, film endeavors, and now, thank God, F***, That’s Delicious back on the screen for another 11 weeks. Life is feeling good right now. Everyone’s healthy, can’t really complain.
JW: Speaking of film endeavors, you were in The Irishman. What was the experience of working with Martin Scorsese like?
AB: It was pretty surreal, pretty life-changing. It puts your whole perspective on another [level] after you’ve done something like that. Like, ‘Ok, I’m here. I can do this type of stuff. I didn’t f*** it up, I didn’t ruin the scene. Maybe I have a future in this sh**.’
JW: Did you get any advice from Scorsese or De Niro that’s really stuck with you?
AB: Honestly, Martin was just like, ‘Be yourself, just be normal, let it flow.’ Just hearing somebody telling me to wing it makes me feel much better [laughs]. Because I’m a winger, I like to wing it. De Niro busting balls on the set was fun. Just interacting with those fellas, being in a huddle with them before the scene, like, ‘What are we gonna do now? What angle are we gonna come at with this?’ It was exhilarating.
JW: What can you tease about your new album? What should fans get excited about?
AB: If you love me, if you love Mr. f***in’ Baklava, you’re gonna be in for a treat. I work hard in everything I do and this is no exception. I came to win. Nothing, but fire on this album. This is Only for Dolphins right here, this is for the people that get it. This is for people on the same telepathic wavelength as me. This is my sensibility and it’s by far, some of the best stuff I’ve done in my opinion, and it’s all out there in its entirety. It’s the best stuff goin’.
JW: What vibe did you want to go for with the album?
AB: This album is very worldly. I’m very worldly, so I’d like for that to reflect in my music as well. Samples from all over the world, vibes from all over the world. I was all over the world when I wrote a lot of this stuff, so you’re gonna feel that.
JW: In terms of being out in the world, what’s one of the first things you want to do when the pandemic is over?
AB: Man, it’s a hard question. I don’t know what is going on with this thing, but I know this for sure: I just wanna be healthy, I want my family to be healthy. It’s the only thing that really matters. Get out of this and everything’s a bonus. I’m gonna get back on the road; I wanna get out there and reach my fans and touch them and give everybody the concerts that we were supposed to have and just continue on with my legacy. That’s really it. Ain’t nothing stopping me now, but I can’t go out there and do what I do best, and that’s perform with a passion that has been unmatched.
JW: Are you working on a new cookbook right now?
AB: Yeah, I’m working on a new cookbook and I’m also working on a new self-improvement, short story-type of motivational of book as well.
JW: Anything else you can tease about that?
AB: That book is gonna be pretty f***in’ unbelievable. It’s not a cookbook, it’s more of me saying stories from the past and really getting into the psyche of you. The psyche of being a human being and things I think about and the trials and tribulations, the joys, the victories. How I’m able to overcome [them] and how you can overcome them as well. But not being preachy [about it]. I’m not a preacher, I don’t know how I did anything that I’ve done. I’m just give you what I recall. It’s all recollection.
Episode 2 of F***, That’s Delicious airs on Vice TV tonight at 10pm EST. You can watch the season premiere for free below:
