It’s the series premiere of Viceland’s Fuck That’s Delicious, and host Action Bronson and his cohorts, most notably lifelong pal Big Body Bes, fellow rapper Meyhem Lauren and renowned DJ, the Alchemist, sit down for a full-course meal at one of America’s most sought after restaurants: Rose’s Luxury in Washington, D.C. Looking around the table, Bronson assess the peculiar lot.
“This table right here is multiculturalism at its best,” says Bronson. “If you literally go around this table, you’ll find someone from every walk of life. We have original tint, we have a full Albanian, we have a half Puerto Rican, half Dominican, we have a German and we have an Israeli.”
And what else do we have here? Led by former chef and current rap sensation Action Bronson, the Howard Stern of television food programming, this cast of characters is becoming Viceland’s ticket to early success.
There’s the aforementioned “full Albanian,” Big Body Bes, an enigmatic “entertainer” (the show provides him with this title as a super) whose hulking size pales in comparison to his massive personality. Body, as he is often referred to on the show, possesses a completely uncensored, cocky, New York City big-talking persona. He is perhaps best summed up by his drink order at Rose’s Luxury.
“Lemme get a nice, aged Hennessy … ’98 was a good year,” says Bes to the waiter.
There’s Meyhem “original tint” Lauren, a large, baby-faced rapper whose genuine love for the fine cuisine sampled throughout the show is as charming as Guy Fieri’s bleached blonde spikes are alarming. After Body claims that Meyhem gave him the false information of Rose’s Luxury being a soul food restaurant, Meyhem is quick to retort.
“Well hold on,” says Lauren. “When I walk in it becomes a soul food restaurant.”
Last but not least, there’s the “Israeli” of the group, The Alchemist, a DJ who has produced for some of hip-hop’s heaviest hitters including Mobb Deep and Eminem. Despite being the most widely respected and critically acclaimed amongst the group music-wise, The Alchemist is by far the least open to culinary exploration. While at a gourmet cheese shop in Paris on the last episode of the season, he admits he is “scared” of the artisanal selection and offers the shop worker an insight into his coagulated milk of choice.
“You know Kraft Singles, American?” he asks.
Bronson himself comes off as the group’s most cultured, both inside and outside of the kitchen. After Meyhem Lauren compares a dish at Rose’s Luxury to a “condensed bagel with lox,” he tells Bronson that his knowledge of Jewish food comes from the fact that he “always kept a good J in the circle,” the “J” meaning Jew. Bronson is quick to check the political-correctness of his friend.
“I don’t know if you could say J,” Bronson says to Lauren.
However, it’s been Bronson on the wrong side of the P.C. police as of late. Two universities, Trinity College and George Washington, removed Bronson from scheduled bookings due to concerns over the rapper’s lyrics. An April 20 post from the “Trinity College Barnyard Entertainment” Facebook page addressed the situation.
“Following news that Action Bronson was being removed as the headlining artist for Spring Weekend at The George Washington University, our executive-board committee voted on March 31st to remove Action Bronson from our Spring Weekend concert because of his lyrics, music, videos, and the misogyny, homophobia, and transphobia that they promote,” read the statement.
While Bronson’s lyrics due tend to allude to the cited topics, Fuck That’s Delicious paints the embattled star in a completely different light. Action embraces and celebrates people of all creeds; whether it be his praising the cooking of his Albanian grandmother, raving about New York City’s local Indian cuisine or gladly accepting a double kiss on the cheek while in Europe. He even gives a full multiple verse feature on his upcoming “Blue Chips 7000” mixtape to Jah Tiger, an unknown local Reggae artist who Bronson befriends in Jamaica on the season’s second to last episode. While Bronson’s rapper persona may choose a path of shock value and general inappropriateness, his real-life self shines through as open, honest, and loving.
Viceland seems to agree, as they have continued to go gung-ho in rolling out content featuring the channel’s unlikely mascot. As a 4/20 special, the channel premiered “Traveling the Stars with Action Bronson and the Alchemist 420 and Friends Ancient Aliens for a Limited Time Only.” The special, which drew its name from an in-episode title brainstorm, featured Bronson and The Alchemist getting hilariously stoned out of their minds while watching Bronson’s favorite show, “Ancient Aliens.” After a couple of half ounce J’s and multiple dabs, Bronson offers his closing statements.
“Everything meets at a point,” says Bronson. “And I feel like these three things, 4/20, the holy day of weed, the stars, and the ancient astronaut theory… ancient aliens, there’s a triangle, pyramid like you said.”
He goes on to explain how the previous three themes combine to “meet at the stars” before taking one last dab. None of it makes any sense, the result of consuming enough THC to kill a full-sized elephant, but, hey, neither does an Albanian-American rapper from Flushing hosting an explicit food show for which the entire world was unknowingly waiting.
