It's happening, y'all! The man who has been taking over hip hop for the past two years is coming to RVA to take over our own river city, and I for one am glad to see it occurring. Queens rapper Action Bronson hit the scene in 2011 with his excellent debut album, Dr. Lecter, and has been cranking out dope hip hop jams at a prolific rate ever since. By the end of 2011, he'd also released Well Done, his full-length collaboration with producer Statik Selektah, and 2012 saw the release of two more full-lengths: Rare Chandeliers, a collaboration with Alchemist, and Blue Chips, with producer Party Supplies (the harrowing video for Blue Chips track "Hookers At The Point"caught our attention last year).
Now in 2013, Bronson's habit of collaborating with a single producer for an entire release continues--just yesterday, he dropped an EP called Saaab Stories, featuring production from hot young beatmaker Harry Fraud (the man behind French Montana's "Shot Caller," among many others). Saaab Stories is Bronson's debut release on Atlantic Records. With only seven songs and a 25-minute run time, it might seem a bit skimpy, but at only $5.99 on iTunes, you're getting a good deal--especially since it features some of the best hip hop to hit the streets this year. A former gourmet chef, Action Bronson likes to cook, and he raps about delicious, elaborate meals over incredible beats that take you back to an era when New York ruled the scene and multilayered samples were the order of the day. Bronson doesn't let his weight get in the way of declaring himself a number one loverman, and while his explicit sexual imagery (see the Saaab Stories cover above) has gotten him some heat lately, his rhymes on that subject generally seem more like edgy humor than any real malice.
Action Bronson's live performances also have a reputation for getting wild; Bronson's been known to stagedive, give girls piggyback rides, and still nail every single lyric. With him hitting the stage at Kingdom next week, we can certainly expect things to get nuts, and it's time for RVA to rise to the occasion and show NYC how we party. Are you up for it? Better get ready.
WHAT:Action Bronson Brings Queens Hip Hop To RVA!
WHO:Action Bronson, 360 Boyz, Teleport Team, ThaLSD
WHERE:Kingdom, 10 Walnut Alley (between 17th and 18th Streets in Shockoe Bottom)
WHEN: Wednesday, June 19, 7 PM
ADMISSION: $20 in advance--tickets available HERE
As sweet as the upcoming Action Bronson show is gonna be, we have the opportunity to make it even sweeter for two RVA Mag readers. That's right, we're giving away a pair of tickets to the Action Bronson show, and if you're lucky, you could be seeing it for free! Just enter your info in the lovely little internet widget below, and keep an eye out for extra opportunities for entry. The giveaway ends at 5 PM on Friday, so don't wait--get your entry in now!
And if you're not stoked enough about this show, you really need to check out the video below. Released a few weeks ago as a preview for Saaab Stories, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps" is an incredible song that has an even more amazing video. Action Bronson spends the video pumping iron, cooking up a fine meal, and hanging out with the most unlikely rap video bikini girl I've seen in a while--but hey, good for him. It's good to see different body types represented. Anyway, check out the video, keep an eye out for the memorable Riff Raff cameo. This song's guaranteed to be a highlight of Bronsolinio's set next week, so memorize it now!