Action Bronson is a Modern Folk Hero

 “Author, singer, dancer, exotic olive oil taster, it’s me baby” croons Ariyan Arslani—better known as Action Bronson—on the second song of his latest album, Only for Dolphins. The song is called C12H16N2, the molecular formula for dimethyltryptamine (DMT): a chemical substance which can be consumed as a psychedelic drug. References to Bronson’s hallucinogenic exploits are nothing new for the chef-turned-rapper, which is unsurprising since you’d have to be tripping balls to even consider leading a life like the one he has. As he states in the song, Bronson is man who wears many hats—a jack-of-all-trades in a time when everyone else is trying to fill a specific niche. He consistently makes outlandish statements in his music that the listener knows can’t be true, but somehow believes anyway because of his penchant for doing things that seem unlikely or impossible.

“All around the world I’m known by different names, never the real one”

-Action Bronson on Golden Eye

Action Bronson is not a man, but a meticulously crafted character—one of Arslani’s many aliases, including but not limited to: Bam Bam, Bronsolino, Mr. Baklava, Ill Prosciutto, Young Gary Sheffield, and White Bronco. His frequent references to wrestlers and wrestling moves hearken back to the WWF-like persona he has created for himself. He consistently subverts typical rap tropes of drugs, sex, and violence; all while alluding to these same topics. He portrays an image of bravado and machismo without coming across as pretentious. This is due in part to his rags-to-riches story as a child of immigrant parents who made it to the top, while admirably bringing his closest friends with him. The Flushing, Queens native says things like “Rest in peace to the Mamba, ima dunk on a motherfucker’s head in your honor,” a feat that seems unlikely for a man who is 5’7” and over 200 pounds (although recently he’s been eating healthy and losing weight). The audience knows that this is blatant braggadocio, but the extreme implausibility of the scene he paints lets listeners know that he is aware of the dubiety that he elicits. This is a man who doesn’t take himself too seriously—a fact that is evident not just in his music, but his other ventures as well.

Most people in Arslani’s position would likely be satisfied with just his wildly successful music career; but for Bronsolino, it’s not enough. He has extended his repertoire to include acting and writing, among other things. He recently made an appearance in Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman, a fact he alludes to on his new album. He has also appeared in King of Staten Island and Netflix’s Game Over, Man! Bronson has also gained notoriety through his TV shows F*ck That’s Delicious, Action Bronson Watches Ancient Aliens, and The Untitled Action Bronson Show. His most famous show is F*ck That’s Delicious, wherein he travels the globe with his friends trying exotic foods and drinking vintage wine—surely giving him further inspiration for his luxuriously esoteric bars. Adding further to his well-rounded skillset, he’s released two books—Stoned Beyond Belief and F*ck That’s Delicious: An Annotated Guide—with another part memoire part self-help book titled F*ck it, I’ll Start Tomorrow set to release in March 2021.

While Action Bronson’s first two studio albums, Dr. Lecter and Well-Done, were released in 2011, his career really took off in 2013 with his album Saab Stories, which reached number six on Billboard’s rap chart. In the seven years since then, he’s dropped at least five more major albums and mixtapes including last year’s EP Lamb Over Rice, which was produced by his longtime friend and F*ck That’s Delicious posse-member The Alchemist. With his latest album, Only for Dolphins, Arslani has reestablished himself in the pop culture pantheon, and further cemented the mythical legacy of Action Bronson.

-Joseph DiPietro