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Action Bronson

(1983 - )

Arian Asllani (born December 2, 1983), better known by the stage name Action Bronson, is an American rapper and former chef. In August 2012, he signed to Warner Bros. Records, but was later moved to Atlantic Records' imprint, Vice Records.

Bronson has released several mixtapes, including Rare Chandeliers (2012) with American hip hop producer The Alchemist, and Blue Chips 2 (2013) with longtime producer Party Supplies.  Action Bronson released his major label debut, an extended play (EP) titled Saaab Stories, with frequent collaborator Harry Fraud, in 2013. He released his major label debut album, Mr. Wonderful, on March 23, 2015.

Bronson was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the son of an Albanian Muslim immigrant father and a Jewish New Yorker mother. Before embarking on a career as a rapper, which was originally just a hobby, Bronson was a respected fire-flame gourmet chef in New York City. Bronson has a degree from the Art Institute of New York City's culinary program, and was at one point the head chef for the New York Mets baseball team.  He hosted his own online cooking show titled Action in the Kitchen, but after breaking his leg while working one day in his father's restaurant, Bronson concentrated solely on his music career.

Rap Career

Action Bronson's debut studio album Dr. Lecter was independently released under Fine Fabric Delegates on March 15, 2011. The album, produced entirely by New York City-based music producer Tommy Mas, was made available for digital download and also in CD-R, on his official website. In November of that year, Bronson followed up with Well-Done, a collaborative effort with American hip hop producer Statik Selektah. On March 12, 2012, he released his second mixtape, titled Blue Chips, with Party Supplies.

In August 2012, it was announced Paul Rosenberg signed Action Bronson to a management deal with Goliath Artists, which also housed names such as Eminem, The Alchemist, Blink-182 and Danny Brown.  Later that year Action Bronson joined both Warner Bros. Records, via media company VICE, and concert booking agency NUE. On November 15, 2012, Bronson released Rare Chandeliers, a collaborative mixtape with The Alchemist.

In March 2013, Bronson performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and later that month was featured on XXL Magazine's 2013 Freshman Class, a list of up-and-coming rappers. In May 2013, Action Bronson was moved to Atlantic Records, and subsequently released an extended play (EP) titled Saaab Stories, on June 11, 2013. The EP was produced entirely by American music producer Harry Fraud and features guest appearances from fellow American rappers Raekwon, Wiz Khalifa, and Prodigy. Released as a digital download only, the EP was preceded by the single, "Strictly 4 My Jeeps". In July, Bronson announced his major-label debut album would be released in early 2014.

On November 1, 2013, Bronson released Blue Chips 2, the second installment in his Blue Chips series, in promotion of the album. On October 28, 2013, Funkmaster Flex announced he would be hosting an upcoming Action Bronson mixtape. Production was revealed to be coming from Erick Sermon, Mike Will Made It, DJ Mustard and Jahlil Beats. In a November 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Bronson stated that he would have Kool G Rap and Mobb Deep, featured on his upcoming album.

In February 2014, Action Bronson, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and 360 accompanied rapper Eminem, on a brief tour of Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. On May 6, 2014, Action Bronson debuted a food-oriented web series, titled Fuck, That's Delicious. The show is a Vice Records-sponsored monthly web series that chronicles the food-obsessed rapper's exploration of all things culinary.

On August 5, 2014, Bronson released the song "Easy Rider" as the first single from his debut album Mr. Wonderful. The song was produced by Bronson's longtime producer Party Supplies. On August 20, 2014, the music video for "Easy Rider", was released. The video for "Easy Rider", which was directed by Tom Gould, pays homage to the 1969 Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper film of the same name. Bronson officially released "Actin Crazy", via digital distribution on January 20. He released the full album on March 23, 2015.

In October, 2015, Bronson was hospitalized in Anchorage, Alaska, for emergency surgery after a concert on October 23. He remained in the hospital for several days.

Television

Action Bronson is the star of two television shows which air on the Viceland channel: the food travel show Fuck, That's Delicious and the comedy documentary Traveling the Stars: Action Bronson and Friends Watch ‘Ancient Aliens’.


Sources: Wikipedia;
Allmusic.com.