Action Bronson

Arian Arslani (born December 2, 1983), better known by his stage name Action Bronson, is an American hip hop recording artist from Flushing, Queens, New York. In August 2012, he signed to Warner Bros. Records, however was later moved to Atlantic Records' imprint, Vice Records. Bronson has released several mixtapes, such as Rare Chandeliers (2012), with American hip hop producer The Alchemist and Blue Chips 2 (2013), with longtime producer Party Supplies, before releasing 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.

==Biography==

=== 1983–2010: Early life and career beginnings ===

Action Bronson was born Arian Arslani on December 2, 1983. Bronson's father is an Albania n immigrant and his mother is a Jewish New Yorker. Before embarking on a career as a rapper, which was originally just a hobby for him, Bronson was a respected gourmet chef in New York City. He hosted his own online cooking show titled "Action in the Kitchen". After breaking his leg in the kitchen, Bronson concentrated solely on his music career.

=== 2011: Dr. Lecter and Well Done ===



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.

=== 2012–13: Major-label deal and Saaab Stories ===

In August 2012, it was announced Paul Rosenberg signed Action Bronson to a management deal with Goliath Artists, which also houses names such as Eminem, The Alchemist, Blink-182 and Danny Brown. Also in August 2012, Bronson was featured on Odd Future-rapper Domo Genesis and American hip hop producer The Alchemist's collaborative album No Idols, on tracks "Elimination Chamber" (also featuring Earl Sweatshirt and Vince Staples) and "Daily News" (also featuring SpaceGhostPurrp and Earl Sweatshirt). 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 2013, he indicated wanting to get fellow Queens-bred rappers, Nas and Kool G Rap, on his major-label debut album. Also 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.

=== 2014–present: Mr. Wonderful ===

In February 2014, Action Bronson, J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar and 360, accompanied American hip hop superstar Eminem, on a brief tour of Australia 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-sponsored monthly web series that chronicles the food-obsessed rapper's exploration of all things culinary. On May 16, 2014, Action Bronson announced the title of his major-label debut album, in a Twitter update, when he tweeted: "MY ALBUM BEEN NAMED. THE ONLY THING TO DESCRIBE ME.. MR. WONDERFUL. THATS BEEN ME SINCE I STEPPED IN THIS BULLSHIT.."

On August 5, 2014 Action Bronson released a song titled "Easy Rider", as the first single from his major-label debut album. 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/Dennis Hopper film of the same name. A few days after announcing the completion of the album, on November 28, 2014, Bronson revealed there would be a worldwide concert tour upon the album's release. On December 24, 2014, Bronson took to Twitter to reveal the album would feature guest appearance s from Meyhem Lauren, Big Body Bes, Party Supplies, Chauncy Sherod and Chance the Rapper. Later that day, after exposing several fake track-lists, Bronson tweeted 13 song titles, unveiling the album's official track-listing.

On January 7, 2015, Action Bronson revealed the album would be released on March 24. The following day on January 8, after releasing a song from the album titled "Actin Crazy", Bronson posted which artists would be featured on what song. On January 14, 2015, Bronson made an appearance on the New York City radio station Hot 97's Funkmaster Flex show, where he promoted Mr. Wonderful and performed a freestyle, which prompted Flex to declare Bronson the "nicest in the game right now." After premiering the song on January 7, 2015, Bronson officially released "Actin Crazy", via digital distribution on January 20. He released the full album on March 23, 2015.

== Musical style ==

=== Influences ===

Action Bronson cites fellow American rappers Kool G Rap, Nas, Cam'ron, Mobb Deep, UGK and Wu-Tang Clan, as major influences.

=== Rapping technique ===

Bronson frequently raps about food in his songs. Early in his career, Bronson gained recognition for lyrically and stylistically resembling fellow New York rapper Ghostface Killah of Wu-Tang Clan (with whom he collaborated, along with friend and fellow rapper Termanology, on a song called "Meteor Hammer", from the 2011 compilation album Legendary Weapons). In an interview with HipHopDX, Bronson was asked about how it was to be compared to the Wu-Tang rapper, and he responded with, ""Yeah, I mean at the end of the day, it’s all good because Ghostface Killah is one of the best rappers alive, so if I sound similar to the best rapper alive then that is fine. To me there is no comparison; he is a legend and I am a newcomer. If I would try and emulate with anyone it would be Kool G Rap, he is the person I look up to the most. I am not upset but at the end of the day I am my own person and no one can take that away from me.""

==Discography==

*Dr. Lecter (2011)

*Well-Done (2011) (with Statik Selektah)

*Mr. Wonderful (2015)

==Awards and nominations==

===BET Hip Hop Awards===

The BET Hip Hop Awards were established in 2006 by the Black Entertainment Television network to celebrate hip-hop performers, producers and music video directors.