Who I Am: The Chef Who Raps
Rapper, chef, TV host, painter: I wear a lot of hats. If you're new to me, or you just want the basics in one place, here's a quick guide.
Who am I?
I'm Ariyan Arslani, known as Action Bronson, born on December 2, 1983, in Flushing, Queens, New York City. Queens is all over my music, and it's all over our designs too, from the BCU varsity letters to the QUEENS, NY line underneath them.
Was I really a chef?
Yes. Before rap took over, I cooked at my father's restaurant in Forest Hills, Queens, and hosted an online cooking show called Action in the Kitchen. I turned to music full time after breaking my leg in the kitchen. Food never left: my TV show F*ck, That's Delicious started as a web series in 2014 and ran on Viceland from 2016, and a cookbook with the same name followed in 2017.
Why Baklava?
Mr. Baklava is one of my nicknames, next to Bam Bam and Bronsoliño, and my Instagram handle is bambambaklava. That's why the word turns up again and again in the shop: on a rearing horse, in pixel letters, and folded into the album title Johann Sebastian Bachlava the Doctor.
Where should you start listening?
A few records to know:
- Dr. Lecter (2011)
- Mr. Wonderful (2015)
- Blue Chips 7000 (2017)
- Only for Dolphins (2020)
- Cocodrillo Turbo (2022)
- Johann Sebastian Bachlava the Doctor (2024)
Wear the world
Every piece at Action Bronson Merch comes on tees, long sleeves, crewnecks, hoodies and kids' sizes. Pick the album, the nickname or the food show that got you hooked.