Culinary projects from Bun B, Ghostface Killah, and others ‘are strengthening the foundation of hip-hop culture.’
“ A T - Bone steak , cheeseflower ballock , and Welch ’s grape , ” goes the Notorious B.I.G. ’s now - legendary line in “ Big Poppa . ” Those lyrics were my instauration tofood in hip hop , and made an printing on a lot of citizenry : devotee eat this exact mealin memory of the late rapper every year on March 9 , the day of remembrance of his death .
Biggie ’s lyrics are n’t the only elbow room that tap and nutrient intersect . Hip - hop artists have embrace culinary culture beyond their measure in the last five years , creating and investing in food brands and eating place . 2 Chainz owns an Atlanta - found eating house , Esco , Bun B hasTrill Burgers , and Nas have a fleet of New York City restaurants call off Sweet Chick . Ghostface Killah latterly launched a bank line ofcoffee , Mia X has a New Orleans – based food mark calledMama Mia Foods , Jadakiss and Styles P haveJuices for life story , and E-40 has a foodie meat firebrand , Goon With The Spoon .
For many of these artists , their culinary enterprise are a way to combine the business chops they ’ve find out in the music industry with their ongoing love affair with all thing food for thought and swallow .
Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist. Photos courtesy Todd Spoth (Bun B), Tim Mosenfelder (Nas), Tomde Studio (Ghostface Killah).
Houston rap music picture Bun B cites his willingness to adapt as a key constituent in create and sustain Trill Burgers . “ I am naturally a creature of habit . I could feed the same repast two time a day , every day of the hebdomad . But eventually , you have to be open to transfer , or otherwise , you get left behind while the human beings be active forwards . Every time I leave myself open to change , it create different opportunities , different relationships , and sometimes different revenue stream , ” Bun says .
His culinary passion was offend about 12 year ago after attend a concert atHouston - based music venue Fitzgerald ’s . He saw lobster risotto feature film on the menu of the Airstream - stylefood truck , The Modular . “ I had a very limited view of what a food motortruck was . I had only seen taco motortruck in subsection with home plate or grammatical construction site … I had no estimation these were actual chefs that had gone to culinary schooltime . So , I had a whole new view of food for thought and cookery , ” read Bun .
Those business inspired Bun to partner with Andy Nguyen and Nick Scurfield to debut their burger motortruck . “ I ’m so glad that I ’m one of a brilliant grouping of record artist transition into other passions in their spirit … When heat finally meets role , it ’s at that intersection where , for me , Trill Burgers as we sleep together it now was born , ” Bun tot .
Houston rapper Bun B created Trill Burgers as a pop-up in 2021|Todd Spoth
For some knocker and their lover , these are n’t just business ventures or brand extension . Food is a powerful way to relate the great unwashed to each other and to dissimilar times and places . That ’s part of the reason why those Biggie lyric resonate with so many of his fans .
“ From a lyrical point of view , when creative person talk about conflict , they ’ll often revert to something they ate back when the struggle was literal , ” says Kathy Iandoli , an author and hip record hop expert . “ For example , Ghostface Killah suppose , ‘ Sugar water was our thing . Every repast was no frill . ’ At that breaker point , you ’re talking about the early days when an creative person struggled . ” In 2016 , Iandoli co - authored a book with Mobb Deep ’s Prodigy , Commissary Kitchen , that explored his formula and computer memory from a three - year prison house condition in the other aughts .
genuineness has long been the foundation of pelvic arch hop , from bars about the realness of living in the project to the swaggering total up of reach winner .
Kathy Iandoli co-authored Prodigy’s 2016 book, Commissary Kitchen.|Krista Schlueter
“ There are so many lyrics where artists use food to discuss poorness to prove a degree . This is a clear way of connecting with people , state , “ I ’m still that soul ! Do n’t let the money fool you , ” says Nia - Raquelle Smith , a cultural anthropologist who studies the intersection of solid food , culture , insurance , and medium in Black and Latin American diasporas . “ On the snotty-nosed side , solid food is a class marking — it always has been and always will be . What better manner to emphasise your wealth than to knap about expensive food in a genre that thrives on braggadocio culture ? ”
Smith believe that writing words and creating an ambiance when do are skills well transfer to the kitchen . “ accept to create a dish from scratch is very much like rapping . If you ’ve ever been in a studio apartment with an creative person and had to watch them from start to conclusion , or even just during the transcription process , you may see how similar rapping is to cooking . You have an idea , and you build off it , just like lyrics . ”
Iandoli agrees . “ Hip - record hop artists are scientist by design in how they so intricately approach their euphony , output , or lyrics , ” she say . InCommissary Kitchen , for instance , “ phosphorus wanted to verify that he approached it with a very specific programme in mind , to highlight how his dieting and what he was offer in prison made him have to accommodate for selection . ”
Nia Raquelle-Smith studies the intersection of food, culture, policy, and media in Black and Latin American diasporas|Courtesy of Nia-Raquelle Smith
Bun sees synergies and similarities between dear intellectual nourishment and music , too . “ When a plate of good food for thought comes in front of you , do n’t you trip the light fantastic a little ? ” he require me . Well , of course . And , as much as I sleep together to opine back on the best meal I ’ve ever had , I similarly recall my all - meter favoriteconcerts . For Bun , that ’s part of the beauty of this crossover .
“ The pleasure that I ’ve been able to land to mass for 30 age through my music , I can bring in that same pleasance and satisfaction with food now . I ’ve spent decades bring flavor to your ear , and now I ’m bringing flavor to your mouthpiece . ”
There are other , ephemeral connection between food and hip record hop . Like music festivals and concert , nutrient and drinking have always been apoint of communionfor mass . “ medicine and food are tied together … No matter if we are eating or drinking , we are usually listen to music , particularly when it comes to a social setting . It sets the mood and can make all the remainder in the vim of an case , ” says Smith .
As hip hop evolves , it makes signified for it to invigorate other aspect of culture , like manner or food . “ When rapper tap into the culinary world , they are strengthen the foundation of hip - hop culture , ” enunciate Smith . “ It ’s only natural that intellectual nourishment is part of the hip - hop culture equation as it , too , is an art human body and feeds a thriving residential district just as hip - record hop does metaphorically and literally . ”
