Action Bronson Said He Wanted To "Put Me Through A Fucking Wall" During His KFC Radio Appearance
Funny Meme reations:
Yesterday we had Action Bronson on KFC Radio. Bronsolino had been at Barstool before on PMT and Thinker but this was his KFC Radio debut. We were about 15 or 20 mins into the interview and then things went off the rails and he said he wanted to throw me through a fucking wall. I wasn’t goin to blog it but it appears other sites and hip hop outlets are talking about so I figured I gotta discuss it too.
The full interview will drop tomorrow, and you’ll hear that the interview was going swimmingly. Everyone was getting along and there was a lot of laughs, it was good stuff. I was a big fan of Mr. Baklava. Hes one of the last guys who actually raps. Punchlines and wordplay. Actual bars. And I thought his TV shows were good too. His Ancient Aliens show was amazing. That is literally my dream job. So I was excited for this interview.
I was excited because Bronson is a very interesting dude with a long, interesting story to tell. From the kitchen to the music studio to the TV set theres a lot to get into. And one of the most interesting parts of Action’s rap career is his beef with Ghostface Killah. If you dont know the history between these two, I’ll give you a very abbreviated version:
When Action Bronson first came on the scene everyone compared his style to Ghostface Killah. Their voices and delivery and wordplay were very similar. In the beginning, everything was cool. Action Bronson said that he was his own rapper with his own style, but if people want to draw comparisons, he was honored to be compared to an all time great. He was very respectful as the newcomer paying homage to the veteran of the game. Ghostface was cool about everything too. Whenever he spoke about the comparisons he was always showing love and propping up the new dude who had burst on the scene. They were on songs together, they took pictures together. It was all good. Then Action Bronson went on ESPN and when they brought up the comparisons, Action threw in a line saying “Ghostface aint rapping like this anymore.” Ghostface SNAPPED. Went on a youtube rant where he really really went in on the dude.
Action Bronson was pretty quick to squash the beef on his end. He tweeted about it saying he respected Ghostface and tried to dead the whole thing.
Now to me, as a hip hop fan, thats all fascinating. The new guy vs the old guy. Two great rappers with very similar (and very good) styles clashing. A beef that essentially originated through the fans and their own comparisons of each man’s raps. I could dive into that and talk about this drama for days. Because one of the most intriguing things about hip hop that separates it from all other genres is the competition between rappers. Its like half music, half sports. Guys going toe to toe on a record or in real life to determine whos the best. You can debate Biggie and Pac the same way guys talk MJ vs Lebron. You could compare the lyrical styles of Ghostface and Action the same way people make those shot-by-shot videos showing how Kobe and Jordan have the same game. To me it is the BEST part of rap.
So when I get the chance to sit down with a very successful rapper who has been involved in one of these rap feud story lines, I’m gonna ask him about it. I’m just going to. 100 times out of 100. I’m going to always ask the questions that I think fans want to hear. I most likely got one crack at Action Bronson and I want to tell the whole story (Or as much of it as I possibly can) and make sure I hit upon all the major stories that tell that person’s tale. And the Ghostface Killah situation is a very big part of Action Bronson’s story as a rapper. I didn’t even think twice about asking him. After the interview when the cameras werent rolling he said “Give me one good reason to ask that question” and I said “because I think hip hop fans are very very interested in rap feuds” And to me, this is a rap beef that I thought we could talk about. It never turned violent…it stayed on wax..the crux of the issue was the actual MUSIC, nothing personal like wives or babies or family…and it all ended peacefully. Now dont get me wrong, Ghostface went HARD in his video and its not like it was all sunshine and rainbows, but it all ended peacefully. I thought if there was ever a rap beef that we should be able to talk about, it was this one.
Like I said I will almost always, within reason, ask the questions I think I need to ask the make the interview as good as it can possibly be. If there are any topics that you consider Third Rail topics that you do not want discussed, those things are usually disclosed ahead of time. We have had plenty of publicists tell us that their client will come to Barstool contingent upon us agreeing to not talk about certain things. And every time we weigh whether or not its worth it. 99.9% of the time we still say yes, and I navigate around that topic or I find a way to get the person to at least touch upon what the fans want to hear. Probably once or twice in my career I’ve declined and said there’s no point in doing an interview when the only thing people want to listen to is the one thing you have said is off limits. Nothing was said to me ahead of time, so I had no reason to believe he had any topics that were untouchable. The interview was going really well and he seemed like he was down to bust balls, so I had no reason to believe it was going to be that sensitive of a reaction. I weaved the topic into one of our very popular line of questions in a very laid back, straight up silly manner. And I thought that Action would either A) open up more about it and give us some perspective on where their relationship stands all these years later, 2) have some fun with it, talk about Ghostface and aliens, and laugh it off or D) give me a “Nah I dont really talk about that. Its dead its in the past and we’ve moved on.” And regardless of A, 2, or D I hoped to then launch into some of the other recent story lines in rap music from Drake and Pusha to Soulja Boy’s crazy ass, and if the vibe was right, I wanted to see if he had any feelings on the unfortunate death of Nipsey Hussle.
Now clearly Action went with Option 4) Threaten to throw the interviewer through a fucking wall. Which, to be honest I am ok with too! That was pretty awesome, assuming I come out of this alive. I didnt expect it and I thought Action was a different type of dude, but clearly I was wrong. He doesn’t play around, at ALL, and thats ok. He kept it extremely real and clearly its still a topic that he gets fired up about and so if convos about Ghostface still really piss him off, then I’m happy he gave me a genuine reaction and showed me how pissed off he was. I’m here to chop it up with guests and get their reactions and opinions and Action Bronson gave me the realest interview I’ve ever been a part of. I sincerely hope he doesnt throw me through a fucking wall, but assuming thats the case, I think it was a really raw and real moment to be a part of.
But I just wanted to clear the air as to why I conducted the interview the way I did. Its not that I didnt do my homework and I wasnt aware of the beef – I knew exactly what it was and I wanted to learn more about it straight from the horses’s mouth. I wasn’t trying to “sneak it in” or ambush him with a discussion – I weaved Ghostface into a hypothetical question, which is the fabric of our show. I thought I even gave enough of a precursor where I asked him to rattle off some other names in the rap game. And its not that I was aiming for shock value or baiting him into an overreaction – I just misunderstood Action and miscalibrated how he was gonna react. He seemed to be a pretty thoughtful, funny, playful dude and I thought (and hoped) I was gonna get either a thoughtful and/or playful/funny reaction. Its all good that he hates me now but I just wanted it to be clear that I knew what I was doing and I will do it again on my next interview. To be clear, that means the next time I’m interviewing someone I’m going to not be afraid to ask the questions I think will lead to the best convo. That does NOT mean I will ever ask Action Bronson about Ghostface Killah. Action is a bad motherfucker and I have one steadfast rule in my life and thats “Do not fuck with Albanians.” I want ZERO smoke with Bam Bam. I was just doing my job. I will be keeping both names off my lips.