Without further ado, here is the second half of Action Bronson's 30 best tunes. At the rate Bronson releases music, there's sure to be some changes soon, but right now, these are the hottest tracks he's been involved in.
15. Brunch - Sampling Frijid Pink's Boozin' Blues, Brunch is a rare instance of a track where it's better to watch the video than just listen. As Bronson tries to dispose of a body there's everything from food, guns and hideouts to boats, and dope threads, demonstrating Bronson's now infamous sunglasses game.
Choice Lyric: "The second stanza even deadly than the first/ From the birth, I've been enlisted to plant seeds in the earth/ That's soon road to a valley that feeds, civilization/ I'm walking the torrid land though I'm seeking my vindication"
14. Sylvester Lundgren - Many of Bronson's best tracks feature his BFF Mayhem Lauren and here their combined abilities pack a heavy punch. Just like some sort of Sylvester Stallone/Dolph Lundgren Frankenstein's monster, this Bronson/Mayhem track is one to be respected. Throw in Ag Da Coroner and The Alchemist and you're virtually unstoppable.
Choice Lyric: "Weed from the dread that I roll in the Fanta/Cover on my dick so I don't catch the monster"
13. Jar Full Of Drugs - This Harry Fraud joint helped move Bronson away from his '90s renaissance' label whilst simultaneously wetting appetites for their forthcoming collab, 'Saab Stories'. The track also features a Steven Segal quote that almost makes the Aikido master look cool again. Almost.
Choice Lyric: "The feet are purple cause I'm stepping on the grapes/ Consensual the rape/I got the presence of the greats"
12. Rare Chandeliers - The title track from Bronson's Rare Chandeliers mixtape features obscure and unusual Antique's Roadshow style samples of British people talking about antique chandeliers. If anyone other than Bronson tried this, it'd likely be met with people scratching their heads, but on an album full of Bronson's coughs and laughter between tracks, all this adds up to even more of Action's personality shining through, and that's only a good thing. The actual song isn't bad either.
Choice Lyric: "Backflips off the ledge, hang-glide off the roof/ Land on one leg, see me all up on the front page"
11. Hookers At The Point - On the surface, Hookers At The Point is one of Bronson's funniest tracks but look a little deeper and you'll find Bronson is bringing attention to the plight of the under-classes of hookers and drug addicts. It's also a fine display of his versatility with accents.
Choice Lyric: "The name silk but all my bitches call me Montel/Spit the marvel, with the soft top not the hard shell/Three shades of green- suit, hat, and matching lizards/8 bitches look like they straight from the Alaskan blizzard"
10. Daily News - This Domo Genesis track features the huge talents of Action Bronson, Earl Sweatshirt, SpaceGhostPurrp and is produced by The Alchemist. With names like these involved it couldn't help be anything but a hit. Unlike many of Action's solo joints, there's an undercurrent of menace to this track which recalls the best of 90s Gangster rap. Action and Earl only share the hook but both manage to stamp their marks on the track.
Choice Lyric: "Where he at? There he at/ In your city where them niggas carry gats"
9. Bitch I Deserve You - This track has 'celebration' all over it. From Bronson's opening claim that he made "270 million off molasses yesterday" you know we're in for a huge celebration of everything the Flushing MC has achieved.
Choice Lyric: "Look at the game, say 'Bitch, I deserve you'/ Here forever, that's my word boo"
8. Blue Chips - Featuring the best opening monologue in history, Blue Chips takes its title from the film of the same name. The album's cover art is also a riff on the movie's promo poster. Never mind a fully-loaded Lexus, Bronson is dropping fully loaded lines set to fully-loaded production.
Choice Lyric: "Chris Hanssen, dancing in a Swiss Mansion/ Shorty gorgeous, daddy keep the wrist handsome"
7. Imported Goods - An old 'Dr Lecter' joint, Imported Goods did a lot to cement Bronson's reputation early on. Sampling Diana Ross' Brown Baby, the track perfectly invokes an image of the sort of 1970s New York that Scorsese captured on film.
Choice Lyric: "My man who just came home, and some are going up/Fiends up in the alley, sippin' Balley fucking throwing up/Keep your mind straight, focus on the prize/Always diving into thighs, blowing smoke into the skies"
6. Never A Dull Moment- Yet another Statik Selektah joint, Never A Dull Moment highlights the best of current rap in a brilliant South meets East Coast collab. Bronson takes centre stage on the first verse and hook whilst Termanology and Bun B perfectly balance out the track.
Choice Lyric: "Mix it up in a blender there's no contender/The drug stick I smoke is never slender/Like Jimi with the Fender hit the wah-wah pedal/ But in the Beamer doin' donuts parkin' lot of the arena, Bronsolinio"
5. Big Trouble In Little China - Another of Action's quest spots, this time on a track by DJ Yoda and also featuring Alice Russell. As befits the title, the hook here is a fantastic taste of The Orient, carried off perfectly by Russell. It's perhaps the best hook of any Bronson song and his bars rise to the challenge.
Choice Lyric: "Human traffic, paper is the plan/ Take them off the boat, throw them in the pan"
4.. Shiraz - Shiraz was the first track to put Bronson on the map and it still stands up against his most recent work as one of his best tracks. Featuring both Brother Jack McDuff's The Shadow of Your Smile and Clarence Reid's Living Together is Keeping Us Apart, Shiraz has all the soul credentials needed to help portray that irresistible 1970s vibe.
Choice Lyric: "We've been the best since I stepped in/Bring a hooker to the muthafuckin Jets Inn/In the sack, break her back like a Redskin/ Need the dough like I'm trying to get the bread thin"
3. The Symbol- The first single from Bronson's most recent mixtape is an Alchemist-produced gem. The backing sample is a guitar track as effortlessly poised and composed as Bronson's rhymes. The video is also a work of art in its own right. 'Fuck that's delicious.'
Choice Lyric: "In only one year, considered as a veteran, top of the line, the whip look like tropical lime."
2. Cliff Notes- Wrestling for the title of 'best hook', this track declares Bronson's intentions and mean intellect. He's not illiterate, no, not even a little bit. Once again Statik Selektah knocks the production out of the park with a track that features the best scratching of the decade. This is Action in his '90s renaissance' phase and it's oh so very good.
Choice Lyric: "And when I go inside I think I might just play Nintendo/ Call a Shorty from the heights have her play with my colembo/ Uh, just let me catch my little breath an shit you won't accept a kid/ Cause if destiny is for deficit"
1. Barry Horrowitz - This ode to the 80s and 90s wrestler sets the standard for all Action Bronson songs. The video is the best of Bronson's bunch, featuring the man himself sitting in silhouette smoking blunts to the neck and pimping through the streets of Queens all the while brandishing an alligator topped cane. Tommy Mas perfectly handles production duties, setting expectations high for their forthcoming collab Mr. Wonderful. It's Barry Horrowitz's rap but Bronson pats himself on the back, he's the champion and he has arrived.
Choice Lyric: - "Ain't no cat in the hat...just a cat that can rap/ This is Bronson...representin' Flushing, Queens on the map...yeah!/ Heavy weight primate with a Harvard mind/ Blunt filled with a citrus mixture...orange lime/ Pussy drip when the thought of Action come to mind"