Wonderful is enough to realize that it’s well-deserved.ĭespite his freewheeling vibe, Bronson approaches his lyrics like a screenwriter, noting details both minuscule and integral to the story at hand. Headbanging, sweating and tirelessly rapping his way through a set dominated by cuts from his new album, Bronson acted like he was on a victory lap. Funkmaster Flex, Peter Rosenberg and Elliott Wilson all flanked him at various moments at SXSW, with Flex and Rosenberg introducing him before he closed out his “South By South Wonderful” showcase. Having honed his inimitable personal style for the past five years, the Queens native has now attracted the attention of his city’s biggest rap fixtures, even though that never seemed like his goal. The same spontaneity, fierce independence and charm that abounds from Bronsolino’s music was put on display in Texas, as he flew by the seat of his “very loose” pants all week.
Just a few yards away, a security guard stiff-armed a girl who tried to do the same with a former Bronson collaborator, RiFF RAFF, who apparently doesn’t practice what his Lil B-esque Twitter presence seems to preach.
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He treated fans to free “cowboy poutine” from a food truck, and then posed for pictures with absolutely anyone who asked (even obliging to do a rap squat with one dude). Wonderful was held on a double-decker bus, and in addition to lighting up a large blunt and passing it to anyone who cared to join him, he refused to pose for a photo while holding a branded souvenir from the bus company. He named his headlining concert after his new album, not a brand met interviewers in his hotel room, not the lobby and performed for 40 minutes, not the 20 that’s standard for SXSW rap showcases.
In town for the week, Bronson spent most of his time going against the grain, as is his habit. Business cards are exchanged more freely than mixtapes, branding sometimes outweighs genuine enthusiasm for music, and stages owned by major corporations like Spotify, Samsung and Monster Energy now compete for space with local venues. Despite the chaos that goes along with an estimated 2,300 rappers, bands and artists converging in a city with less than 900,000 residents, SXSW isn’t quite the free-for-all, indie-championing event that it advertises itself as. Never has this been more pronounced, though, than at last week’s South By Southwest festival in Austin, Texas. Ignoring conventions and common decency, Bronsolino walks us through the making of his major label debut.Īs a former gourmet chef of Albanian and Jewish descent who raps over a Tracy Chapman guitar riff at most of his shows, Action Bronson has always been a unique presence in hip-hop. Queens' wildest MC finally makes a project that matches his larger-than-life personality.