Action Bronson has been keeping himself busy during the coronavirus pandemic. Besides releasing new album âOnly For Dolphinsâ, the New York rapper with an appetite for life has aired a new season of his cooking show Fuck, Thatâs Delicious, created a new fragrance for men, and has embarked on a new fitness regime which has seen him lose a whopping 130 pounds so far.
We caught up with rapâs renaissance man to discuss his new record, classic movies, auditioning for The Matrix 4 and working with the late Mac Miller.
Your new album is called âOnly For Dolphinsâ â is that because itâs so complex that only dolphins can understand it?
âYou got it. You knocked it out the park right there. Thatâs exactly why I named it that.â
Do you feel like some of your previous albums might have gone over the heads of some people?
âI donât really know, but everything has a meaning to me. So whether they get it when Iâm gone or while Iâm here, one day itâll make sense to them. Then when they do get it, itâll be like an ‘aha’ moment. So itâs all fun and games, you know, itâs like putting pieces of the puzzle together. Iâve been putting pieces of the puzzle together for years. Itâs fun.â
Youâve got a number of tracks on the album named after movies, why is that?
âI was just nerding out. Iâm a nerd when it comes to movies and shows. I feel like I just know so many of them from back in the day and so many obscure ones too. I have over 5,000 VHS tapes in my possession. That stuff is easy for me. Itâs low-hanging fruit.â
Do you think itâs the first time Sylvester Stalloneâs âCliffhangerâ has ever been mentioned on a record?
âYeah, for sure. Iâve been dying to tell someone about Cliffhanger because they donât even talk about it. Iâve been dying to bring a Cliffhanger reference into hip-hop. I feel like what I do in hip-hop, no one else has done.â
Do you think âCliffhangerâ is better than âRockyâ?
âI think Cliffhanger is better than certain Rocky films, but Rocky as a whole is better. But then again, what about Copland when he was fat? What about Cobra? Stallone had a lot of bangers.â
More than just being a movie fan, youâre now starring in them. You recently appeared as a casket salesman in The Irishman alongside Robert De Niro. What was it like working with him and Martin Scorsese?
âIt was pretty phenomenal to work with them, and just very surreal. There was lots of off-camera banter and laughter. We had a lot of good laughs. It was just another level of the game. You have to just reset the whole video game and start over because shit just got crazy.â

On âCliffhangerâ you mention that you might have landed a role in the upcoming new Matrix movie â is this a real thing?
âI actually cannot confirm nor deny due to an NDA.â
That sounds like it could be more of a yes than it is a noâŠ
âNah, I definitely didnât get the role. I would have known, I wouldâve acted in it. I would have been in a fucking harness hanging off a wire from a bridge or something. I definitely read for it, though, but it was bizarre. It was during COVID and the reading was over the phone. It was just a weird situation. Iâm better in person, I have to charm you. Youâve actually got to see the whole me. Itâs not good to just get a snippet of me over the phone, you know? You have to really take in the Baklava experience.”
Is it true that you want Delroy Lindo to play you in a movie about your life story?
âYeah, absolutely. I respect Delroy that much as an actor that if my story was to be depicted on film I would want him to be playing me. I donât feel like it has to be something where someone has to look exactly like me, you know? I think thatâs stupid. I wanna fucking transcend art.â
Speaking of movies, you appeared on Mac Millerâs second album ‘Watching Movies With The Sound Offâ on âRed Dot Musicâ. What was it like working with him?
âI remember he came to Alchemistâs house, we were up probably like 15 hours straight. It was good vibes in there and the track ended up being one of the best songs on the project. He always told me that was his favourite song. I love performing that song.
âHe was a great musician. He was a great artist and a very, very, very nice guy. He was a very good kid, great soul, always smiling, good fun to be around. He was just a happy dude. Funny, always joking. It was sad to see him go the way he did. We lost a good musician. We lost a good kid, a good soul.â
Youâve been keeping yourself busy in lockdown by starting a new fitness regime, right?
âIâve dropped 130 pounds already since around March. I changed my whole diet, my whole life, my whole moving around. Exercise regime. Everything.”
Do you have any specific goals?
âNah, there are no fitness goals – except to never not be fit again. The reason why Iâve dropped the weight so quickly is because I was never meant to be that way. I was just really out of fucking control and I got my shit together. Iâve got to stay alive, man. I have a lot of things to live for. I love life. I love my family. I love my friends. I love art. I love the movies. I love fucking basketball.â
The fourth season of Fuck, Thatâs Delicious aired earlier this year – have there been talks about another season?
âNo matter what, Fuck, Thatâs Delicious will continue, but youâll just have to wait to find out whatâs happening next very shortly.â
Youâve created your own fragrance for men called Splash, can you tell us about it?
âIt hasnât hit the market yet, but man, when it does itâs over. Itâs like the essence of the fucking Lord, you know? Thatâs what youâre gonna smell like.â
Finally, whatâs next for the man who seemingly does everything?
âIâm venturing into whatever else I can possibly do. Iâm trying to have an art show at some point this year or next. Iâm releasing all kinds of different products that all coincide with the album. Iâm gonna continue to do more videos for the project, as many videos as we have songs. Iâm gonna continue to work out, stay healthy, keep my mind sharp, keep my mind right and just work on a whole bunch of other projects until theyâre ready to explode.â
Action Bronsonâs âOnly For Dolphinsâ is out now via Loma Vista
The post Action Bronson talks working with Mac Miller, auditioning for The Matrix 4, and doing whatever he wants appeared first on NME Music News, Reviews, Videos, Galleries, Tickets and Blogs | NME.COM.