One is profane, while the other, unashamedly, can pretend to be sacred. But there is little difference between gastronomy and music. Both are the domain of talented people, either self-taught or not, who appropriate more or less boldly their local traditions, or a set of recipes, to excite the senses of their adepts. They prepare courses, they spice and set them, to provide people with short moments of delight.
Some rappers already highlighted the analogy between their craft, and the art of chefs. A good example is MF Doom, whose Mm..Food album had almost every song named after a dish. And now, Young Nudy needs to be added to the list.
He already showed his obsession with food through tracks such as "Loaded Baked Potato", "Sunflower Seeds", "Hot Wings", "Blue Cheese Salad", "Green Bean", or "KitKat". But in February, it is a complete album, Gumbo, named after a dish typical of the South, that he dedicated to cooking.
Each chef has a style, and a inclination towards some ingredients. Same goes with Young Nudy. Each of his albums are different from the others, but they are nonetheless similar. With his contorted voice, his slow, minimalistic and misleadingly quiet beats that look like some scary circus music, the Atlanta rapper talks once again about crushing his opps, in a weird and heavy ambiance. Weapons are on display, bullets are spurting out, murders are looming on the horizon.
Also, on the very first track, "Brussel Sprout", Nudy talks about another culinary art, the one that is practiced in trap houses. Girls are one of his only respites. The rapper pretends he fucks them, when he is bored with death threats. Another hobby is (strip) clubbing, like with his cousin 21 Savage on the pornographic "Peaches And Eggplants". Sentimental moments are rare, except maybe on "Passion Fruit", what looks the most like a love song in Nudy's rough world.
This is all the most familiar that the sauce master here is Coupe, the guy who, since the Anyways album, has become Nudy's favorite accomplice, succeeding to Pi'erre Bourne.
Bourne is here, as well, supporting a duo with Key Glock. But Coupe is the one taking the lion's share, as far as production is concerned. And it continues to work well, on great moment such as "Pancake", this "M.R.E." fulfilled once again with threats, or the superb "Portabella", about drugs and how they are the only escape from the ghetto. Let's also notice the ultimate gangsta ego-trip "Hot Great", and its whirling production from Kid Hazel and 44Wxrld.
At the end of the day, music has just one difference with gastronomy. It is superior for only one thing: it lasts, it can be consumed more than just once. And we won't stop easily to savor Young Nudy's, as he only releases strong albums.