Local restaurant takes centre stage in rap beef
Forget the “Keith Lee effect” — Kendrick Lamar is the hottest new influencer in the Toronto food scene.
On Wednesday, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Compton, Calif., rapper name-checked a Toronto Chinese food restaurant on “Euphoria,” the latest diss track that takes aim at Drake, and an escalation in a decades-long feud that has in recent weeks consumed much of the mainstream music world.
“I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and blammy, crodie,” Lamar raps in a verse he delivers in a mock Toronto accent, replete with local slang. “Tell me you’re cheesin’, fam,” he says in the next line.
(“Crodie” is a variation of the term “brodie” — which refers to one’s “brother” or close friend — which was popularized by the Crips gang. The term was popularized by Toronto rapper Pressa, Genius points out. It’s also apparently the name of Drake’s cat.)
Since the release of the song, which has already been streamed tens of millions of times, the restaurant has been showered with positive reviews on Google. “Kung Fu Kenny sent me here and it was great,” reads a recent five-star review. (New Ho King currently has a respectable 3.9 stars on the website.)
The restaurant has also seen an influx in new customers, according to the owner Johnny Lu, who spoke to CityNews on Wednesday. “Kendrick’s a good guy, oh my God,” Lu told a reporter, saying that his phone has been blowing up with messages of support since the song’s release.
It’s an unexpected feel-good story and a rare positive development from a rap feud that is turning increasingly toxic. But let’s back it up a bit. Why did Lamar mention New Ho King in the first place?
At 410 Spadina Ave., in the heart of Toronto’s historic Chinatown, New Ho King is a go-to spot for authentic Chinese food and late-night eats. According to lyric annotations on Genius, Lamar’s inclusion of the hyperlocal reference was made to suggest that Drake is not safe, even in his hometown, where his nemesis may be lurking (a “blammy” is slang for a gun).
Genius also points out that the line may be a response to a lyric in the Drake diss track “Push Ups,” a song in which the Toronto rapper claims to be more popular than Lamar is in Compton. “By referencing a Toronto classic, Kendrick makes it clear that he is just as known in Drake’s hometown as well,” the annotation reads.
But sleuths and local historians on social media suggest there may be more to the story. One theory on Reddit speculates the New Ho King line is a reference to the rapper Sizzlac, whose video for the song “Realest in the 6” shows the Rexdale MC eating at the Chinese restaurant. Sizzlac, who was killed in 2016, was rumoured to be one of Drake’s rivals.
Though it’s unlikely that we’ll ever know the precise meaning, the internet has exploded with fan theories and speculation.