BBQ Jew

When most people think of the music that best goes with barbecue, they undoubtedly name blues or bluegrass.  But rap music may be a contender on the barbecue scene.  Witness hip hop icon Snoop Dogg, who according to an incredibly uninformative article in the UK’s Mirror, is reported to  be “sniffing out a recipe to make his own barbecue sauce after finding the quality in Europe was dogg rough.”  It is unclear what this sentence means or why anyone in his right mind would use the phrase “dogg rough,” but it’s an intriguing tidbit nonetheless.  Last I heard of Snoop Dogg’s culinary adventures (okay, I watched “Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood” on TV once or twice, I admit it) he was scarfing down chicken and waffles from the legendary Roscoe’s.  It’s good to hear that the rap legend has a taste for ‘cue too.

Perhaps it’s no surprise that a Kansas City rapper would dedicate some rhymes to his city’s favorite food.  (Rapping about barbecue puts a whole new spin on the phrase “biting rhymes.”)  According to The Pitch music blog, hometown rapper Tech N9ne’s latest album is called “The Gates Mixed Plate,” a reference to legendary Gates Bar-B-Q.  Here’s to hoping Tech N9ne’s album is fresh like Ollie Gates’ ‘cue and not stale like his hip hop moniker. 

Like any good hip hop or barbecue story, there is a feud in the Kansas City BBQ rap world.  Fellow KC MC Mac Lethal, who put out an album called “Crown Prime Rib Mixtape,” says Gates’ place doesn’t hold up to Fiorella’s Jack Stack Barbecue.  As Lethal delicately puts it, “I know it’s like calling Jesus Christ a fa&%ot, but I’m just telling you, out-of-towners without an emotional attachment to Gates invariably say that either Jack Stack or Oklahoma Joe’s is their favorite.” 

I don’t know if any North Carolina hip hop stars like barbecue, but given that 9th Wonder, arguably North Carolina’s most famous rapper, hails from Winston-Salem it seems likely.

Filed under: 'Cue Culture | Tagged: Kansas City, Music, Outside NC |