Toronto’s Tiny Tastemaker: How Kendrick Lamar Turned New Ho King into a Hip-Hop Hotspot
Located at the very heart of Toronto’s iconic Chinatown, New Ho King is a modest restaurant that has suddenly found itself at the center of a rap hard-hitting scene because of a certain line in Kendrick Lamar’s latest diss song “Euphoria.”
The lyrically mighty rapper delivered a ruthless blow to the Toronto heartland Toronto rappers with his synchronized swag lyricism “I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie.” The song went viral and skyrocketed in popularity in the streets of Toronto and put the Toronto hip-hop empire on notice and assaulted its owner and chef, Johnny Lu.
New Ho King, the Toronto restaurant that Kendrick Lamar name-dropped on his Drake diss track “Euphoria,” now has a menu item called the Kendrick Special. 😭 PIC.TWITTER.COM/06HRGNKOY8
— XXL Magazine (@XXL) MAY 10, 2024
Suddenly, the relatively unknown Lu’s restaurant that served delicious dishes for decent money became a real place of pilgrimage and a key component of the cultural agenda. New Ho King was overcrowded with customers who came to try the unhealthy “Kendrick Special,” this particular dish was glorified in the author’s lines. The chefs were amazed by the amount of work they had to face as their quiet culinary corner suddenly transformed into a Hubble busy place where people came day and night.
Lu, however, being the wise entrepreneur he was, did not let this temporary fame go to waste. He discovered the opportunity that was a staff member welcoming Lamar to his restaurant and capitalized on it. The following Monday, New Ho King released the “Kendrick Special,” a limited-time-only dish available on the menu for $66, not including the tax. Naturally, in addition to the fried rice with the magical dipping sauce, the Kendrick Special consisted of other treats, namely crunchy deep-fried shrimp dripping with chili and garlic, juicy chicken wings fried with spicy flavor, and beef teaming up with broccoli in a lukewarm embrace.
The Kendrick Special quickly became a phenomenon, enticing Toronto residents and visitors alike to acquire a little-known part of hip-hop history. Furthermore, the New Ho King promoted the special by providing a 50% discount in delivery orders of specials. Introducing this tempting offer was just another ideal approach to gather the universe toward a thrilling ride.
Lamar referencing did provoke visible merchandising; however, the engraving went further than greasy rice and fowl extremities. Euphoria cut a straight multithreaded piece, even if it alluded to perks of Toronto’s barbarous gang world. The rapper was prosecuted for raping a woman and mugging him according to the word ‘blammy’. The sly comment mentioned mentioned Drake’s previous brush with danger and induced the fine print throughout their rap feud.
Although the feud between Lamar and Drake escalated with the release of their violent diss tracks in “The Euphoria” and “Family Matters,” the attention to New Ho King is boosted only more. The fact that Lamar and the restaurant did not take part in the public brawl did not help their innocence when Drake responded, thinly disguising Lamar’s code name and the restaurant location in the lyrics. The association between Lamar and his lawsuits against Shakur’s property not only once again affirmed the improbable involvement of the innocent dining business into the rappers’ dispute but also dragged the latter overboard.
In the whirlwind of celebrity feuds and media buzz, New Ho King reaped the benefits of public attacks. A throwaway line in a tune proved to be a win for the eatery, demonstrating the incredible capacity of pop-star endorsements and social media buzz to propel local businesses to unforeseen prominence. And as the “Kendrick Special” continues to draw ravenous hordes, it demonstrates that at times all it takes is a catchy phrase to turn a small eatery into a cultural icon.
