Action Bronson Apologizes to Ghostface, Again. GFK Refuses. Here’s the Inside Story on Their Only Collabo.

Ambrosia For Heads

Yesterday (July 20) Ghostface Killah unleashed a “mighty healthy” response to Action Bronson, following a perceived diss by the Queens, New York MC. Moments after Ghostface’s video reply, which called out Bronson for disrespecting an MC who influenced him, as well as issued threats to the VICE/Atlantic Records artist on tour, Bronson apologized:

When ur wrong ur wrong and I was wrong. I apologized for the comments. I’ll always be a stand up human. Much love.
— MR. WONDERFUL (@ActionBronson) July 20, 2015

If only more people apologized when they knew they were wrong.
— MR. WONDERFUL (@ActionBronson) July 20, 2015

Everyone says things they regret. I respect my elders and the forefathers of this art. Once again, I’m sorry. — MR. WONDERFUL (@ActionBronson) July 20, 2015

Notably, the July 20 apologetic tweets follow some initial statement-retractions, on Bronson’s account July 11. In Ghost’s stated frustrations yesterday, among them was the fact that Action reportedly deleted those tweets (available for viewing in Ambrosia For Heads’ initial report). Last night, Ghostface Killah was asked if he accepted the tweets as an apology from his former collaborator. G.F.K. gave REVOLT a one-worded answer, clearly refusing:

In the wake of this Wu-Tang Clan-related news, producer/A&R Andrew Kelley contacted AFH, with some significant context and information via his personal Tumblr account, related to the Ghostface Killah and Action Bronson 2011 collaboration, “Meteor Hammer,” a song that also featured Termanology.

Kelley was instrumental in bringing Action Bronson on board for 2011’s Wu-Tang Legendary Weapons, a sequel to 2009’s Wu-Tang Chamber Music. An Art Director at eOne Entertainment, Andrew also has been instrumental to both aforementioned compilations, as well as Ghostface’s 2013 Twelve Reasons To Die album with Adrian Younge, and 2014’s 36 Seasons album, at Tommy Boy Entertainment. He says he first encountered Bronson’s music via NahRight.com. Specifically, he points to ‘Amuse Bouche’ from Bronson’s J-Love-hosted January 2011 street-album, Bon Appetit…Bitch. “I liked his bravado on the track, the flow was precise and his style reminded me of somebody else…. Ghostface Killah? I remember distinctly turning on iTunes and listening to some recent Ghostface tracks and comparing the two styles. Sure there were similarities, but I was convinced very early on that Action Bronson was his own entity and wasn’t biting anybody.”

However, as Andrew further delved into Bronson’s increasing rise, he saw that others disagreed. “With praise, comes hate. Whenever I saw a track of his posted on a blog or saw his name on the forums, the love was there, but the hate was right there with it. Bronson was quickly deemed a ‘Ghostface dickrider’ by some. I disagreed. It seemed to be just a quick, lazy comparison.”

It was Kelley who brought Action Bronson to the July, 2011 album that featured six Wu-Tang Clan members, along with AZ, M.O.P., and others. “I snuck him in on the list somewhere between Roc Marciano and Sean Price. [Executive Producer] Bob [Perry] asked me who Bronson was and I explained the deal; that he was really dope and that him on a track with Ghost would be somewhat controversial. Hate it or love it, it would be another topic of discussion when people talked about the album. What better way for people to make their mind up about Bronson than hearing him rap alongside Ghostface.”

Rather than email in his subsequent Legendary Weapons contribution, Bam-Bam Bronson recorded “Meteor Hammer” in the studio. “[Action Bronson] had just flown into LaGuardia that night and took a cab straight to the studio,” recalled Kelley. “He was very humble when we spoke about how I heard his early material and wanted him on the track with Ghost. He had his verse all ready to go and with just 2 takes he nailed it perfectly. I asked him if he wanted to add any ad-libs or back-ups, and he said no. ‘Leave it raw and dirty’ he said.” On the blog, he continues that Bronson evaluated his work on the Lil Fame (a/k/a Fizzy Womack) track, before heading out. “We listened to the track, dapped each other up and the man was gone. Bronson was in the studio for a total of maybe 20 minutes. For what might be considered one of his most important cameos to date, he handled it like a pro and was in and out like the Delta Force.”