Only For Dolphins Exclusive LP

A Newbury Comics exclusive color vinyl pressing.

The album was foretold years ago.

On White Bronco, Action Bronsons 2018 release, he rapped my next albums only for dolphins, and the principled MC is nothing if not true to his word. A Queens legend, respected for his idiosyncratic pen and vivid raps, Action is a decade into his career and still deepening his skillset. The dolphin is one of the most intelligent creatures ever created on whatever planet we’re on, Action explains. They have their own way of communicating. They have nuance and intangibles like we do. In a perfectly unusual analogy, he likens the aquatic mammal to the storied five-tool baseball playerthat is, the extraordinary class of player who combines all elements of the game. The only people who understand me are those five-tool players, those higher beings who are on the same telepathic wave as me. Thus, Only for Dolphins, out on August TK.

Action keeps Only for Dolphins among family, working with producers and rappers hes known for years. The Alchemist, Harry Fraud, Budgie, DJ Muggs, Samiyam, Daringer, and Tommy Mas provide crackling psychedelic soundscapes for Bronsons unique tales. His close friend Meyhem Lauren and Laurens brother Hologram are the only featured MCs. Bronson himself produced two of the songs, including the exuberant Capoeira, which kicks off the album with a saxophone solo. As much time as he spends on the wordplay and imagery, hes dialed into the sonics too.

The first single Latin Grammys is a tribute to family. Produced by Tommy Mas, who produced all of Actions 2011 debut project, Dr. Lecter, the beat for Latin Grammys is many years old. The file was originally labeled Ozersky, a nod to the beloved food writer Josh Ozersky, who tragically passed away in 2015. Ozersky and Action were close; in fact Ozersky was the first person to put Action on television via his show Ozersky TV. One day Action was going through old beats, saw the file, and knew he had to do something special in honor of his friend. Over a slinky brass and guitar loop, he raps with casual gusto about swim trunks stuffed with cash and black trench coats, Dolph Lundgren and Derek Jeter. Its Young Baklava, you know me, he concludes.

Bronson is a collectorof experiences, of sounds, of culture. Hes especially happy with the Budgie-produced Golden Eye, a nod to the classic N64 shooter and to the resort in Jamaica; it samples a beautiful lovers rock track, which is a real point of pride for Action. Its a very specific UK subgenre, he says, referring to the romantic reggae style that rose to prominence in London in the 70s. The flip gives Golden Eye a lush and sweet bed for Action to lovingly describe acrobatic sex and expensive rugs, wet with spilled wine.

This wouldnt be an Action Bronson record without a multidisciplinary approach, and in many ways the music is a springboard for all sorts of ideas, in many mediums. A special scent, inspired by the high-concept album highlight Splash, will accompany Only for Dolphins. The fragrance is unbelievable, Action says. It pairs perfectly with the song, which is structured like a late 90s fragrance advertisement. Of course, Action still raps his ass off, dropping gems like Ill eat your cookies, fuck a Santa note.

To be a fan of Action is to be a fan of detail. Only for Dolphins is studded with remarkable specificity. On Vega he raps, My alibi for the police is I was naked in Seattlea line only Action could come up. Befitting that attention to minutiae, Action hand-painted the album artwork, crafting, a figurative depiction of death and dolphins and gold coins.

There will also be an Action-designed ice cream, available at Morgensterns in Manhattan. A flavor explosion, its a burnt guava marshmallow tres leches. And of course, Action has also created handmade plush dolphin toys. I get inspiration from all around the world and I make what I want, Action says. I wanted to make sure that I hit everything on this project. Were giving you the auditory. Were giving you the visual. The olfactory. Your taste buds. There isnt a physical sensation that Only for Dolphins doesnt cover.

Congratulations is the first word rapped on the album and its fitting to see this as the culmination of every skill Action has carefully honed over the last decade. Hes an insatiable and generous artist who wants to take the listener on a tour of his creativity. Welcome to his world.