A restaurant has named a special dish in honor of rapper Kendrick Lamar, after he mentioned the establishment amid his ongoing feud with Drake.
New Ho King – a Chinese restaurant in Drake’s hometown of Toronto, Canada – has seen a surge in popularity since the Los Angeles-born rapper gave a shout out to the unassuming restaurant in his Drake diss track, “Euphoria”.
“I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie,” Lamar raps on the track, sarcastically using the Ontario slang term for “bro”.
Since the track was released on 30 April, the restaurant – located in Toronto’s Chinatown neighbourhood – has seen its business soar by 300 per cent, owner Johnny Lu told MarketWatch. “It’s more busy than before,” he said. “Now that Drake and Kendrick did that, now there’s more, more, more stuff to do.”
According to a viral video posted by food blogger @insta.noodls, customers are now flocking to New Ho King to order the “Kendrick Lamar special” – a series of dishes featuring a massive plate of fried rice, deep fried shrimp with chili and crispy garlic, spicy fried chicken wings, and beef and broccoli.
The four dishes came out to a total of $66, but customers can also enjoy the fried rice with the optional “dip sauce” in true Lamar fashion.
New Ho King has operated in the city’s Chinatown for nearly five decades, The Guardian reported on 10 May. While the “Kendrick Lamar special” is the restaurant’s latest attraction, its most popular dish remains to be the Ho King Special Fried Rice – a mix of shrimp, pork, eggs, peas, and lettuce.
Just days after the release of “Euphoria”, Drake responded to Lamar with his own diss track, titled “Family Matters”. New Ho King was even featured in part of the music video, in which Drake and his posse can be seen with an array of dishes spread out on the table, including the fried rice.
Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) and Lamar have made headlines for their ongoing feud, launching personal attacks against each other in a series of diss tracks. The feud between the two stars began a month ago, when Lamar hit out at the Canadian rapper and J Cole in his song “First Person Shooter”.
Drake responded with a diss track accusing Lamar of domestic violence, while Lamar in turn accused Drake of having a secret daughter. In another song titled, “Not Like Us”, Lamar called Drake a “certified paedophile” and made multiple references to alleged interactions with younger women.
On 7 May, things took a turn when a drive-by shooting occurred outside Drake’s residence. A security guard was shot in the chest, and police officers found him unconscious when they arrived at the scene.
Toronto police said that the security guard was standing outside of the gates in front of the property when he was shot by an unknown assailant, and was transported to a hospital with serious injuries.
There have also been three instances of intruders attempting to break into Drake’s mansion, the most recent one on 11 May. In response, the rapper issued the plea on social media: “Can we discuss the chopper flight times over the house ‘cause I won’t lie, I’m trying to sleep. Anytime after 3pm works great for me.”
