A restaurant named a special dish after 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 mentioned the modest restaurant in his Drake song, “Euphoria.”
“I be in New Ho King eating fried rice and gravy and a crodie,” Lamar raps in the song, sarcastically using the Ontario slang term for “bro.”
Since the song was released on April 30, the restaurant, located in Toronto's Chinatown neighborhood, has seen its business increase by 300 per cent, said owner Johnny Lu. market clock. “It's busier than before,” he said. “Now that Drake and Kendrick did that, now there's more, more, more things 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 including a huge plate of fried rice, chili fried shrimp and crispy. garlic, spicy fried chicken wings and beef and broccoli.
The four dishes cost a total of $66, but customers can also enjoy fried rice with optional “dipping sauce” in true Lamar style.
New Ho King has operated in the city's Chinatown for nearly five decades, The Guardian reported on May 10. While the “Kendrick Lamar Special” is the restaurant's newest attraction, its most popular dish remains 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 even appeared in part of the music video, in which Drake and his group can be seen with a variety of dishes spread out on the table, including fried rice.
Drake (real name Aubrey Graham) and Lamar have made headlines for their ongoing feud, launching personal attacks at each other in a series of diss tracks. The feud between the two stars began a month ago, when Lamar attacked the Canadian rapper and J Cole in his song “First Person Shooter.”
Drake responded with a speech 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 pedophile” and made multiple references to alleged interactions with younger women.
On May 7, 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 the security guard was standing outside the gates in front of the property when he was shot by an unknown assailant and was transported to hospital with serious injuries.
There have also been three cases of intruders attempting to break into Drake's mansion, most recently on May 11. In response, the rapper made a request on social media: “Can we discuss the helicopter flight times over the house? Because I won't lie, I'm trying to sleep. Anytime after 3 pm works great for me.”
