Rappers' row Toronto eatery proves the only winner amid artists' feud

When he arrived for dinner with his mother at the New Ho King, Averie Taylor Francois , 14, did not need to read the menu.

- Leyland Cecco

Neither did the dozens of others waiting patiently for a table at the bustling Toronto restaurant. The dish everyone had come to enjoy – and to post about on social media – wasn’t on the menu.

“I ordered the Kendrick special,” he said. “The staff knew what it was.”

Over the past few weeks, the rappers Kendrick Lamar and Drake have been locked in an escalating feud, releasing a string of ad hominem “diss tracks”– a lyrical spectacle that has captivated hip-hop fans and possibly confounded the broader public.

Lamar took the feud to Drake’s hometown of Toronto when, on 30 April, he released the song Euphoria. Nestled alongside the biting attacks on Canadian slang was a reference to an unassuming Chinese restaurant in the city’s downtown core.

Lamar raps: “I be at New Ho King eatin’ fried rice with a dip sauce and a blammy, crodie,” mockingly using Toronto slang. Catapulted into the spotlight, the restaurant almost immediately experienced a surge in orders , and staff were left scrambling to make triple the normal volume of fried rice.

Interest reached fever pitch days later when Drake responded with Family Matters, filling part of the accompanying video at New Ho King. In a dark, empty restaurant, the rapper and his friends sit before an array of dishes spread out on the table – including the fried rice.