Rating: 9

Without having even heard his music, Action Bronson is a gigantic personality and he is capable of getting by on that fact alone. He recently finished hosting the first season of his online Vice food show, “F—, That’s Delicious,” in which he travels the world rapping, trying new foods, cooking, talking to interesting everyday people, playing basketball, hanging with celebrities like Mike Ditka and Riff Raff and generally doing whatever we wants.

Action was a respected gourmet chef in New York before he decided to pursue rapping, so the online space that combines his main interests with his infectious persona made all kinds of sense and enjoys a respectively sized audience, the most-watched episodes nearing a million views on YouTube.

The timing of “Mr. Wonderful,” Action’s debut major label release, is unfortunate because March has been a huge month in hip-hop: nobody will stop talking about Kendrick Lamar’s “To Pimp a Butterfly,” and releases from Earl Sweatshirt, Death Grips and others have also generated a lot of buzz. Really, March has been big for all of music: There’s new stuff from Sufjan Stevens, Tobias Jesso Jr., Madonna, Laura Marling, Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie… everybody.

So it’s a shame that “Mr. Wonderful” is drowning in such a prolific month because, aside from perhaps Drake, Action Bronson has released the strongest, most idiosyncratic hip-hop album of 2015.

“Mr. Wonderful” is a perfect reflection of Action Bronson himself: He doesn’t let his hip-hop get in the way of his cooking, and in the same way, “Mr. Wonderful” doesn’t let rapping get in the way of music, an offense far too many rappers are guilty of. Modern hip-hop is arguably the most instrumentally adventurous genre in popular music today, but unlike Action Bronson, so many rappers are too hubristic and preoccupied with their own voices to let the instrumentals show their muscle.

What’s more impressive than the variety within “Mr. Wonderful” is how the tracks influenced by disparate sources cohere with each other. “Actin’ Crazy” and “Easy Rider” are sons of psychedelia, “City Boy Blues” is cut from the cloth of Carlos Santana’s Mexican blues rock, and “Terry” and “The Rising” borrow heavily from old-school R&B. There’s so much going on but it all fits together, comforting like a mosaic quilt made by your grandmother but with fewer floral graphics.

Vocals are at the forefront more often than not, but the complexity, variety and listenability of the backing tracks give them their own legs to stand on. This all goes not to detract from Action Bronson’s abilities as a rapper, because his flow and lyricism are both on point, spitting rhymes that alternate from meaningful and seemingly devoid of a meaning entirely, often in the same verse.

“Uh, all I do is eat oysters / And speak six languages in three voices,” he raps in single “Actin’ Crazy.” He often raps about food, although the latter part likely isn’t true; it’s lyrical acrobatics because it’s fun.

“You ain’t gotta worry ‘bout a thing, I got it covered / Why you think I’m out here actin’ crazy,” he continues in the song’s hook. He’s acting crazy because when people have so many musical options, having a compelling brand is important, so Action Bronson putting his wild, lovable personality on display is vital, and he knows that.

“Mr. Wonderful” also has an ideal amount of guest spots: enough to spice it up, not too much where the spices overwhelm and you forget what you’re eating. Big Body Bes, who “F—, That’s Delicious” viewers will recognize, and Chauncy Sherod lend a hand, but it’s Chance the Rapper who brings it hardest in “Baby Blue,” with the most innocently maniacal verse of all time, in which he lists what he hopes happens to a girl who has wronged him.

“I hope there’s always snow in your driveway / I hope you never get off Fridays / and you work at a Friday’s that’s always busy on Fridays,” he raps.

It’s all good fun and goes to show that it’s personality that’ll make Action Bronson stand above the pack. Building a mini media empire is a good move, because Action Bronson could get by on any part of it alone, but the depth of the music is what resonates most.