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Forbes
02-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
GRAMMY-Winning Producer DJ Mustard Drops Sweet Chipotle Heinz Collab
Chief Mustard Officer DJ Mustard introduces Heinz Mustaaaaaard, a limited-edition sauce marking ... More Heinz's first new mustard product in 10 years. About two minutes into Kendrick Lamar's track 'TV Off,' a standout on his surprise GNX album, the rapper lets out a guttural, drawn-out yell: 'Mustaaaaaard!' What started as a producer tag turned into a full-blown cultural moment. The shout was instantly memed, parodied by comedians, recreated by fans, echoed by celebrities, and even spoofed by The Minions. Then came the tour. 'To hear 50,000 people screaming it all together every night is wild,' says GRAMMY-winning producer DJ Mustard, who just wrapped the North American leg of Kendrick and SZA's Grand National Tour. 'Man, it's crazy that the whole world is yelling Mustard right now. No one could've expected this.' The phrase stuck because it was more than a name drop. 'It's the feeling you get when yelling it—like you can do anything,' says Mustard, born Dijon Isaiah McFarlane. It's a philosophy he's long subscribed to, most notably on his last album, Faith of A Mustard Seed, inspired by the idea that just a little belief in yourself can go a long way. Now, Mustard's turning that energy into something tangible and tasty. Just ahead of the international leg of the tour, he launched a limited-edition collaboration with HEINZ: HEINZ Mustaaaaard, a smoky but sweet chipotle honey mustard. 'I've always wanted to make my own sauce,' he says. 'HEINZ mustard has always been the foundation when I'm grilling.' In February, Mustard visited HEINZ HQ to experiment with flavors. 'I came in knowing I wanted sweetness; I'm not big on heat,' he explains. He landed on a honey mustard base—with extra honey layered in—and added subtle smoky elements like jalapeños and chipotle. 'It's not too overbearing, but it has its own thing going on. Nothing like HEINZ has ever done before.' The bold chipotle honey mustard blend will first hit menus at Buffalo Wild Wings for a two-week run before rolling out for a limited time at select Target and 7-Eleven locations, as well as online at and Amazon. In the meantime, Mustard is preparing to head out on the international leg of the Grand National Tour, which kicks off in Cologne, Germany, on July 2nd, 2025. He spoke to Forbes about the parallels between producing music and curating flavors and the extra special stop he has planned in Paris. Was there a specific food or dish you had in mind while developing this chipotle honey mustard? The sweet chipotle honey mustard blend will first hit menus at Buffalo Wild Wings for a two-week run ... More before rolling out for a limited time at select Target and 7-Eleven locations, as well as online at and Amazon. Coming into this, I definitely had grilling in mind. Summertime. Backyard BBQs. Picnics. All that. So ribs, steaks, chicken, etc. I wanted a sauce that had that same vibe. I make all my own sauces and rubs from scratch, so I already had that blueprint in my head. I knew exactly what flavors hit right and what was missing in the market. The team at Heinz has been really supportive and let me make the sauce with no compromise, helping me bring to life my vision, so I appreciate that. This came out just how I wanted it. You've made hits in the studio and now you're making hits in the kitchen. Do you see any overlap between producing music and curating flavors? Absolutely. It's all about making whatever you're doing as good as you can. So whether it's in the studio, a performance on stage, or making a sauce for Heinz—no matter what it is, I'm gonna take it seriously. If I put my name on it, you know to expect my best. That's exactly what HEINZ stands for as a brand, which is why this partnership is so great. You're about to head overseas. What's one meal or dish that instantly makes you feel at home no matter where you are in the world? If I had to pick one, it might be ribs. I love grilling for my family when I get time at home. I have multiple grills and even a smoker, so when it's time to get things going, I have people over to eat, but everyone stays out of the chef's way, lol. That's my sanctuary, man. Being able to fire up the grill and cook for the people I love—that's what makes anywhere feel like home, no matter how far I am from L.A. What's something that's non-negotiable on your tour rider? Starting today, it's gonna have to be Heinz MUSTAAAAAARD, the Chipotle Honey Mustard I just mixed up with them. I wanna make sure it's on everybody's rider. That's non-negotiable. But other than that, I keep it simple: sandwiches, a fruit platter, water, juice. I try to stay as healthy as possible when on the road because that's where it's easiest to make bad decisions when it comes to food. How do you stay energized and healthy while touring, especially with long flights and back-to-back shows? It's really about self-discipline, which I think everybody deals best with. I try to stick to a routine as best I can. The first thing I'll do when I wake up is head to the gym in the hotel and knock out my workout. If it's the first thing you do, you don't have to think about it again, and the rest of the day will be easy. Beyond the physical, it's also about staying mentally locked in, keeping my vision clear and my focus on the mission. That's the real fuel that keeps me going night after night. Is there a country on this tour that you're most excited to eat your way through? I can't wait to get back to London. I'm also gonna celebrate my daughter's first birthday by taking her to Disneyland Paris, so it'll be fun whenever we end up eating because that kind of trip is more about creating the memories that'll make this whole thing worth it. Do you have a favorite post-show meal, whether it's from room service, a late-night spot, or something from the dressing room? The late-night meals are the worst—that's when it's easiest to fall off being healthy while on the road. I do my best to eat a proper dinner before it gets too late so that way late-night cravings don't come in. But it just depends on the city or country I'm in. If I'm going to order something, I try to grab whatever the city is known for. You're very busy now, but what projects can we look forward to from you in the future? I'm always working, always in the studio, always cooking up something new. You can expect more heat in the music, more collaborations that'll surprise you, and definitely more flavor from the kitchen. Like I said, we're just getting started with HEINZ, so stay tuned for what else we've got brewing. I'm always pushing the boundaries, so just know whatever it is, it's gonna be next level. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
ABC News
22-06-2025
- Entertainment
- ABC News
Raygun's Olympic breaking broke the internet and continues to polarise
Australia achieved its greatest-ever medal haul at the Paris Olympics, but 12 months on, the enduring memory is of a white, middle-class, 30-something B-girl in a cheap green-and-gold tracksuit crashing out of the breaking competition in the first round. Going by the name Raygun, Rachael Gunn seared herself into the collective imagination with a series of moves that failed to impress the judges but launched a torrent of memes, vitriol, and hot takes. Was she punking the Olympics? Was the routine, with its imitations of kangaroos and sprinklers, ironic – a playfully knowing appropriation of Australian iconography? Or was she simply having an off day? Whatever the case, Gunn's routine, the reaction to it, and how she subsequently carried herself, combined to create a confounding cultural moment. "To be honest, I get mental whiplash thinking about this topic," marketing strategist Christina Aventi tells Australian Story. "It's just a confusing mess. And it's hard to make sense of." There are so many strands to the Raygun phenomenon that it's hard to neatly untangle any of them. Even the initial responses to her routine were wildly varied and often contradictory. Back in Australia, some simply saw it as funny – something in the spirit of Roy and HG's The Dream – and didn't care if it was serious or a piss-take. But for others, the Olympics represent a rare opportunity for Australians to punch above their weight on the global stage, and thanks to Raygun, people all around the world were laughing at us. "It's clear that it really touched a nerve around our cultural, athletic identity," Aventi says. "It was our best performing Olympics yet, that was somewhat overshadowed by this routine that looked more eisteddfod than Olympics." There is, of course, a rich tradition of heroic Olympic failures — think Eddie the Eagle, Eric the Eel, the Jamaican bobsled team, even Australia's own Steven Bradbury, who speed-skated to victory, only because all his competitors crashed out. But as Aventi points out, Gunn does not fit neatly into that pantheon of losers. "They have backstories that people respond to really positively because they're hard-luck stories; they're against-all-the-odds stories," she says. "And in this case, we've got a uni professor who doesn't look like a breaker, who's wearing a green-and-gold tracksuit that looks like it's straight out of Lowes. "It just doesn't quite stack up to some of those other stories we love." Criticism of Raygun's routine did not just come from Australians with a bruised sense of national pride. For some in the international breaking community, her performance was insultingly amateurish. "The anger that came from Raygun's performance at the Olympics comes from a lot of different places," explains New York artist and breaking pioneer Michael Holman. "A slice of that pie came from people who knew what breaking was, saying, 'Wow, you know, that's not great breaking.'" But a bigger issue for Holman — and one that Gunn, an academic interested in the cultural politics of breaking, seemed oddly unprepared for — was that of cultural appropriation and insensitivity. "Part of the magic of hip hop culture is the fact that it was created by marginalised teenagers, poor and working-class black and Puerto Rican kids who came from nothing," Holman says. "So her being white and Australian and jumping around like a kangaroo, that's going to be a loaded gun. "Whether she intended it or not, the end result was mockery." She was ridiculed by US tonight show hosts, eviscerated by countless bloggers, and falsely accused of everything from gaming the system to being responsible for breaking not being part of the 2028 Olympics. There were concerns for her mental health in the days after the event. Australia's Olympic chef de mission Anna Meares defended Gunn publicly, calling out "trolls and keyboard warriors" for their misogyny and abuse. Even Prime Minister Anthony Albanese came to her defence, although "Raygun had a crack" was perhaps not the most ringing of prime ministerial endorsements. Initially, Gunn seemed to handle the situation well. Although the criticism clearly stung, she appeared willing to make fun of herself, breaking into an impromptu routine and throwing kangaroo poses as the Australian Olympic team prepared for the Closing Ceremony. "I think there was a sense that it was a cultural moment," says journalist Jordan Baker, who covered the Paris Olympics for The Sydney Morning Herald. "She gave an unusual performance. It was fun. We'll rally behind her." It was a musical, of all things, that changed all that. Comedian Stephanie Broadbridge didn't even watch Gunn's Olympic routine but became fascinated by how she handled herself in the aftermath. Broadbridge had been through her own social media pile-on in 2023 when a video of her trying not to laugh as a male comedian told a joke was viewed more than 150 million times, provoking a torrent of cruel and misogynistic comments. She was traumatised by the experience and found something admirable in Gunn's refusal to apologise for herself. "Raygun never backed down, and I was like, I love this. This is such an interesting thing from a woman," Broadbridge says. "Women don't usually behave like that publicly, and I was so excited that there was one around my age doing that." Broadbridge looked at the heightened emotion around the Raygun phenomenon and decided it had all the elements of a musical. "She's the hero that Australia needed; the female Shane Warne. The one that's flawed but we love her anyway," she says. "I wanted to tell that story. I wanted an Australian larrikin story that was a woman." And that's when things got weird. Days before the opening performance of Raygun: The Musical, Broadbridge received a cease-and-desist letter from Gunn's lawyers demanding that the show not go ahead because it violated her intellectual property and could damage her brand. "The dance moves were copyrighted, the silhouette was trademarked. Basically, every element," Broadbridge explains. Baker says this was "the point where a lot of people lost sympathy for Rachael". "People who had backed her the whole way felt like this was a betrayal of their support for her," she says. "When the heavy-handed legal threats started coming, it seemed mean-spirited; it seemed like she was no longer even remotely trying to lean into the joke." When Gunn addressed the outcry in an Instagram video, it only made things worse. It seems that in Australia, a far greater sin than athletic underachievement is taking yourself too seriously. "When she's trying to halt a musical, when she's trying to trademark something like a kangaroo hop, that's about her," Aventi says. "I think if she stood for something a little bit bigger – maybe resilience, strength, owning your own truth – that would have given a different centre of gravity to the story. "I know she's been through a lot, but a little bit more vulnerability might have helped people warm to her a bit more. "I feel really uncomfortable saying that. It's like Lindy Chamberlain all over again – why should we expect someone to be vulnerable? But vulnerability is something that connects and opens people up." Now the dust has settled on Raygun's cultural moment, what have we learned? That Australians don't like people who take themselves too seriously? That we like our athletes to win? That we're suspicious of academics? That the internet expects women to behave in a certain way and reacts violently when they don't? Or was it just, as Shakespeare once wrote, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing?" In the end, Broadbridge got to keep her musical, albeit with the lead's name changed to Spraygun and the title changed to Breaking: The Musical. And Gunn has her trademarked moves and a great story to tell someday. And after their crash course in public relations, she and her team might get the marketing right when she does. Rachael Gunn declined to be interviewed for this story. Watch Australian Story's Break It Down, 8:00pm, on ABCTV and ABC iview.
