When produce packers rap

The UK’s Register reports today that one of America’s oldest grocers has sued two college students for licking its produce on YouTube.

According to the story, last week, The Great Atlantic & Pacific Company – A&P – slapped a $1 million lawsuit on former employees Mark and Matthew D’Avella, accusing the two of defaming the 147-year-old grocery chain in an online rap video called "Produce Paradise."

According to the suit – filed in New Jersey superior court and recently tracked down by an El Reg hack desperate for a good read – the video shows the brothers doing various disparaging and disgusting things inside the Califon, New Jersey A&P where they worked as shelf stockers before getting the sack six days ago. An A&P spokesperson is cited as saying that at least one customer is extremely miffed by the video, which has the rappers licking packaged produce and putting it back on the selling shelf – among other things.

With their "Produce Paradise" video – available on YouTube as well as their personal website – the D’Avellas spend 4 minutes and 16 seconds rapping about, well, produce. Billing themselves as the "Fresh Beets," they lay down rhymes like "Produce. Produce. What you see is what you get, except the cut fruit, now that’s some nasty s##t" and "Excuse me sir, where did this grow? B###h, do I look Mexican, I don’t know." In addition to licking some fruits and vegetables, they seem to urinate on others. "But don’t come up to me acting all rude because I won’t be afraid to pee in your food," they chant.