“Childhood is defined in no small part by food, the flavors and sensations of treats and meals, because you really don’t control what you eat. For the most part, you are either given food to eat or you ask for and hopefully receive it. HC&T exists in that small niche of childhood where you’ve received one of your first tools of autonomy: an allowance. These kids love their snacks because they’re treats, but they lack the all-consuming excess that defines too much adult mainstream hip-hop: their snacks are not what they surround themselves with because their success has led to insane, conspicuous overconsumption; their snacks are what they want because they enjoy them and merely having them is an accomplishment in and of itself. HC&T takes the vulnerability of childhood and turns it on its ear. Food is happiness. Food that you choose is an indication of independence and strength. My favorite childhood snacks were those little daisy-shaped shortbread cookies with holes in the middle, because I could only get them at my babysitter’s house. They fit on your fingers like rings, and the game was to always see how much you could eat before the cookie fell apart and off your fingers. Objectively, they were crappy, and when I found them years later and bought them for myself for the first time, I ate an entire package of them, slipped over my pinkie, because my other fingers were too big. They were sweet, and excessive, but they were mine. If only I could have made a video about that.”
— Why Hot Cheetos & Takis Is The Most Perfect Expression Of Childhood Ever | The Raw Story
