Lightly acidic and beautifully crisp, lemon pepper wings are the pinnacle of poultry perfection. The seasoning provides a perfect marriage of savoury flavours that puts honey garlic, ranch, buffalo-sauced and barbecue-spiced wings to shame.

It all began in Atlanta, where lemon pepper seasoning was first dusted on hot wings in an effort to diversify and diffuse the heat. While Atlanta’s strip clubs continue to serve some of the best lemon pepper wings available, the wings are probably most famously found at J.R. Cricket’s. This is thanks to Donald Glover’s famous Atlanta scene that popularized the phrase “lemon pepper wet.” Once an off-menu item that involves drums and flats tossed in extra butter sauce, lemon pepper wet became so popular following the episode’s premiere in 2017 that it has since made it onto the official J.R. Cricket’s menu.

Hip-hop moguls Rick Ross and 2 Chainz have also grown increasingly vocal about their devotion to the spicy citrus seasoning. Ross, who owns 28 Wing Stop locations, is known for rapping about lemon pepper with such devotion he’s inspired full reported pieces chronicling his best lemon pepper inspired lyrics.

Meanwhile, 2 Chainz, who owns Escobar Restaurant and Tapas Bar where they serve their own excellent lemon pepper poultry, has followed closely behind. “She just wants her 20-piece/ All flesh with the lemon pepper,” he rapped on the 2018 single “Hot Wings.”