In the video for King Von’s new single “Don’t Play That,” the late Chicago rapper and guest 21 Savage engage in street-certified shenanigans, but as cutesy, animated avatars courtesy of director Cartune. The cartoony visuals contrast with the grimy content, creating a lighthearted sense of fun amid the dark subject matter.
In their verses, the two rappers filter their gun talk through their relationships with women, with Von boasting, “She fell in love with a shooter / I caught that girl playin’ with my Glock.” Meanwhile, 21 Savage echoes that sentiment, sneering, “I fell in love with the gun smoke / She caught me playin’ with my K.” Meanwhile, their bars play out in vivid computer animation, with their characters brandishing firearms and carousing with women. The song is the first single from Von’s upcoming posthumous album, What It Means To Be King, due March 4 via Only The Family/EMPIRE.
Meanwhile, Von isn’t the only one dropping new music soon. Savage recently hinted that a new album could be on the way, tweeting in January, “No album in a year and a half tho…it’s time.” He hasn’t been idle in that time, though, most recently contributing verses to fellow Atlantans JID and Gunna, while dropping two new singles of his own.
Watch King Von’s “Don’t Play That” video featuring 21 Savage above.
One of the most important parts of every vacation is deciding where to stay. From the comfort level of the bed to the amenities included in your reservation to the view from the balcony, a great hotel room can turn the dial up on any travel experience. In fact, an incredible hotel can be worth booking an entire trip around.
If there’s anyone who knows where the sexiest, most luxurious, and most unique hotel rooms are in the world, it’s the wanderlust travel couples of Instagram. While they don’t need much to make any destination look worthy of a visit, they certainly have enough travel experience under their belts to rank certain hotel rooms and villas above others.
That’s why we turned to worldly travel and relationship influencers to share the absolute nicest hotel rooms they’ve ever stayed in. Read on to find out where you should book your next room, according to 13 travel couples.
Also Read: The UPROXX “Hotels We Love” Travel Series
The one place that stole our hearts, at first sight, was the amazing La Perla Villas & Suites in Oia, Santorini, Greece.
Santorini is a dream destination for every traveler and Oia is the most famous town on the island. While visiting this place you want to stay at one of the cute white houses with picturesque sunset views.
We visited Santorini in October (which, if you ask us, is the best time to visit the Greek islands). We were lucky enough to stay at one of their best rooms — The Senior Suite with Outdoor Plunge Pool & Caldera Views. Without a doubt, we can say that this place brought our experience of visiting Santorini to another level. The suite has two bedrooms and is painted in an elegant white and blue — the signature colors of Greece.
The interior is elegant, cozy, and sophisticated. However, it’s the terrace with its small pool and astonishing views over the Caldera that makes this place so special. In the evenings, we relaxed in the pool, drinking wine (complimentary — a wonderful touch) and talking about our dreams, life, and desires as we watched the famous Santorini sunsets. One morning, we woke up before sunrise and pulled our bed sheets onto the rooftop of our room. We felt the fresh breeze carrying the smell of the sea across our faces. The sun was slightly warming our shoulders as we watched it slowly illuminate the breathtaking views around us. It was the perfect moment.
Life is not perfect. But it has perfect moments. And the time we spent in that beautiful suite in Santorini was one of those perfect moments.
JETT & FRANTZKY (@awaywithbae) — THE INSIDE HOUSE, THAILAND
@awaywithbae
You might mistake this gorgeous, airy retreat for a resort somewhere on a Greek island. However, this romantic boutique hotel, The Inside House, is actually nestled in the mountains of northern Thailand near Chang Mai. On top of the jaw-dropping aesthetics, service, and food, the experiences offered here are ultimate baecation vibes! Private poolside afternoon tea in your room? Yes, please! Outdoor bath with fresh rose petals and a bottle of crisp champagne? Yes, yes, yes!
The nicest hotel we’ve ever stayed in is probably Hotel Drover in Fort Worth Texas. It’s located in the historic Stockyard District that has a bunch of trendy shops, restaurants, and bars. The hotel and our room had trendy, ranch-chic decor with a luxury feel, but not too luxe where we felt like we didn’t fit in. The property was also gorgeous and had an outdoor pool and a few bars that served top-notch cocktails. We honestly couldn’t believe we were still in the United States!
SCOTT & COLLETTE (@roamaroo) — FOUR SEASONS BORA BORA
@roamaroo
There are few hotel rooms in the world that could rival the romance of the overwater bungalow suite with a plunge pool at the Four Seasons Bora Bora. Designed with honeymooners in mind, these overwater bungalows are over 1,100 square feet and are complete with private, fresh-water plunge pools and direct access to the lagoon below.
The bungalows are complete with large decks, outdoor showers, an outdoor lounge area, a king-sized bed, dual vanities, and mountain views. While the overwater bungalows offer gorgeous views and unique accommodations, the five-star service, delicious cuisine, and plenty of outdoor activities place the overall vacation experience in a league of its own.
The absolute nicest hotel room we have stayed in was an overwater bungalow at the Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay for our honeymoon. Immediately when we walked into the room, we were captivated by the magical Fijian sugar scrub scents. We enjoyed the glass floor near the entry that allowed us to see into the sea.
We took the most relaxing baths in the freestanding tub that featured a gorgeous tray that made reading or snacking in the tub easy. The best part was our spacious deck with delightful views and a private stairwell that led to the lagoon if we wanted to go for a swim.
Ever since we started traveling together, we dreamed of visiting Cavo Tagoo Mykonos. Last summer, our dream came true and we were able to stay in the iconic Cave Pool Suite. The room is filled with natural light and chic white-on-white tones for the perfect Mediterranean aesthetic.
We watched every sunset from our cave pool while soaking in the unobstructed views of the Aegean Sea. And what’s really fun is that Cavoo Tagoo has so many unique villas and rooms so you can go back summer after summer and always have a different experience.
The beachfront pool villa in Six Senses, Fiji, is without a doubt the best hotel room we’ve ever stayed at. We splurged on this luxury stay for our honeymoon. The moment we stepped into this gorgeous property, we were given a warm Fijian welcome and showered with hospitality. The room itself was spacious yet cozy, had a beautiful four-poster bed, and was adorned with tropical accents. Despite the warm wooden feel, it was fully automated with mood lighting, music, and an open bar unit with a cocktail-making kit.
The bathroom had both indoor and outdoor showers with an outdoor soaking tub amidst tropical plants. The room opened out onto a deck with sunbeds facing the beach and the best part was the private plunge pool where we lounged all day, sipping on champagne. A direct walkway leads to a pristine beach with white sands and blue waters where we watched some of the most breathtaking sunsets. We ended our stay with massages at their spa and bid adieu to our best vacation yet!
It was certainly not easy to get here. The trip included bumpy roads, a ferry ride, and even a golf cart. However, once we arrived at Hotel Villa Flamingos, it was worth every effort and more. This hotel is on the tiny island of Holbox, located on the north coast of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.
This gorgeous hotel is only a five-minute bicycle ride from the island’s main town but far away enough to feel removed from the hustle and bustle. Although the hotel has its own private beach access with crystal clear waters, our room featured its very own hot tub with a view of the sea, making it nearly impossible to leave our room. We had the most perfect getaway and can’t wait to return one day.
When we stayed at Finca la Barca Tenerife in El Médano, Spain, we felt like we were transported into our own oasis. The best thing about our room was having our own personal hammock. It was relaxing and made us feel like we were transported to a tropical paradise.
The Ion Adventure Hotel in Iceland feels like a remote luxury oasis. We loved the on-site restaurant and bar with floor-to-ceiling windows, the large geothermally heated pool while watching the northern lights from our window. We had such a relaxing night at this hotel after driving the entire Ring Road and hiking miles every day. It was the perfect end to our trip.
Imagine an asylum in nature and a room called ‘Forest Pavilion’ with no walls but still cozy as a cocoon. Imagine being woken up by the first rays of sunshine to the background music of more than 30 kinds of birds. Imagine walks that start in the garden with pepper plantations and lead you into a jungle and a waterfall. Imagine clouds floating overhead as you swim laps in the stunning infinity pool, charming social distancing with the company of monkeys, squirrels, rabbits, hundreds of butterflies, fascinating insects, and stories of erstwhile tea plantations and passing wild elephants. I definitely dreamt about elephants after that.
We booked for two nights and extended it by another night because of the hospitality of the staff. The chef chatted us up in Hindi and pointed us to our next stay. That helped make it the most memorable vacation after quarantine. If you’re in Sri Lanka and feel like you’ve seen it all, please visit Living Heritage Koslanda for a private rendezvous with nature and be surprised.
Bonus: The famous multi-tiered Diyaluma Falls is just a ten-minute drive from the property and is another great reason to visit.
TINA & CEDERIQUE (@ournextlocation) — GRAN MELIA HOTEL, ARGENTINA
@ournextlocation
Our top hotel definitely is Gran Meliá Hotel at Iguazu Falls in Argentina. The room has the most beautiful view of the biggest waterfalls in South America. We had a beautiful bathtub and bed, staring at an amazing sunrise with the pink waterfall framing it. It was unforgettable.
Mountain panorama, bathtub, and a swing on the balcony!? The Alpin Lodge at the Chalet Al Foss Alp Resort was particularly memorable. The room alone was an experience, not to mention the glass-bottomed infinity pool or the alpacas you could watch from the balcony during the day. We can’t wait to visit the Chalet Al Foss again!
Things are starting to move quickly in the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. Following Dakota Johnson‘s casting as the lead in Madame Web, Russell Crowe is joining Kraven the Hunter, starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson as the classic Spider-Man villain. While Crowe’s role, as well as the film’s plot, is being kept under wraps, the main characters are “said to be Kraven’s family members,” according to The Hollywood Reporter:
Kraven, who is one of Spider-Man’s best-known enemies, made his comic debut all the way back in 1964’s The Amazing Spider-Man No. 15, with the character created by Spider-Man co-creators Stan Lee and Steve Ditko. The Russian big-game hunter decided to target the most dangerous foe he could imagine: Spider-Man. During his long tenure in the comics, Kraven is known for appearing in the classic 1980s storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt,” in which the villain succeeded in defeating Spider-Man, burying him alive, and assuming his identity.
Crowe’s casting marks a continued demarcation between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Sony Universe of Marvel Characters. The two were believed to be finally merging in Spider-Man: No Way Home, but that film’s end credits scene made it surprisingly clear that the film worlds would remain separate (for now). However, that decision allows Crowe to play Zeus in Thor: Love and Thunder, and now, one of Kraven’s hunting obsessed relatives in yet another film about a Spider-Man villain that won’t have Spider-Man in it. Tom Holland can only be so many places at once, people.
Will Smith is executive producing Peacock’s Fresh Prince of Bel-Air reboot, which is called Bel-Air and has made no secret of its grittier tone, including the reasons why Will (now portrayed by Jabari Banks) left West Philly to join Uncle Phil in California. Yet there’s nothing at all dark about the Super Bowl LVI spot, which is a good thing because, hey, no one wants grittiness at the big game.
Cue the dancing from Will Smith, who’s joined by people around the world in recreating the theme song. A mariachi band even gets in on the fun, and the show will even premiere on Super Bowl Sunday on Peacock. Three episodes will drop that day (so no fear, drama will surface as the show explores complex issues through a contemporary lens), followed by weekly rollouts for the rest of a first season. From the synopsis:
Set in modern-day America, Bel-Air is a serialized one-hour dramatic analogue of the 90s sitcom “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” that leans into the original premise: Will’s complicated journey from the streets of West Philadelphia to the gated mansions of Bel-Air. With a reimagined vision, Bel-Air will dive deeper into the inherent conflicts, emotions and biases that were impossible to fully explore in a 30-minute sitcom format, while still delivering swagger and nods to the original show.
Bel-Air (with another new Aunt Viv) will stream on February 13 on Peacock.
Knoxville, Tennessee’s WATE reports this is part of the GROW U initiative from Herschend Enterprises, which co-owns Dollywood and operates a total of 25 US theme parks and tourist attractions. The program, expected to launch on February 24, will “cover 100 percent of employees’ tuition, fees and books for employees who wish to further their education” for “11,000 seasonal, part-time, and full-time employees.” As part of the program, “employees will have access to diploma, degree and certificate programs across 30 learning partners. Programs will be offered in business administration and leadership, culinary, finance, technology, and marketing.” Employees will be eligible to enroll in the program on their very first day of employment.
Eugene Naughton, president of The Dollywood Company, said:
“We know when our hosts are happy and feel cared for that they are going to pass that along to our guests. The creation of the program allows another avenue for us to care for our hosts. One of The Dollywood Foundation’s key tenets is to ‘learn more.’ This program is created with that very tenet in mind. We want our hosts to develop themselves through advanced learning to fulfill the foundation’s other tenets: care more, dream more, and be more. When our hosts strive to grow themselves, it makes our business and our community a truly better place.”
Andrew Wexler, CEO of Herschend Enterprises, also said, “Whether it’s to pursue a new dream or advance their career with us, we care about our employees’ personal and professional growth, because we believe that their futures should be grown with love, not loans. Our team members’ success is our success — and that’s why we’re thrilled to make this benefit available to all, regardless of their role in the company and without the burden of debt.”
The GROW U program is powered by Guild Education, which “provides similar programs to employees of Taco Bell, Disney, Lowe’s, Walmart, and more.”
Leighton Meester is returning to the big screen (well, the Netflix big screen) next month in The Weekend Away, based on the 2020 Sarah Alderson novel of the same name.
Meester stars as Beth, a new mother who is convinced by her longtime pal Kate, played by Christina Wolfe, to go away for a weekend abroad. The two have a fun night out to relive their college days, and then things turn sour, as Beth wakes up to her friend dead, and no memory of what happened the night before.
Suddenly, she is the main suspect in a foreign country and she can’t leave. Beth has to try to piece together the events of the night before, while trying to clear her name for her best friends murder. The movie also stars Ziad Bakri and Luke Norris.
The former Gossip Girl star (not to be confused with the 2021 reboot) recently had a main role in Single Parents and several smaller movie stints over the years. This isn’t the first creepy psychological thriller that Meester has starred in, as she was in the 2011 cult classic The Roommate alongside Minka Kelly. She recently returned to TV as a regular on How I Met Your Father with Hilary Duff.
The Weekend Away debuts on Netflix on March 3rd. Check out the trailer above.
Last night’s BRIT Awards ceremony gave a whole new meaning to the term “playing with fire” as rap music won big and dominated the onstage performances with dynamic sets from Black artists like Dave and Little Simz (who, incidentally, are also alums of “the British version of The Wire,” Top Boy).
Dave, who won the Best Hip Hop/Rap/Grime Act award, also performed his song “In The Fire” from his 2021 second studio album We’re All Alone in This Together with fellow Grime standouts Giggs, Ghetts, Meekz, and Fredo. After completing his passionate verse, Dave revealed a surprising talent, donning an electric guitar to play a dazzling solo as flames shot out the end, a la Mad Max: Fury Road. Watch the performance above.
Another big winner was Little Simz, whose 2021 album Sometimes I Might Be Introvert was widely considered one of the year’s best. Nominated for Artist of the Year, Best New Artist, and Best Hip Hop/Grime/Rap Act, Simz won Best New Artist, bringing her mum onstage for an inspirational acceptance speech encouraging fans to chase their dreams and holding herself up as an example of the fruits of perseverance. She also played album standouts “Introvert” and “Woman” alongside actress Emma Corrin from The Crown. You can check her performance out below.
For many artists, 2022 is the year that they will finally start touring in support of projects they dropped in 2020 or 2021. Such is the case for Fleet Foxes, who announced today that they’ll finally be touring in support of their 2020 LP Shore.
The shows begin with a run of North American shows, starting in Salt Lake City in late June before wrapping up at New York City’s Forest Hills Stadium in mid-August. After a brief pause, a run of UK and European shows begins in late August and concludes a couple weeks later. These shows will be the band’s first since 2018, in support of 2017’s Crack-Up.
Check out the full list of tour dates below.
06/27 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Sandy Amphitheater
06/28 — Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
07/01 — Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
07/02 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
07/03 — Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater
07/05 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre
07/06 — San Diego, CA @ Cal Coast Credit Union Amphitheater
07/08 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
07/09 — Santa Barbara, CA @ Santa Barbara Bowl
07/10 — Berkeley, CA @ The Greek Theatre
07/12 — Portland, OR @ McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
07/15 — Seattle, WA @ King County’s Marymoor Park
07/29 — Raleigh, NC @ Red Hat Amphitheater
07/30 — Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
07/31 — Pelham, TN @ The Caverns
08/02 — Minneapolis, MN @ Surly Brewing Festival Field
08/03 — Chicago, IL @ The Salt Shed
08/05 — Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
08/06 — Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
08/09 — Columbia, MD @ Merriweather Post Pavilion
08/10 — Boston, MA @ Leader Bank Pavilion
08/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Mann Center
08/13 — New York, NY @ Forest Hills Stadium
08/26 — London, UK @ All Points East
08/28 — Dublin, IE @ National Museum of Ireland, Collins Barracks
08/30 — Edinburgh, UK @ Usher Hall
08/31 — Glasgow, UK @ O2 Academy Glasgow
09/02 — Wiltshire, UK @ End of the Road Festival
09/03 — Manchester, UK O2 Apollo Manchester
09/05 — Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
09/06 — Antwerp, BE @ De Roma
09/07 — Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
09/09 — Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
09/10 — Utrecht, NL @ TivoliVredenburg (Ronda)
09/11 — Berlin, BE @ Columbiahalle
The Los Angeles Lakers lost again on Tuesday night, falling to the defending champion Milwaukee Bucks, 131-116. It was the latest in what has been a brutal season in L.A. — the team trailed by 30 points in the second half, tried to rally back, got the deficit down to 10, and then ran out of gas. Now, the team is 26-29 on the season, which puts them in ninth place in the Western Conference.
For a team that comes into every season with championship aspirations, it’s a five-alarm fire when the Lakers find themselves 4.5 games back of an automatic playoff berth and firmly entrenched in a play-in spot as of today. There are plenty of reasons why they’re in that spot, but one has been that offseason acquisition Russell Westbrook just has not worked out the way they had hoped when they acquired him. On Tuesday, Westbrook scored 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting with 10 rebounds and five assists, but watched the final 15 minutes of the game from the bench and was on the receiving end of boos from Lakers fans.
Seeing as how the team gave up almost all of its trade capital in the deal that brought Westbrook to L.A., his struggles have been front and center this year. And now, according to Bill Oram of The Athletic, the Lakers’ brass has come to grips with the ceiling that this team has with Westbrook alongside Anthony Davis and LeBron James. The catch: It seems unlikely they’re able to remedy this any time soon.
Sources have indicated that the Lakers no longer believe they can win at a high level with Westbrook alongside James and Davis, but prior to Tuesday the line of thinking was that the Lakers would be unwilling to wave the white flag and admit their summer blockbuster was a failure. Instead, they would prefer to wait until the offseason, when they could also include a 2029 pick in a potential deal for another max-contract player looking for a new home.
Because of the pick haul that the Lakers sent to New Orleans in the trade that brought Davis to Los Angeles, the only first-round pick the team can currently trade is in 2027. That changes on July 1, when their 2029 first becomes eligible to be traded, and in theory, it’d be easier to move Westbrook if the team has that extra first it can attach to it.
Still, with one day until the trade deadline, it seems evident that Los Angeles believes something needs to change. Whether or not they can make that happen, though, remains to be seen.
duuuunnnn duun… duuunnnnnnnn dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dunnnnnnnnnnn dunnnn.
John Williams‘ musical score for Jaws might be one of the most familiar pieces of film music in the history of cinema. And while it’s brilliant in its simplicity, it’s hard to deny that it is indeed a relatively simple tune. Essentially, it’s just two chords played back to back at varying tempos. And while it’s hard to imagine a visitor to Amity Island getting swallowed up by a great white shark without that ditty playing in the background, the truth is that Jaws director Steven Spielberg thought the tune was a joke when Williams first presented it to him.
As The Hollywood Reporter notes, Spielberg was interviewed in a previously released making-of DVD feature in which he admitted that he was momentarily taken aback by the theme. “I expected to hear something kind of weird and melodic, something tonal, but eerie; something of another world, almost like outer space under the water,” Spielberg explained. “And what he played me instead, with two fingers on the lower keys, was ‘dun dun, dun dun, dun dun.’ And at first, I began to laugh. He had a great sense of humor, and I thought he was putting me on.”
When Williams, who celebrated his 90th birthday earlier this week, made it clear that he was as serious as a shark attack with his composition, Spielberg gave it another listen—this time without giggling. “It suddenly seemed right,” Spielberg said. “And John found the signature for the entire movie.”
That streamlined, and definitely-not-a-joke, score earned Williams his second of five Oscars for Best Score. “I think the score was responsible for half of the success of that movie,” Spielberg said.
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