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Last year, Netflix dropped a new series from the Chef’s Table crew called Street Food: Asia. The series was a departure from the halcyon haunts of the culinary elite and, instead, focused on the food of the streets. The same arresting aesthetic was in place. But with Street Food, everything felt accessible to the common food lover (if you were willing to travel, that is). In the end, it was an easy watch that, at the time, you could actually experience yourself if you had the travel bug.

Watching the trailer for the second installment of Street Food — this time focused on Latin America — feels entirely different. With Americans pretty much banned from travel to most of the world, this truly feels like escapism most of us won’t get to experience for awhile, making this show feel like our only access point to enjoy these experiences at the moment. And wow does this trailer stoke our wanderlust for travel and our hunger for great, accessible food on the streets of South America.

Still, one cannot watch this outside of the context of our current situation. Will the vendors be out on the streets at all at the end of the pandemic? What will the street food experience look like? Hell, even referring to a part of the Americas as just “Latin America” now clangs more loudly of Euro-Colonial erasure of Indigenous and Afro Americans than it did a month ago.

In short, we weren’t expecting a trailer that focuses on delicious street food to bring out so many fraught emotions. But here we are.

This season of Street Food: Latin America will allot episodes to Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, Colombia, and Bolivia. The episodes look like they’ll bridge European and Asian colonial cuisines, African food cultures, and the Indigenous foodways still present in some South American societies. It looks and sounds like a glorious mix of languages, cultures, foods, and locales — and we can’t wait to dig in.

‘Street Food: Latin America‘ premieres its full season on July 21st, 2020 on Netflix.

There are few things more reliable in this world than getting factual, straightforward information from Magic Johnson’s Twitter account. When the Hall of Famer tweets, there is a little added brightness brought to the timeline. His Twitter account has become almost a parody of itself, most often sending congratulations to other great athletes while listing out, very specifically, what they have accomplished, or simply noting some news and facts about it.

However, as we learned recently during an appearance by Johnson on Rob Lowe’s podcast “Literally!,” Johnson is not the person writing his tweets.

“No, I have somebody write them out. I tell them what I want to say and they write them,” Johnson told Lowe after the Hollywood star was puzzled by the fascination with Johnson’s Twitter account (h/t Silver Screen and Roll).

It is heartbreaking news for NBA Twitter, as there was something really enjoyable about imagining Magic Johnson typing out these extremely matter of fact tweets. Still, this begs a few further questions about Johnson’s Twitter.

1. Who is writing Magic Johnson’s tweets?
2. Is that a full-time job or just part of an overall assistant deal?
3. Are these tweets sent verbatim from what Johnson says, or is this mystery tweeter simply given a prompt and told to “make it sound like me?”
4. Does he have standards for what tweets should look like and a strict “no editorializing” policy?
5. How can one procure the Magic Johnson Twitter Style Guide?
6. Is he properly paying his social media manager for crafting one of the all-time Twitter brands?

I’m most intrigued by the third question, because there’s still a chance this is how Magic Johnson would tweet if he wanted to actually operate the phone but is too rich to need to do so. If he’s just dictating these tweets verbatim than this might be even better than him pecking away at a phone keyboard. I can see him reclining in a chaise lounge in his office, dictating exactly how he wants to congratulate Patrick Mahomes on a record-breaking contract, with the specific details of how much he could make.

The latest episode of People’s Party With Talib Kweli welcomes Detroit poet Jessica Care Moore to reflect on her career as a poet and playwright. That career includes performances on the HBO series Def Poetry Jam, appearances on albums from Kweli, Jeezy, and Nas, establishing her own publishing company, Moore Black Press, and friendships with Detroit hip-hop legends like J Dilla, Eminem, and Proof, whom she encountered at the city’s famed venue, The Hip Hop Shop.

Asked about how she became a “go-to poet for hip-hop artists,” Moore details the importance of The Hip Hop Shop to Detroit’s underground rap scene. “I used to run the Hip Hop Shop with Maurice Malone,” she elaborates. “I used to open and close the shop. It was the gathering place for rappers and poets and dancers and culture right on 7 Mile [Road]… Em would come through, Proof hosted the open mic… it was a retail clothing store with a DJ booth and a microphone on the floor. We spent all day there.” Moore details learning business management and credits Malone with popularizing streetwear and hip-hop styles early on.

She also credited J Dilla with being one of the first to think that the idea of putting beats behind her spoken word was a great idea and recalled watching Proof battle Busta Rhymes — a battle she says Proof won handily. “Busta may not admit to this moment,” she chuckles. Kweli affirms, “Proof’s impact was national and it was global.” Moore also takes moment later in the episode to promote her new book, We Want Our Bodies Back, which Refinery29 listed as one of their “Books By Black Women We Can’t Wait To Read in 2020.”

Watch the clip of Moore reminiscing about The Hip Hop Shop below and watch the full episode up top.

People’s Party is a weekly interview show hosted by Talib Kweli with big-name guests exploring hip-hop, culture, and politics. Subscribe via Apple, Spotify, or YouTube.

Posthumous albums reside heavily in the realm of what-ifs and could’ve beens. Like art in a museum, they are presented to the world to enjoy, but unfortunately, without the artist’s presence to proudly stand by their work. Upon their arrival, these albums leave fans wondering a number of things: the heights their beloved artist could have reached, whether or not certain songs were altered, and if the body of work itself is what the artist wanted the world to hear. Pop Smoke’s debut album Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon is riddled with such questions.

Pop Smoke shot like a rocket onto the music scene thanks to his 2019 hit “Welcome To The Party,” which became one of the summer’s most popular releases. His summer 2019 takeover is accentuated by his debut project Meet The Woo and its standout track, “Dior.” Following his 2020 project Meet The Woo 2, Pop Smoke began the process towards his latest release and ensuring another summer takeover, but his death tragically seized that opportunity from him and left fans to grieve and explore the potential the Brooklyn rapper had in store.

With the release of Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, fans of Pop Smoke were granted the opportunity to put their grieving on pause and celebrate the potential of the blossoming star. Unearthing eighteen new songs, and the aforementioned “Dior” single, Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut album proves the Brooklyn rapper was en route towards another belt buckle-grabbing, hip-swinging summer takeover driven by the drill rap that he helped elevate to mainstream popularity.

Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon welcomes a notable amount of artists into Pop Smoke’s playground to run amuck. Lil Baby and DaBaby join him to fantasize about nighttime occurrences on the sinister track, “For The Night,” while Quavo and Future bring awareness to the traitors of the world on “Snitchin.” Nearly doubling the number of features since his last project, Pop Smoke stands beside some of music’s most popular acts and welcomes them to take part in the demeanor he looks to enforce, even when he doesn’t need the help. “44 Bulldog” and “Gangstas” present hard-nosed efforts that creep around the alleyways under the moon unfazed by the danger that lays ahead.

The hardest pill to swallow that Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon presents is the inability for fans to see Pop Smoke live out his growth as an artist. Meet The Woo 2 failed to exemplify his range and teetered into repetitive territory, a critique that his posthumous debut album solves. Nearing the end of the album, Pop Smoke fulfills a wish to venture into the R&B world with well-executed stabs at love that stays true to Pop Smoke’s sound while bringing in new variety and range. He obsesses over his new partner and their newfound love on “Something Special” before delicately diving into the more intimate sides of his relationship on “What You Know About Love.” Ending the R&B sample trifecta with a confident shot at love on “Diana,” Pop Smoke showcases an ambitious aspiration to give listeners something new and expand his once-narrow lane.

Most posthumous albums aim to bring closure to an unexpected end like pages ripped out of a chapter before it was read. However, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon seeks to produce something else. Pop Smoke’s posthumous debut album attempts to bring the Brooklyn rapper’s name, sound, and presence to previously untouched corners and uncharted roads once and for all. In addition to catering to the ’90s R&B fan, Pop Smoke looks to appeal to the West Coast and Latin ears respectively with “West Coast Sh*t” and “Enjoy Yourself” while the hip-hop of old is saluted with “Got It On Me” which interpolates 50 Cent’s “Many Men.”

Shooting for the stars is only possible through leaving one’s world and that’s exactly what Pop Smoke did. Avoiding the trappings that come with posthumous albums, this feels like the album Pop aimed to make and wanted the world to receive. While an attempt at a critical favorite may have been expected, Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon focuses more on commercial expansion, making Pop Smoke larger than the life he lived.

Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon is out now via Victor Victor Worldwide and Republic Records. Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group

Before the NBA begins its hopeful restart in the Disney Wide World of Sports bubble, the MLS is the first league that is efforting a campaign in Orlando with the MLS Is Back tournament. However, early returns on the soccer league’s attempt at a bubble have not been very good, as one team — FC Dallas — has already had to withdraw from the tournament due to an outbreak that saw 10 players and one coach test positive for COVID-19 while in the bubble.

Now, there is concern of another outbreak on a team as Nashville SC has reportedly had five players test positive for the novel coronavirus (with four tests still yet to come back) and as such, the second game of the tournament featuring Nashville and Chicago has been postponed.

The outbreak among Nashville players after what happened with Dallas illustrates the fragility of these bubbles, and why regular testing isn’t enough if the results don’t come back prior to players participating in team activities. It’s something the NBA and other leagues must be watching closely, as it illustrates just how quickly and easily the virus can spread through a team. Allowing players to interact with each other while waiting for results does nothing to prevent the virus from spreading and raises the possibility of an outbreak that could force a team to withdraw completely.

Whether that will happen with Nashville SC remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the MLS’ restart is already on thin ice before it even begins. Hopefully the players that test positive will either remain asymptomatic or avoid a serious case and be able to make a full and speedy recovery, whether with an eye on returning to the pitch for the tournament or not.

Elisabeth Moss has been a regular on The West Wing (95 Emmy nominations), Mad Men (four-time Outstanding Drama Series winner), Top of the Lake (two Golden Globes nominations), and The Handmaid’s Tale (the first streaming show to win Outstanding Drama Series). Also, she was on one episode of Batman: The Animated Series, which rules. Moss being attached to a project usually means it’s going to be good, and for her next TV series, the Shirley and The Invisible Man star is playing a famous real-life killer.

Moss will star in the limited series Candy, “based on the true story of killer Candy Montgomery and her victim, Betty Gore,” according to the Hollywood Reporter. “Set in 1980 Texas, Candy (Moss) had it all — a loving husband with a good job, a daughter and son and a nice house in the new suburbs — and killed her friend from church with an ax.” Montgomery’s murder of Gore was previously turned into the TV movie A Killing in a Small Town, whose star, Barbara Hershey, won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie. Moss better make room on her awards shelf.

In a statement, Moss said, “I have been wanting to play an anti-heroine for a while now, and have been trying to work with [executive producer Robin Veith] again after Mad Men for even longer, so when she asked me if I wanted to play a housewife from Texas who, some would say, got away with murder, I simply said, ‘Where do I sign?’ Adding the opportunity to work with [Nick Antosca] after his incredible work on The Act was like taking a delicious dessert and putting 100 cherries on top.” No network is attached yet.

tfw you get away with murder

I can’t wait.

(Via the Hollywood Reporter)

“Staying home is the best way to protect yourself and others from getting sick.” Those are the words of the CDC. Traveling right now is fraught with risks and it does not look like it’s going to get better any time soon in the U.S. Getting on a plane right now means unequivocally putting yourself and others at risk in five places: at home, in the departure airport, on the plane, in the destination airport, and at your destination.

To be crystal clear, it’s far too fraught to endorse any person flying right now for non-essential purposes. Still, people do have to fly for real reasons (like medical professionals who are traveling to places with COVID-19 spikes to help out). And with flying up 400% from its lowest point in the pandemic, people are obviously flying for less urgent reasons too. For anyone making a decision to fly, you have to anticipate contending with a certain number of mask contrarians and pandemic conspiracy theorists.

To help mitigate the risks involved in flying right now, we first went to the CDC for their advice.

The CDC says:

• “Air travel requires spending time in security lines and airport terminals, which can bring you in close contact with other people and frequently touched surfaces. Most viruses and other germs do not spread easily on flights because of how air circulates and is filtered on airplanes. However, social distancing is difficult on crowded flights, and you may have to sit near others (within 6 feet), sometimes for hours. This may increase your risk for exposure to the virus that causes COVID-19.”

To expand on those guidelines, we reached out to working epidemiologists for a little more clarity. Our panel of experts is:

• Martine El Bejjani, Ph.D. Neuro-Epidemiology, Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon
• Steve Mooney, Ph.D. Epidemiology, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the University of Washington in Seattle, WA
• Marilyn Tseng, Ph.D. Epidemiology, Assistant Professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Public Health at Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo, CA

We tried to keep this as clearcut as possible to get pertinent information to you directly.

What would you say is the best thing to avoid at the airport if you do have to fly?

Prof. Martine El Bejjani: The best thing to avoid is the airport itself.

I want to start by saying that flying is a risky business in this pandemic. I truly understand the need to travel, be it to escape, to be reunited with loved ones, for work, or just to gain some sense of normalcy and fun. But it is fundamentally difficult and risky and should be avoided and postponed if possible because it won’t allow you to escape the pandemic. It actually puts travelers in high-risk exposure in a super uncontrolled environment with large crowds and several transactions to do.

One crucial thing to note here is when traveling, someone will be carrying their original location’s exposure and the plane/airport’s exposure to their destination (so if they are reuniting with family, they will be bringing to them these risks, and similarly on the way back). That means a lot of movement of uncontrollable risk. Also, a smart way to start is to get all information required by airlines or your destination (especially if going to another country) regarding flight regulations and requirements (some destinations require testing to be done before or upon landing) and to have information about how COVID is spreading in your origin and destination locations.

To answer your question, the way to travel safely would be to upscale the usual measures and be hyper-vigilant given the higher risk that airport and flying entail. So, I would be wearing a mask (and having extra masks to go), extra cautious about not touching my face, hyper-vigilant about hand hygiene. That means avoiding at all cost touching surfaces and making sure to wash my hands and carry sanitizers to sanitize my hands following every interaction/transaction (even giving my passport or boarding pass to custom or flight agents). It also means being hyper-vigilant about keeping distance in the sea of strangers. One more recommendation would be to speak up if things are getting too crazy. For instance, ask other people nicely in security or boarding lines to keep their distance and share your concerns with other flyers or flight attendants or agents — a risk reduction for one is a risk reduction for many.

Prof. Steve Mooney: I think in general, it’s the same as anywhere else. Try to stay away from other people, keep a mask on as much as possible, wash hands often.

Prof. Marilyn Tseng: Based on what we know about transmission of COVID-19, the thing to avoid anywhere is closed spaces with close contact with lots of people. I would say that at airports, as anywhere else public, it would be best to be in open spaces away from other people, and if there are other people, they should be keeping their breath and saliva to themselves — that is wearing masks and not yelling or talking loudly.

What would you say is the best thing to avoid while on the plane?

Prof. Martine El Bejjani: Not removing the mask and not touching surfaces. I would make sure to disinfect my tablet and seat, and just be hyper-vigilant about what I am touching, especially around the bathroom. It’s probably smart to disinfect hands even after washing them if you had to touch the bathroom door again. Touching the luggage bins, or even what is served on the plane, it is important to carry hand sanitizers and have the reflex to disinfect your hands after every movement/transaction. Of course, I would avoid getting close to other flyers.

Prof. Steve Mooney: Prior to the pandemic, I wouldn’t think twice about eating or drinking while on the plane. As much as possible, I’d now avoid anything that would involve taking off a mask where I might be sharing air with another person.

Prof. Marilyn Tseng: Again, the general guideline is as much as possible to be in open spaces away from other people. There really is no open space on an airplane, so the next best thing is maintaining space between you and others and making sure that everyone is keeping breath and saliva to themselves. One location of the airplane that is more closed-space is the toilet, so that might be one of the things to avoid on an airplane. Given the constraints of air travel, another thing to be more careful about than usual is avoiding touching your own face.

Is paying for an extra seat between you and another passenger — similar to what Frontier Air is offering — going to make a difference?

Prof. Martine El Bejjani: I think so. Social distancing is very important. This should be offered by all airlines. Flights shouldn’t be booked to capacity. They should be booked in a way to ensure the safety of all travelers.

Prof. Steve Mooney: I’d definitely defer to the engineers who understand air circulation within planes. But from first principles, it does seem like increasing distances should decrease the shared air, which should reduce transmission risk.

Prof. Marilyn Tseng: I know that I personally would feel uncomfortable sitting right next to someone on a plane at a time when COVID-19 cases are still rising in the US. But we really don’t have enough research to know how much of a difference it makes, if any, to have an empty seat in between. The issue is that you and the other person, whether right next to you or with a seat in between (but still within 6’), are sharing the same air space for the length of the flight.

What concerns you the most when you arrive somewhere? What would you recommend as a post-flight routine?

Prof. Martine El Bejjani: My biggest concern would be the exposure from the flight and airport. So I would stick with a long quarantine (14 days from the time of arrival), especially if I am flying to see other people. It’s too stressful to think that I can carry a risk to them, especially older relatives or people at risk from complications, or people who have been working so hard to avoid the infection, I wouldn’t want to undo all their sacrifices!

Prof. Steve Mooney: I think I’d focus on getting to a place where I could wash my hands, take off my travel clothes, take off my mask, eat and drink, and generally take a deep breath and relax.

Prof. Marilyn Tseng: I haven’t traveled by air since the pandemic, but generally, I’d recommend at least a very good handwashing, and maybe also a change of clothes and shower just to feel better.

In 2015, My Morning Jacket shared their album The Waterfall, which earned the group a Grammy nomination for Best Alternative Music Album. The band originally toyed with the idea of putting out the record in three parts, but eventually scrapped that plan in favor of a more palatable two-part record. Now, after five years, My Morning Jacket is finally ready to release the latter half of the record, The Waterfall II.

My Morning Jacket hasn’t given fans much warning before their album will see a release. The group detailed The Waterfall II on Tuesday and the record is slated to be released Friday. The 10-track project was inspired by the group’s idyllic surroundings in the secluded Stinson Beach in California, which vocalist Jim James likened to “living on our own little moon.”

In a statement, James continued: “As so many of us feel out of tune and long for the world to be a better place, we have to look to nature and the animals and learn from them: learn to love, accept, move on and respect each other. We gotta work for it and change our ways before it’s too late, and get in harmony with love and equality for all of humanity and for nature too.”

The band plans on hosting a live album listening party for fans just ahead of the record’s release on Thursday at 9 p.m. ET on My Morning Jacket’s YouTube and Facebook pages. While The Waterfall II debuts on digital platforms Friday, the record won’t see a physical release until August 28.

Check out My Morning Jacket’s The Waterfall II cover art and tracklist below.

1. “Spinning My Wheels”
2. “Still Thinkin”
3. “Climbing the Ladder”
4. “Feel You”
5. “Beautiful Love (Wasn’t Enough)”
6. “Magic Bullet”
7. “Run It”
8. “Wasted”
9. “Welcome Home”
10. “The First Time”

The Waterfall II is out 7/10 via ATO. Pre-order it here.

As teams prepare to make the journey to Orlando to begin isolation and, hopefully, get on the court next week to begin ramping up practices and workouts prior to the restarted season, there was a flurry of news regarding players that won’t be heading to Disney on Tuesday morning.

The first big domino to fall was that of Bradley Beal, as the All-Star guard was ruled out by the Wizards and will not travel with the team due to a lingering shoulder injury and concerns about worsening that during the restart. With Beal out, Washington’s hopes of reaching the postseason take a major hit, as they’re now without Beal, John Wall, and Davis Bertans. Elsewhere in the East playoff hunt, the Brooklyn Nets will likewise make the trip to Orlando without being at full strength.

Wilson Chandler and DeAndre Jordan both have already opted out of playing in the bubble, with Chandler citing family reasons and Jordan testing positive for COVID-19. They will now be joined by Spencer Dinwiddie in being ruled out, as Nets doctors have reportedly decided to sit the budding star guard out after he has been battling a symptomatic case of COVID-19 over the last week-plus. Dinwiddie tested positive once again on Tuesday after hoping to potentially return to the court this week, and announced the news on Twitter.

While the Nets have brought in Justin Anderson as a substitute player already, they will be without a number of key contributors as they head to Orlando and the race for the final playoff spot in the East figures to play out among two teams without most of their top players. Hopefully Dinwiddie will be clear of the virus in the near future and will be able to make a full recovery, but even if he’s cleared soon will have to simply root on his squad from home as they battle for position in Orlando.

Those who remain nostalgic about late 1990s nights spent watching MTV may have felt conflicted about Comedy Central’s decision to nab Mike Judge for a “reimagining” of Beavis And Butt-Head. The seminal MTV animated show will receive tweaks, obviously, and Comedy Central’s announcement suggested that the two juvenile delinquents have graduated into adulthood, and “[t]he Gen X defining leads are back and entering a whole new Gen Z world.” What does that mean, though?

I was kinda pulling for time travel rather than aging the duo, although the fish-out-of-water concept might not be the best option for longevity. The reimagining’s already set for at least two seasons, and Judge has stressed that “[i]t seemed like the time was right to get stupid again.” Hmm, stupid is a broad term, but it should include the pair rocking out to music videos, right?

Well, Vulture spoke with Chris McCarthy, President of Entertainment & Youth Group at Comedy Central, and the prioritization of music video interludes doesn’t sound good. It also sounds like Beavis and Butt-Head found women who wished to procreate with them, and now they’re facing real adulting challenges:

“[I]n the case of the new Beavis and Butt-head, McCarthy says Judge is looking at a show in which the iconic duo moves beyond riffs on music videos and pop culture: ‘The story that we’re talking about working with Mike is: What happens if they grow up? And what happens if they have kids?’”

Does “moves beyond” mean that the show will leave music videos in the dust, like MTV arguably has? Artists are obviously still making videos (thank goodness for YouTube), but do Beavis and Butt-Head now have other focuses in life? No time for headbanging? Say it ain’t so. I might be reading too much into things, but it’s still strange to think of these guys holding down full-time jobs and making mortgage payments and grounding their own kids.

Perhaps Judge only intends to downplay the videos and use them sparingly. That would be preferable to abandoning one of the original series’ mainstays, which would be as disappointing as writing Cornholio out of pop culture history. In the meantime, Comedy Central’s also still planning a Daria spinoff (called Jodie) that’ll be voiced by Tracee Ellis Ross, and that’s part of Comedy Central’s decision to get more serious in the already crowded adult animated market.

(Via Vulture)