But the reverse is also true. When you’re in another country and unexpectedly encounter someone who speaks your language, it’s a refreshing and delightful surprise. Americans are pretty familiar with that experience, as it’s not uncommon to find people who speak English in other countries, but that’s not the case for everyone.
It’s especially not the case for Chinese people living in the U.S., where only around 1% of people speak Chinese at home, and those numbers are split between Mandarin, Cantonese and other dialects. Finding an American who comfortably speaks Mandarin is a rarity, which is why a video of employees of a Chinese restaurant reacting to a customer doing just that has gone viral.
That customer is musician Kevin Olusola, most well known as one of the vocalists in the a cappella group Pentatonix. Olusola was picking up some food at Okome Asian Grill in his home state of Kentucky when he surprised the crew by responding to them in Mandarin, and their reaction was sheer surprise and delight.
Olusola shared in the comments that it meant a lot to him and filled his heart when the woman said, “You’re one of us.”
He joked in the video about being born and raised in Beijing, but he actually only lived there and studied Chinese for a year and a half. But as he said, he loved the language and put his “whole heart” into studying it. And apparently, however he learned it was incredibly effective.
“As a native Chinese speaker I need people to realize how amazing this is: not only is he speaking Chinese fluently and pretty quickly, he’s also slurring certain words/speaking in a certain accent, using sentence patterns, and using phrases that’s specific to Beijing: he is literally in every sense speaking like a Beijing locals, it’s so cool to see đ” shared one commenter.
Another commenter explained what he said after “The food is” in the video: “Se Xiang Wei Ju Quan, literally ‘colour,’ ‘aroma,’ ‘taste,’ ‘complete,’ the first three are the three basic requirements of well made food in the philosophy of Chinese cooking, so essentially it means ‘Your food is amazing, it looks good, smells good and tastes good.'”
Another person wrote, “Iâve been watching videos like this on YouTube..itâs always so interesting. Once that language barrier comes down we are so much alike.” That comment hit home for Olusola and he responded to it with another video.
“Once language barriers go down you realize that we’re all alikeâthat statement resonates so deeply with me,” he said. “I remember living in Beijing and hanging out with my Chinese friends, speaking to them in Chinese, and once the language barrier was down I realized that they had the same hopes, dreams and fears that I hadâŚI think that’s why empathy and understanding are so embedded in language learning.”
Empathy and understanding really are the key to shared humanity. Ideally, one day we will have a universal language that we all learn to speak in addition to our native tongues, so that we won’t have to navigate those language barriers that artificially separate us. But in the meantime, learning another culture’s language can be a bridge that unites people in moments of delight like this one.
âFollow your passionâ is a cliche you will hear in almost every graduation commencement speech. But we all accept it as a golden rule for life because we hear it so often and it feels right.
We tell ourselves that if we are passionate about something, we will be good at it and it will sustain us throughout our lives. However, Scott Galloway, a self-made millionaire and marketing professor at New York University Stern School of Business, thinks that telling people to follow their passions is bad advice.
In 2005, Galloway founded the digital intelligence firm L2 Inc., a venture that would go on to be acquired by Gartner for a staggering $155 million in March 2017.
âł[Return on investment] and sex appeal are inversely correlated. What do we mean about that? Simply put: Donât follow your passion,â Galloway told CNBC Make It. Instead, Galloway proposes a more practical approach. âFind out what youâre good at and then invest 10,000 hours in it â and become great at it,â Galloway says.
The 10,000-hour theory Malcolm Gladwell explains in his book âOutliers,â states that to become exceptionally good at something, you need about 10,000 hours of practice. In his book, he emphasizes that it’s not just talent that matters; putting in the time and effort is key to mastering any skill or profession.
In âOutliers,â Gladwell notes that highly successful people, including Bill Gates, The Beatles, and Robert Oppenheimer, all put 10,000 hours into their particular skill sets before reaching incredible heights of success.
âPeople often come to NYU and say, âFollow your passionâ â which is total bulls***, especially because the individual telling you to follow your passion usually became magnificently wealthy selling software as a service for the scheduling of health care maintenance workers. And I refuse to believe that that was his or her passion,â Calloway continues.
Calloway adds that one of the benefits of focusing on our natural gifts is that it will eventually inspire passion. âWhat they were passionate about was being great at something, and then the accouterments of being great at something â the recognition from colleagues, the money, the status will make you passionate about whatever it is,â Galloway said.
A 2018 report by Stanford researchers came to a similar conclusion. The researchers believe that following oneâs passions isnât a clear road to success for numerous reasons. The maxim assumes that we have only one passion in life and that it will not change over time. It also gives the impression that when we follow our passions, weâll always magically fall into our dream jobs and become successful.
Finally, just because one is passionate about something doesnât necessarily mean they are good at it.
While some may think Callowayâs advice is cynical and heartless, there’s something extraordinary about nurturing our natural gifts and using them to achieve success in life. In a world where our talents and passions may not always align, embracing what makes you unique and sharing it with the world in your own special way is a beautiful gift that you can offer.
After the last few weeks, I think itâs fair to say that we all agree hip-hop needed to settle down a bit. The energy was getting too negative, and honestly, a lot of really great releases were being overshadowed. Fortunately, white flags were waved, so we have plenty of room to take in and appreciate new releases this week, including:
Anderson .Paak and Knxwledgeâs latest foray as NxWorries, âFromHere,â which features a fascinating monologue from the one and only Snoop Dogg.
Chance The Rapperâs impassioned plea for housing justice, âTogether,â which finds DJ Premier sampling one of his own classics with another Chicago star.
Lupe Fiascoâs new comeback single âSamurai,â which turned out to be alarmingly timely thanks to some video game news this week.
And Saweetieâs new single âNani,â whose release sees the Bay Area baddie overcome a lot of label reluctance to bring her dream to fruition.
Here is the best of hip-hop this week ending May 17, 2024.
Albums/EPs/Mixtapes
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie â Better Off Alone
A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie
The Bronx native returns after two years with a 21-song collection of hood harmonies and emotional, melodic rap. A strong guest list including fellow New York breakout Cash Cobain, Atlanta trap luminaries Future and Young Thug, and Chicago drill pioneer Lil Durk bolsters A Boogieâs latest, but he remains the star on what turns out to be a breezy listen despite the hefty tracklist.
Courtney Bell â Microdose
Courtney Bell
Courtney Bell has been rolling out his latest project for some weeks, and the full project lives up to the hype. Teaming up with fellow Detroit native Royce Da 5â9, who contributes a handful of verses in addition to executive producing, the underground firecracker displays his credentials and heady concepts across 14 tracks with contributions from Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine, LaRussell, Symba, and more.
Kamaiyah â Figuring Out My Emotions
Kamaiyah
The Bay is on this week. Kamaiyah, who we last heard from on her 2023 release Another Summer Night, gets in her vulnerability bag (another common strain in this weekâs releases). Over bass-heavy, slow funk instrumentals, Kamaiyah explores themes of romance and loss â not an entirely unknown concept in her music â while delivering on the same party-ready grooves.
Rapsody â Please Donât Cry
We Each Other/Jamia Records
Over the years, Rapsody has kind of become an emblem of the anti-âpussyâ rap, âreal hip-hopâ proponents who tut-tut Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion in favor of Rapâs no-frills, all-bars approach to the form. However, on her latest, Rap takes more time to introduce us to Marlanna Evans, the person behind the persona, revealing all the human complexities such critiques usually miss. The result is not only her best album, but perhaps the best rap album of the year so far.
ShooterGang Kony â Opps Canât Have Fun
ShooterGang Kony
The Sacramento rapper fuses spacious, introspective samples with thumping, West Coast beats to remind listeners that for some, the street rhymes stem from a real lifestyle, not just commercial viability. Heâs also got some of the wittiest bars from a street rapper Iâve heard all year including a WILD Anne Frank reference that almost made me spit out my coffee.
Singles/Videos
Chow Lee â âSwag It!â Feat. Flo Milli
Sexy drill is a thing now, and the world has both Cash Cobain and Chow Lee to thank. Lee is an amusing presence, but Flo Milli continues her run of show-stealing performances here, which warrants a listen.
DJ Quik & JasonMartin â âTwo Hi (Waves)â Feat. Channel Tres, Free Nationals & George Clinton
If you saw the two names involved and thought you knew exactly how this song would sound, have I got some news for you. Itâs certainly a Quik groove, but itâs also a mellow, jazzy vibe, courtesy of its guests. The song will appear on Quik and Problemâs second joint project, Chupacabra, which is coming soon via Empire.
Dreamville & Red Bull â âSpiral Freestyleâ
If there was any rap crew that deserved to hit Red Bullâs long-running performance series, I canât think of too many who would make as much of the opportunity as J. Coleâs posse. Cozz, Earthgang, and Lute have been beyond solid for the label, even if much of the attention is reserved for Bas, JID, and the founder, and this freestyle gives them the chance to shine on their own terms.
Mutant Academy â âMake A Wishâ
The Virginia rap collectiveâs new EP, Talk Soon, is out now, and in finding a representative starting point for listeners, I decided the best place is the beginning. The EPâs intro is also a solid introduction to the groupâs respective members and their freewheeling, cipher-esque sound.
No one likes doing the dishes, but the tedious chore is made much easier when using a dishwasher. However, an alarming amount of people have reported that their dishwashers can actually make the job harder because they don’t properly fit their dishes.
And that’s where Twitter user Mike McLoughlin (@zuroph) comes in.
Back in January, McLoughlin made an observation about his dishwasher that would change the way he does dishes forever. For a decade, the Irishman thought that the bottom rack of his washer simply was too small for his large dinner plates. Then he made an amazing discovery:
The tweet went totally viral, and was shared over 14,000 times. He even tweeted a picture to show just how much he could fit in the dishwasher now that he knows the racks are adjustable:
I moved into this house in 2008. It always annoyed me that the lower level of the dishwasher wasnât tall enough to fit my biggest dinner plates. Been handwashing them all this time. This week I discovered you can raise the upper shelf and all my plates fit fine. TEN FUCKING YEARS
The “hack” (is it still called a hack if the appliance is doing what it is supposed to be doing?) blew people’s minds:
Haha, brilliant. My car key central locking is dodgy so I’ve been getting in on passenger side for ages, hauling myself across the handbrake. I paid mechanic âŹ100 to show me that the problem is solved by putting the key in driver door and turning it. Click!
But other people were basically like, “Seriously, dude?”
â (@)
â (@)
While a group of others tried to one-up McLoughlin with stories of their own:
18 YEARS! I’ve had mine 18 years and only just realised! I used to lie the plates down so they would wash! I’m raging and ecstatic all at the same time. Do you have any other helpful hints about how to live life efficiently?!
The magic of twitter. 5 years of confusion about why my dishwasher was the only one on the planet that didnât fit normal dinner plates. A year of measuring every dinner plate that crossed my path for one that might. Fixed in 30 seconds. @zuroph you are my hero. https://t.co/dYIuXD5Itq
Woke up this morning. Saw your tweet. Leapt out of bed and feverishly emptied top rack of dishwasher. Voila! Rack moved up a notch and my dinner plates now fit perfectly! Thank you..it’s been five years of frustration..life changing:)
Thats neat but hold my beerđ….my friend just found out in 2017 that her kitchen HAD a dishwasher. She thought it was a false cabinet as it was so hard to open. Her niece forced it open and voila instant dishwasher! She owns the property and lived there for 8yrs by then..đ
Try this one on for size. I grew up in anAsian house hold and thought it was only a drying rack until sophmore year of college when my roomate @eddieschneider1 was wondering why I was hand washing dishes. TWENTY FUCKING YEARS https://t.co/dAyEsmF7Ik
Marcos Alberti’s “3 Glasses” project began with a joke and a few drinks with his friends.
The photo project originally depicted Alberti’s friends drinking, first immediately after work and then after one, two, and three glasses of wine.
But after Imgur user minabear circulated the story, “3 Glasses” became more than just a joke. In fact, it went viral, garnering more than 1 million views and nearly 1,800 comments in its first week. So Alberti started taking more pictures and not just of his friends.
“The first picture was taken right away when our guests (had) just arrived at the studio in order to capture the stress and the fatigue after a full day after working all day long and from also facing rush hour traffic to get here,” Alberti explained on his website. “Only then fun time and my project could begin. At the end of every glass of wine, a snapshot, nothing fancy, a face and a wall, 3 times.”
Why was the series so popular? Anyone who has ever had a long day at work and needed to “wine” down will quickly see why.
When âEA Sports College Football 25â comes out on July 19, there will be plenty of college football fans wanting to go up against their friends online. However, not everyone plays the game on the same system, and with the game releasing on the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X/S, many folks will wonder if they can play their friends on another console.
The answer is yes, but only for certain game modes. EA Sports says cross-platform play will be available in three modes, but one major one is missing from the list.
In College Football 25, you can play cross-platform in Road to the College Football Playoff, College Football Ultimate Team, and Play a Friend.
This would appear to mean you will not be able to set up a cross-platform online Dynasty, as one would expect them to list that with these options if it were going to be available. That is a bit of a bummer, but for those looking to set up an Online Dynasty with friends on the same platform, it will support up to 32 different players in one Dynasty, which could be truly wild.
Eventually we might get crossplay dynasties, but for now youâll be able to set up individual games, play Ultimate Team, and the new Road to the College Football Playoff with folks on another console.
We first shined a light on Milwaukee rapper Myaap (pronounced mia-p) back in December following a successful 2023 year that elevated her stock and expanded her fan base. Her rise continued just a month in 2024 as she was enlisted as an opening act for Veeze on the second leg of the Ganger Tour. Myaap smartly used the five-week run of shows to debut live performances from her Big Myaap, Not The Lil One project, released just a week before she hit the road. Itâs been smart move after smart move for the Milwaukee native, and when you combine good music with that, itâs a surefire recipe for success.
To take things even further, Myaap also incorporates her love for dance into her artistry, making music that leans into it and uses it promote her music as her social media pages are riddled with videos showing off her dance moves. Myaapâs first viral moment came as a result of her 2023 track âGetting To Itâ which produced a TikTok dance craze that stars like ReneeĚ Rapp, Coco Jones and Meghan Trainor joined in on. Youâll soon learn that dance has always been a foundational aspect of Myaapâs life, just like her hometown of Milwaukee. Her sound is very much tied to the city that has produced notable names like Lakeyah, DC The Don, Certified Trapper, and more. Sheâs proud to be a part of Milwaukeeâs rap scene, and itâs reflected in her music, and the love is reciprocated in a fan base that continuously pushes her to new heights.
With more in store for 2024, we caught up with Myaap to learn a bit more about her as a part of our Uproxx Music 20 series. Scroll down to find out abut her inspirations, influences, and aspirations.
My earliest memory of music is dancing, just taking lessons in Milwaukee. Iâve used that early memory and my passion for dancing to incorporate into my music now.
Who inspired you to take music seriously?
TikTok! I was uploading music on there when I first started, and that really motivated me to keep going âcause they were dancing and supporting the music I was putting out. That motivated me to make even more music. I was just playing at first, but that made me take it more seriously when I saw that they were really liking it, and making dance routines to it that were getting views on TikTok.
Do you know how to play an instrument? If so, which one? If not, which instrument do you want to learn how to play?
I used to play the piano when I was in school, but I donât really know how to play it like that anymore [laughs]. I wanna learn how to play the electric guitar or violin, and start incorporating them into some of my beats.
What was your first job?
My first job was working at McDonalds, then I started working at Gap, then Walmart. After that, I stopped working because I got fired from Walmart when I took a drink out of the machine, and they considered that to be theft. I used to make my TikToks at Walmart while I was working there too. I got fired last year in February â ever since, I just started taking my music more seriously and going to the studio more. I was still going when I was working but not as much.
What is your most prized possession?
Thereâs a lot of stuff I canât live without. I canât live without my AirPods and my phone, âcause thatâs how I write my music. I need that at all times â especially when Iâm on the road, to write my music. It helps to have ideas and lyrics written down already.
What is your biggest fear?
Bugs! All bugs. One time I was asleep at home and I felt a spider crawling on me while I was asleep, and that scared me. I didnât even wanna go back to sleep after that!
You get 24 hours to yourself to do anything you want, with unlimited resources: What are you doing? And spare no details!
Iâd just still be in the studio and keep working! Thatâs what I like to do. If I had 24 hours, Iâd love to see how many songs I could get done in those 24 hours. I would guess I could get about 20 songs done, or probably even more if I had some ideas written down already.
What are your three most used emojis?
.
Whatâs a feature you need to secure before you die?
Veeze, Sexy Redd, and Rio Da Yung Og. Rio actually already just added me on Instagram yesterday â that would be so crazy if we could do a song together!
If you could appear in a future season of a current TV show, which one would it be and why?
I feel like BMF, âcause Meech is from Detroit and I feel like there should be some Milwaukee in there too. In real life, BMF was actually in Milwaukee too, so I feel ike it would be fire if we got representation in that series.
Which celebrity do you admire or respect for their personality and why?
Veeze! He has a nice personality, and heâs very humble. Being on tour with him, I learned that he likes different genres of music â we were listening to the Shrek song (âAll Starâ by Smash Mouth), and we were just dancing to it together. I didnât even know he listened to that kind of stuff!
Share your opinion on something no one could ever change your mind about.
I love dancing and canât nobody change that. People always tell me to change up my dance moves, but Iâma forever do the same dance moves. If you get tired of seeing it, I donât care!
What is the best song youâve ever heard in your life and what do you love about it?
âEverybodyâ by Nicki Minaj and Uzi. I like it âcause itâs bounce music and Iâve never heard Nicki make a song like that â itâs different. I feel like Nicki and Uzi work really good together.
Whatâs your favorite city in the world to perform, and whatâs a city youâre excited to perform in for the first time?
I liked Buffalo, New York a lot. Performing there with Veeze on the Ganger Tour was the first time Iâd been there, and theyâre super lit. They knew my songs and were dancing along with me during my set. Iâm excited to perform in San Diego, Iâm about to perform there!
You are throwing a music festival. Give us the dream lineup of 5 artists that will perform with you and the location where it would be held.
I would say Certified Trapper, Chicken P, J.P., AyooLii. I would have it in Milwaukee or New York, and use it to show off all of the talent we have coming out of Milwaukee.
What would you be doing now if it werenât for music?
If it wasnât for music, Iâd probably be somewhere working right now, or somewhere dancing and making TikToks. I always wanted to be a back-up dancer âcause I was dancing when I was younger, but I guess I grew out of that. I never knew I was gonna be a rapper, thatâs whatâs crazy. I saw myself as either being a back-up dancer or working a regular job.
If you could see five years into the future or go five years into the past, which one would you pick and why?
I would choose to see five years in the future to see how far I would be compared to where I am now. I predict Iâll have a big house, somewhere outside of Milwaukee. I see myself having a lot of plaques hanging on my wall. I see myself winning a Grammy in five years, and performing at the BET Awards, and all that.
Whatâs one piece of advice youâd go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Just to stay focused and not give up. I used to wanna give up when I was young âcause I wasnât really motivated. My supporters, my team and my family all support me now, plus watching other artists and their success all motivate me now. I would tell myself not to ever give up.
Itâs 2050. The world hasnât ended, and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
I would like to be remembered for doing my dance, and just encourage people to keep listening to me and my music!
Big Myaap, Not The Lil One is out now. Find out more information here.
Itâs almost time to see what those crazy kids of Hawkins, Indiana have been up to since we last saw them battling a squishy demon. That was several years ago at this point, so who knows what these former kids/current adults are doing now.
Production of season five of Stranger Things began back in January, and Ross Duffer has been doing a good job chronicling the fifth and final season by dropping some fun and cryptic photos on Instagram every few weeks. Now that they are on week 19, things are starting to look real. Not including the special effects.
Duffer posted another set of behind the scenes images this week, showing off some new potential plot points for the story. The latest look features Nancy and Jonathan (Natalia Dyer and Charlie Heaton) looking alarmed while in the backseat of a car, while another shot features Robin (Maya Hawke) parading around set. One shot reveals a blue van labeled âWSQK 94.5 FM The Squawk,â which might be a hint at a potential plot point. Or itâs just a cool van.
There is also a glimpse of a G.I. Joe lunchbox and a Transformers shirt, in case you forgot the series is now set in the â80s. Check out the full set here:
While filming has been going for nearly 20 weeks, we probably wonât get season five until next year. You can relive the magic by watching seasons 1-4 on Netflix or visiting your local demonic feeding ground.
Thatâs probably an absurd sentence to read for anyone under the age of 22, but for those of us that grew up on the NCAA Football franchise, itâs all very remarkable and very exciting. Fans of the old franchise were incredibly loyal â I remember showing up to GameStop for the midnight release and seeing the same guys lined up waiting for their copies every year â and if you are a college football fan in your 30s or 40s, youâre probably extremely excited for the new edition to come out.
LeBron James falls squarely into that category, and on Friday he joined the masses in excitedly tweeting about the new trailer, as heâs ready to fire up the game and lead his Buckeyes to some national titles.
I always enjoy moments when athletes and fans are aligned on something. LeBron is someone fans are usually trying to play as in NBA 2K, but when the new college football game comes out on July 19, heâll be right alongside us on the virtual gridiron, trying to build a dynasty at Ohio State.
Russâ latest Friday single release is âWorking On Me,â a laid-back rumination on a failing relationship set to a downtempo, grungy guitar loop. After crooning and rapping the first half of the track, Russ cedes the mic to his It Was You All Along Tour mate, 6lack. The Atlanta rapper-singer takes over to deliver an apologetic double-time verse admitting his wrongdoings and promising to step it up in the future.
The It Was You All Along Tour kicks off in two weeks on May 31 in Seattle, then runs through the month of June, ending in Brooklyn, New York, on June 28. You can see the tour dates below.
Between dates on Russâ tour, 6lack has scheduled his own No More Lonely Nights Tour dates, announcing a string of shows running concurrently beginning tomorrow, May 18, in Honolulu, Hawaii, and hitting a few extra cities throughout June, including Albuquerque, San Antonio, St. Louis, and more. You can see those tour dates below as well.
You can listen to âWorking On Meâ above.
RussâIt Was You All Along Tour Dates
05/31 â- Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
06/02 â- Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
06/06 â- Inglewood, CA @ Kia Forum
06/08 â- Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
06/13 â- Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
06/15 â- Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
06/21 â- St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
06/23 â- Chicago, IL @ United Center
06/25 â- Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
06/28 â- Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
6lackâs No More Lonely Nights Tour Dates
05/18 â Honolulu, HI @ The Republik
06/09 â Albuquerque, NM @ Revel Entertainment Center
06/11 â San Antonio, TX @ The Aztec Theater
06/18 â St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
06/19 â Cincinnati, OH @ Bogartâs
06/22 â Waukee, IA @ Vibrant Music Hall
06/27 â McKees Rocks, PA @ Roxian Theatre
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, and Play a Friend.
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