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I’m not much of a baker, but I do love a good cookie. And — as good as storebought cookies can be — there’s nothing quite like making cookies at home. The baking smells alone make it worth the effort.

This is especially true of hamantaschen. The Jewish cookie is massively important during Purim, which was held in March. But there’s really nothing stopping you from baking a batch anytime. While the cookie is more like a tart, or tartelette if you will, in modern terms it feels like a bridge between fancy Fig Newtons and a really good Pop-Tart (with, you know, real ingredients). The crust/cookie bit is soft yet crumbly with a nice dose of vanilla and citrus zest. Then the filling is the clincher, especially with a nice, dark jam. I like slightly spiced plum or fig personally, but more on that below.

For this recipe, I’m sticky fairly close to the recipe given by King Arthur Baking since, again, I’m no baker. I’m also not following any pareve laws as I’m not Jewish nor did I grow up in that culture. I’m just making tasty cookies that I like to eat, at home.

Hamantaschen

Ingredients:

• 420g AP flour (plus extra for rolling)
• 170g unsalted butter, room temp.
• 150g white sugar
• 20g corn starch
• 8g baking powder
• 3g salt
• 10g orange zest
• 4g vanilla extract (or one vanilla bean, scraped)
• 2 large egg
• Jam of your choice

Since these are all very common ingredients that you can get at any grocery store, let’s talk filling. The most traditional/common is poppy seed and plum/prune jam with a hint of spice. I’m going for the latter, as that’s what I associate most with these. Also, I have pretty good plum jam on hand. I’m also doing a few with a smooth strawberry jam and an Italian fig compote to mix it up a bit (plus, that’s what’s open in my fridge at the moment).

If you want, you can go savory with chunky nut paste, pesto, tomato-onion jam, any chutney, mint jelly, and so forth. It’s really only limited by your own creativity.

What You’ll Need:

• Stand mixer with cake paddle (or bowl and wooden spoon)
• Fine mesh sieve
• Plastic wrap
• Rolling pin
• Cookie sheet
• Baking paper
• 3-inch round cookie cutter
• Food brush
• Spoon, fork, knife
• Bowls
• Spatula
• Cooling rack

Method:

• Combine flour, corn starch, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and mix with a fork to combine.
• In the mixing bowl, combine the butter and sugar and mix until fully combined — creamed — and light in color. Add the vanilla, orange zest, one egg, and one egg white (save the yolk for later) and continue to mix everything until fully combined and smooth.
• Sieve the flour mix into the mixing bowl and continue to mix until a dough just forms. The dough should be light, smooth, pliable, and not sticky at all.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and separate it into two dough balls and then cover with plastic wrap. Place the dough balls into the fridge to rest for one hour.
• Preheat your oven to 375F with a rack right in the middle of the oven.
• After an hour, roll out one dough ball at a time on a heavily floured surface to about 1/4-inch thickness.
• Use a cookie cutter to cut 3-inch rounds. You should easily get 12 rounds per dough ball.
• Place the flat cookies on a paper-lined cookie sheet. Spoon about one tablespoon of the jam of your choice into the center of each round. (Too much jam and the edges will pop when it expands in the oven)
• Fold over the round edges to create a triangle shape while pinching the three points to seal the cookie.
• Lightly scramble the extra egg yolk with a tablespoon of water and brush the yolk around the edges of the cookie.
• Bake for ten to 12 minutes or until they start to just brown.
• Remove the cookies from the oven and place them on a cooling rack. Let cool for at least ten minutes to allow the jam to turn from molten lava to set and cool.

Bottom Line:

The first thing I thought when I bit into the fig hamantaschen was “this is the best Fig Newton I’ve ever had!” These were very solid. The strawberry was a little sweet for me — I don’t eat many sweets. But the smooth and lightly spiced plum jam was great.

It had a great contrast in color from the dark jam to the lightly browned cookie triangle. The mild winter spice and almost meaty plum were a good counterpoint to the vanilla and orange in the cookie. It was just really damn good. Plus, it held its shape when you bit into it. I’ve had these in the past and they crumble when you picked them up. No one wants that.

Lastly, this wasn’t nearly as labor-intensive as one might imagine. If you have a stand mixer, this doesn’t take more than an hour with all the dough-making, cutting, baking, and batches. Plus, you’ll have an hour of downtime in the middle to do something else. Just make sure you let these cool properly. That jam in the middle will burn your mouth if you get too excited and pop one of these in there right out of the oven.

Elvis, a new biopic about, yes, Elvis Presley is on the way soon, as it’s set to open on June 24. Ahead of then, though, Doja Cat has previewed the soundtrack with “Vegas,” the song she recorded for the movie that she dropped earlier this month. Now, we have the full scope of who else is involved with the soundtrack, as the list of musicians who recorded something for the movie was shared today.

Among that group is Eminem and CeeLo Green, who came together for a new song, “The King And I.” Right around when the list of participating artists was released, Eminem shared a 15-second clip of the film that offers a snippet of the song, which seems to be based on Presley’s iconic “Jailhouse Rock” riff.

Aside from Eminem and Green, the soundtrack also features “original songs and recordings” from Presley himself, along with the film’s star, Austin Butler. Beyond that, also involved are Ann Nesby, Alton Mason, Chris Isaak, Denzel Curry, Doja Cat, Gary Clark Jr., Jack White, Lenesha Randolph, Jazmine Sullivan, Kacey Musgraves, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Les Greene, Måneskin, Nardo Wick, Paravi, PNAU, Rufus Thomas, Shonka Dukureh, Stevie Nicks, Swae Lee and Diplo, Tame Impala, and Yola.

Like father, like son. In a warm moment this past weekend, CJ Wallace, son of The Notorious B.I.G, took the stage and delivered a spirited performance of his late father’s classic record “One More Chance.” He chose no better time to do so, rapping along with those who also attended the second annual B.I.G Dinner Gala. This year’s event was especially significant as this would have been the Brooklyn legend’s 50th birthday.

Lil Kim spearheaded The B.I.G Dinner Gala, partnering with Pepsi and Lexus to put on the event at New York City’s Guastavino’s. Fat Joe, Havoc, Sway, and many more came out to celebrate Biggie’s legacy, which has stood firmly atop the music game despite now being gone for 25 years. Media veteran Sway even took the stage to share some of his memories with B.I.G before the performances began.

The gala aligns with The Notorious B.I.G’s most recent posthumous release “G.O.A.T” featuring Ty Dolla Sign and Bella Alubo. The track utilizes his verses from “I Love The Dough” in a completely reimagined way over Afrobeats production on his first release in 17 years. Last week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams declared that May 19 would forever be known as ‘Biggie Day’, in addition to various other celebratory measures the city displayed over the week.

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

Ted Cruz, a United States senator, ranted on his podcast last week about how former-SNL cast member Pete Davidson is “getting all these hot girls,” including Kim Kardashian and Kate Beckinsale. “I mean, you’re talking Underworld, you’re talking, like, super hot vampire in black leather trench coat,” he said, adding, “But really? The SNL dude?” Yes, really, the SNL dude, and Emily Ratajkowski can explain why.

Anyway, Cruz sounding like a jealous 17-year-old incel caught the attention of The View, which played a clip from the podcast on Monday’s episode. “This gives me the heebie-jeebies. Can I just tell you? He’s so creepy and so disgusting,” co-host Ana Navarro said. “OK, so he might want to say, ‘How come that dude on SNL—’ I wanna know, how come that dude is a U.S. senator and is doing a podcast and spends so much time trolling on Twitter? Does he think he’s going to lead by being a social media influencer?”

Navarro and Whoopi Goldberg agreed that his comments are “disrespectful” to Cruz’s wife, Heidi (this would not be the first time), while Joy Behar added, “I don’t understand why he’s fantasizing about going to Cancun with Kate Beckinsale. At night, these fantasies of her in these leathers and all the S&M thing going on.” This mental image made Navarro want to “bleach my mind’s eye. I mean, I would like to erase that image.” Meanwhile, I would love to forget the way Cruz pronounces “Beckinsale.”

(Via Mediaite)

The Boys recently released a Season 3 trailer that revealed how Homelander (Antony Starr) is trying hard to keep his sh*t together after coming close to rock bottom in the Season 2 finale. He ended up yanking his own chain far above the city, and you gotta wonder if his stuff murdered anyone due to gravity. Regardless of that possible collateral damage, Homelander is not well, and he’s got company in the form of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), who newly arrives on the scene to parody Captain America.

Man, the white-dude Supes are badder than usual this time around. Even Chace Crawford wondered if he’d ever work again when he read what The Deep does during this season, and in a new Entertainment Weekly cover feature, Ackles and Jensen preview the impending Faux Cap mess. It sure sounds like there’s going to be some angry Red Pill guys/incels out there because Kripke is pulling no punches there:

“It’s Captain America on his a–,” says Ackles. “It’s as if Captain America gave up superheroism and was just your drunk and inappropriate uncle.” More than that, this super-soldier emits toxic masculinity like it’s exhaust — another concept at the forefront of season 3. “It’s mind-blowing how the most powerful white dudes in the world are the ones that are first to claim that they’re being victimized and disenfranchised and persecuted,” Kripke elaborates. “We’re trying to call attention to what bulls— that is.”

As if that wasn’t enough to tide viewers over, the Amazon show’s also swinging at Warner Bros.’ Justice League with the below parody trailer for the movie-inside-the-season, Dawn Of The Seven. The faux-synopsis reads, “When darkness descends on the world, and it seems all hope is lost, seven heroes will rise. Seven who will stand. Seven who will fight. Seven who will restore light and hope, and see the sun rise on a new era.” With Homelander calling out that “Nazi b*tch” as well, it sure sounds like they brought a way to bring Stormfront back. Oh boy.

The Boys returns to Amazon on June 3.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

After a dominant first half, the Miami Heat led the Boston Celtics by 15 at the break in Game 3, but coming out of halftime Victor Oladipo replaced Jimmy Butler in the starting lineup. Due to right knee inflammation, Butler was ruled out for the remainder of the evening and the Heat were able to hold off Boston’s late charge to earn a 109-103 win, despite the star wing’s absence.

Butler missed Game 5 of the Heat’s first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks with a similar injury and he’s often been listed as questionable throughout the playoffs while dealing with this ailment. As for when Butler’s knee got aggravated, the Heat believe a mid-second quarter play involving Payton Pritchard could have played a role. Pritchard stumbled to the floor, which gave Butler a lane to the paint. From the ground, Pritchard intentionally tripped up Butler to commit a foul and stop Butler’s drive.

Somehow, this is the second time this postseason we’ve had a controversial knee grab, as Memphis accused Jordan Poole of foul play when he pulled on Ja Morant’s knee in the Grizzlies conference semis loss to the Warriors. On Monday, Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra was unsurprisingly not pleased after the team noticed Pritchard’s grab and said Pritchard’s foul was not a basketball play.

Pritchard’s foul strikes me as an unnecessary one, yet a deeper investigation by the league also seems unnecessary. If the officials had opted to review it in the moment, it would’ve been justified as a possible Flagrant 1.

Nonetheless, Spoelstra’s frustration is also understandable, given Butler’s importance to the Heat’s title hopes and Pritchard’s play certainly seeming questionable at best. Hopefully, Butler, who is listed as questionable Monday, is ready to go for Game 4 and doesn’t experience further knee inflammation.

How did Arby’s, a fast food chain so meat friendly that their official tagline is “we have the meats,” miss out on linking up with the Jurassic franchise ahead of next month’s Jurassic World Dominion? The two brands are practically made for each other, they could’ve just put one of those Arby’s hats on a T-Rex and called it a day. But where Arby’s dropped the ball, Carl’s Jr./ Hardee’s seems to have grabbed it — dropping their “Primal Menu,” a decadent prime-rib packed menu that promises to offer the brand’s “most flavorful, meatiest burgers, burritos, and biscuits to date.”

We’ll be the judge of that, Carl’s Jr.

While we don’t have as much confidence in Carl’s Jr to deliver the meats as we do Arby’s, we have to admit, an Angus Thickburger with layers of prime-rib sounds pretty damn intriguing. The full Primal menu consists of the Primal Angus Thickburger and two breakfast-only items — the Primal Burrito and Primal Biscuit with Fried Egg. Those who know the chain as “Carl’s Jr.” will also get the Beyond Wraptor and Double Beyond Wraptor Beyond Burger. Not sure why Hardee’s was left out of that option, sorry Hardee’s heads!

Let’s jump into the good and bad of the new Primal menu, starting from the least essential menu item.

Primal Burrito

Let me just come out and say this outright so we can get it out of the way. The entire Primal Menu is pretty solid, there isn’t a single bad item on it, but the Primal Burrito feels the most inessential. It’s made pretty much just for the small contingent of Carl’s Jr fans who love the chain’s burritos. If you’re lukewarm on the burritos, or outright hate them, this isn’t going to fix that.

The Primal Burrito features layers of sliced prime-rib, hash rounds, smoked cheddar, scrambled eggs, shredded cheese, and what Carl’s Jr. is calling “Amber BBQ Sauce,” a reference to the mosquito cased in amber that made the Jurassic Park/World Universe (which we’ll call the JPWU) possible.

The prime rib isn’t the best you’ll ever eat, it’s chewier than we want it to be and doesn’t exactly have that melt-in-your-mouth texture that the cut is known for, but the flavor is great. It’s beefy, rich, and satisfyingly… meaty. It’s probably Carl’s Jr’s best meat option for its burrito but… that’s not saying much because this burrito is one of the chain’s weakest offerings.

The Amber BBQ, which has a sort of mustard-like tang to it, pairs strangely with the flavor of the underrated tortilla. We’d skip it.

The Bottom Line:

If you like Carl’s Jr’s burritos, you’ll like this. If you tend to stay away from the burritos, this isn’t a reason to re-up.

Primal Biscuit With Fried Egg

The weird tangy BBQ sauce works a little better here on the Primal Biscuit with Fried Egg, which features layers of prime-rib under a fried egg, smoked cheddar, and an Amber BBQ brushed biscuit. Smokey notes largely dominate this breakfast biscuit, the cheddar adds some sharp saltiness to each bite and the combination of prime-rib and fried egg really makes this tiny biscuit substantially filling and hearty.

Tangy bbq notes dominate the aftertaste but the dryness of the biscuit really dulls the flavor the more you chew through it. I found myself enjoying the biscuit a lot more once I ditched the bottom half. It made for a messier but tastier meal.

The Bottom Line:

A solid option if you’re looking for a hearty and smokey breakfast biscuit that’ll keep you full past lunch.

The Wraptor Burger

We have to give it to Carl’s Jr. for managing to make fast food’s first decadent Beyond Burger. While this wasn’t my favorite item on the Primal Menu, it’s by far the most interesting and it’s really a shame that Hardee’s was left out of this promotional item. The Wraptor Burger consists of a single or double Beyond patty topped with Amber BBQ sauce, fried zucchini, and tomatoes, wrapped in leafy green lettuce and, to be honest, it’s f*cking delicious.

Each bite is packed with flavor and crunch, courtesy of the tangy Amber BBQ sauce, fried zucchini, and mildly sweet Swiss cheese that finishes in this sort of fresh salad space that makes each bite really pleasing to the palate. It manages to capture the magic of a good decadent burger, as well as a fresh salad. The BBQ sauce really does a lot to add some of those savory notes missing from using a Beyond patty over a meat patty. I wouldn’t say it makes it taste more like a burger, but it’s good enough that you won’t miss the meat.

The star of the show for us is the inclusion of fried zucchini. That combination of greasy fried saltiness and grassy sweetness is fast food’s great untapped flavor world.

The Botton Line:

Yeah, the name is a cringe-inducing pun, but this is Carl’s Jr’s best Beyond Burger, and the most inventive Beyond Burger in all of fast food right now. Having said all that, we’d gladly eat a version of this with a real meat patty as well as the prime rib. You’re welcome for the hack.

Primal Angus Thickburger

As deliciously interesting as the Wraptor Burger is, the most essential item on this new menu is without question the Primal Angus Thickburger. This features Carl’s Jr’s thick charbroiled Black Angus beef patty topped with prime rib, Amber BBQ, smoked cheddar, and fried onion rings. This is an absolute meat bomb, if you’re looking for fast food’s beefiest burger, look no further.

It’s an improvement over Carl’s Jr’s deliciously decadent Western Bacon Cheeseburger, but beefier, a little sharper and tangier, and still smokey, but differently so. The smokey notes are fainter here and come from the aged Cheddar, whereas the Western Bacon has a sweeter smoked aftertaste courtesy of the non-amber BBQ and the bacon.

But what you lose in smokiness, you gain in beefiness, this burger is much more savory, with the layers of prime-rib serving as a sort of second patty to the thick Angus beef patty. The tenderness of the meat adds a juicier mouthfeel to each bite, acting as a counterbalance to the slightly dry and charred Angus patty. When the meat’s savoriness combines with the salty onion rings and tangy sauce, it comes together as one of Carl’s Jr’s best cheeseburgers to ever hit the menu.

It’s so good it should be permanent, but given the sliced prime rib it’s almost certain that that’s not going to happen — grab it while you can.

(As good as this is though, let me offer a hack. Swap out those onion rings for fried zucchini, it’ll add some grassy vegetal notes and separate this even further from the Western Bacon Cheese.)

The Bottom Line:

More savory and beefier than any burger on any menu in the fast food universe. Your move, Arby’s.

Indie eccentric Alex G is back with new music to follow his We’re All Going To The World’s Fair film score that arrived last month. Tracks like “End Song” and “Main Theme” were simultaneously cinematic and in tune with his usual eerie sound. Today, he’s back with a new song called “Blessing,” and as haunting as it is, it’s not for a horror movie this time.

The static-filled, kaleidoscopic track is propelled forward by a collage of whispered voices that are like mirages, discordant guitar chords, and colorful synths. The homemade-appearing music video only contributes to the sense of disorientation.

Along with this track, he has also announced tour dates for this fall, including openers Hatchie, Barrie, and Sadurn at select dates. Check out the full tour below and listen to “Blessing” above.

06/01 — Cincinnati, OH @ Andrew J Brady Music Center *
06/02 — Richmond, VA @ Brown’s Island *
06/03 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Stone Pony Summerstage *
06/04 — New Haven, CT @ College Street Music Hall*
06/05 — Lafayette, NY @ Beak and Skiff Apple Orchards*
10/06 — Saxapahaw, NC @ Haw River Ballroom ~
10/07 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel ~
10/08 — Atlanta, GA – Variety Playhouse ~
10/09 — Nashville, TN @ Brooklyn Bowl ~
10/10 — St. Louis, MO @ Off Broadway ~
10/12 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre ~
10/14 — Salt Lake City, UT – Soundwell ~
10/16 — Seattle, WA @ The Showbox ~
10/17 — Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom ~
10/19 — San Francisco, CA @ The Fillmore ^
10/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern ^
10/22 — San Diego, CA @ The Observatory North Park ^
10/24 — Phoenix, AZ @ Rebel Lounge ^
10/26 — Austin, TX @ Emo’s ^
10/27 — Fort Worth, TX – Tulips ^
10/29 — Las Vegas, NV – When We Were Young
11/01 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue ^
11/02 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall ^
11/03 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall ^
11/04 — Detroit, MI @ The Majestic Theatre ^
11/05 — Toronto, ON @ Danforth Music Hall ^
11/06 — Montreal, QC – Le Studio TD ^
11/08 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club ^
11/09 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club ^
11/11 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ^
11/12 — Brooklyn, NY @ Brooklyn Steel ^
11/17 — Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club ^
11/18 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer ^
11/19 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer #

* supporting Bright Eyes
~ with Barrie
^ with Hatchie
# with Sadur

Justin Bieber has a new album on the way and there are very few details out there on when fans can expect it or even an album title. It’s been a year since the release of his Grammy-nominated album Justice and now he’s gearing up for his newest era with his trusted DJ and A&R Taylor James, aka DJ Tay James, by his side.

“He’s really a musician,” Tay told me over the phone from Austin. “He likes tapping in with musicians. He’s really into writing right now. I love this space that he’s in. We’re in the middle of a tour and he’s focused on this in the middle of us doing this tour.”

Just as he did with the eclectic array of sounds living on Justice, Tay is currently helping Justin maintain his vision for what will be the award-winning artist’s seventh studio album, while handling DJ duties as he’s always done.

In fact, Tay has been by Justin’s side since the global pop star’s second show when he was appointed as his official DJ. That was over a decade ago. Today, the pair is still going strong as a musical unit. Most of the collaborations Justin has done were because he was a fan of the song or the artist first, or from the result of casual music banter between him and Tay.

Justin is a certified music maven who loves to dive deep into new sounds and talent, which is how the “Honest” feature with Don Toliver came to be.

“Justin is a mastermind when it comes to this stuff,” Tay said. “He might want to be featured on the project already and he might just reach out himself and just connect with the person and we’ll start sending them records.”

Easy peasy when your name is Justin Bieber. For example, it was JB who was hyped about Wizkid’s 2021 hit “Essence” with Tems, after Tay introduced him to the song. He loved it so much, that he ended up doing a remix to it after enjoying it on repeat during his manager’s birthday weekend. With Omah Lay’s “Attention,” it was Justin who was a fan of him first. He then brought the rising afrobeats artist to Tay’s attention during rehearsals. The natural exchange of new music like trading cards among friends is partly how Tay ended up becoming his official A&R right before the pandemic in March.

“I put him on The Kid Laroi. My cousin Q put me on to Kid Laroi and then I sent his profile off to Justin. The song is still on the charts,” Tay said of the 2021 mega track “Stay,” which has spent over 40 weeks on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 chart and currently sits at No. 13.

“I feel like at this point, for Justin, it is whatever he feels comfortable with or whoever he wants to collab [with] to help bring the music to a certain light,” he said. “If you notice he likes working with new artists, he likes working with up-and-coming artists.”

And the same is true for Tay, so it made sense for Scooter Braun and JB to make that call.

“I like looking at new and upcoming artists to see who’s dope, who’s moving the culture,” he told me. “That’s kind of why I’m here, to just give suggestions but it’s still his vision. Whatever he needs me to do to help his vision come true. I’m here to help.”

That vision also includes knowing exactly when Justin is in love with a sound that he hears or a vibe that moves him. If that happens, he may hop on a piano or start playing an acoustic guitar.

“He’s been really writing a lot himself, but just like anyone, if you hear something you really like, you keep playing it back to back,” he revealed of Justin’s in-studio process. “If I’m going through beats and we get stuck on a beat and we’re listening to that beat for more than five minutes, most likely it’s going to get recorded on. I just try to pick the best sounds, something that I know that’s really melodic, something I know he can sing over. He loves chords, he loves gospel music. You know Justin, his first love is R&B, he really loves R&B. Anything that has melodic chords will always attract him. He has a great ear.”

“Justin has always been an artist to experiment with new sounds,” he added. “We always like to do new stuff.” I mean, just listen to “I Feel Funny.”

As for the sonic direction of Justin’s new collection of songs, “You should expect to hear some great things,” Tay assured me — including a tune with John Mayer. “I’m excited about what we’ve been working on. It’s Justin, and Justin is a vessel for so many different fans and his music touches so many different people. Always expect him to have music for everybody.”

As for DJ Tay James, you can catch him behind the DJ booth during one of Bieber’s Justice World Tour stops while also pushing a few other endeavors like the partnership he has with Purple Denim and conscious jewelry brand Polite Worldwide. Music from the Biebs is allegedly coming soon.

For most young artists, traveling is an important part of their livelihood, since hitting the pavement to play shows is primary source of both income and self-promotion. RINI has made some major moves already in his young career: After being born in the Philippines and then cutting his teeth in Australia, he moved halfway around the world to Los Angeles for the next phase of his career.

Now, RINI has taken a moment to look back at his touring life so far for “Stories From The Road,” a video series presented by Songkick and NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).

He starts by noting how he first started performing, saying, “I started busking on the streets of Melbourne when I was about 17 years old. I was like, ‘I need to find a way where I can get out play some music and earn some money at the same time.’ I got this sh*tty-ass old amp from Facebook Marketplace and I just took my guitar to the city and just started playing.”

RINI offers more from there, including what early tours were like, his first sold-out show, and how he spends downtime on tour, so check out the video above.

RINI is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.