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Must-See Peru: Amateur Travel Guru Rhaven McIver On Her Foolproof Guide To Peru

Peru Travel Guide
Rhaven McIver

While the full-time travel influencers and adventurers we see on social media are certainly inspirational, or at least fun to follow, it’s nice to know that people with everyday jobs can travel the world too. Rhaven McIver, for instance, is a nurse anesthetist, who just happens to spend whatever free time she can scrounge exploring new places around the globe.

When she’s not in the doctor’s office, she’s sharing her travels on on Instagram and her YouTube channel, “Time With Rhay” in the hopes of encouraging people of all kinds to get out there and adventure.

“I have been coined ‘the trip planner’ by all my friends and family,” McIver says. “They know when they travel with me, they don’t have to worry about anything but having a great time. Recently I’ve begun planning trips for other people who have no idea where to begin, and I’m launching my group trip business this spring!”

McIver’s love for travel has connected her to an abundance of new people and wonderful places, and one of her favorite destinations to date is Peru. From Machu Picchu and the striking Rainbow Mountain to the mouthwatering food and lively culture, Mclver is sharing her guide to Peru and why everyone needs to visit below.

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Peru Travel Guide
@dorhaymi

WHY PERU?

I chose Peru because I want to visit all of the World Wonders and that’s where Machu Picchu, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is located. After some research, I realized there was a lot of other stuff to see and do in Peru, and it was also a relatively inexpensive country to visit with maximal enjoyment, which was a plus!

Peru Travel Guide
@dorhaymi

What’s one thing that every first-time visitor should see or do in Peru?

Well if you’re going to go all the way to Peru you must see Machu Picchu! It’s so amazing to see something most of us have seen or read about in history books. When you go there, a guide will show you around and you will learn the history behind, which is pretty amazing. You can book a tour to Machu Picchu from Cusco, which is one of the cities you’ll definitely want to visit there. You’ll have to take a train ride to get there and then a bus, but don’t worry, it’s super scenic!

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What was your absolute favorite meal of your trip?

I spent a lot of time in Cusco, and my favorite dish happened to be a signature Peruvian dish called Lomo Saltado. It’s a stir fry that typically combines marinated strips of sirloin (or other beef steaks) with onions, tomatoes, french fries, and other ingredients, and is typically served with rice. I ordered that meal on four separate occasions because it was that good!

As far as drinks go I enjoyed the signature drink called Pisco Sour. I’d never had Pisco before my trip, but the best way I could describe the way it tastes would be a mix between wine and brandy. Two restaurants I really enjoyed in Cusco were Inka Grill and Morena Peruvian Kitchen. I’d definitely start by ordering the signature dish and drink!

Peru Travel Guide
@dorhaymi

What’s the best Peruvian destination for spending time in nature?

I would say Cusco is a great city to visit because it’s a gateway to get to must-see places like Machu Picchu and Rainbow Mountain. You’ll get amazing photos and views at these two places (may even see an alpaca or two on your journey) and there are tons of tours to choose from. The city of Cusco itself was also just a nice place to walk around and explore as well. Llamas and Alpacas were everywhere, so you’ll definitely be able to meet one if you so desire!

Peru Travel Guide
@dorhaymi

Do you have a favorite outdoor excursion or adventure activity to do in Peru?

Aside from Machu Picchu. Rainbow Mountain is a mountain that literally looks like a rainbow once you get to the top. You can take a horse up most of the way or walk, but either way, there’s a point where the horse cannot go because it’s too steep and you’ll have to walk up. The hardest part about the hike is the altitude sickness many people experience due to the elevation. Please don’t do this tour on your first day to Cusco as it takes a day or so to get somewhat used to the elevation change. It’s also super cold up on Rainbow Mountain so dress warm!

Another super cool excursion was visiting Huacachina, Ica which is a desert. On the tour I booked, I did sandboarding and rode the dunes which was a lot of fun! I didn’t know there was a desert in Peru until I booked my trip. The best way to get there is a tour from Peru’s capital, Lima. The tour leaves super early and comes back late at night, but it’s totally worth it! I stayed in Lima for two nights specifically to do this tour, then I headed to Cusco for the remainder of my trip.

What was the coolest hotel or place you stayed?

I really enjoyed staying at the JW Marriott El Convento in Cusco. It was a beautiful hotel with hospitable staff and it was within walking distance from everything in the city. Every morning they have a baby alpaca visit the hotel’s courtyard and you can feed her and take photos with her as well.

If you’re looking for something more relaxing and even more upscale, Tambo Del Inka was a great stay. It’s about an hour and fifteen minutes from the center of Cusco. They had a beautiful spa and pool and the lobby is beautiful. As soon as you walk in you feel relaxed, and staying there at the end of an adventurous trip was everything I needed.

Lastly, if you’re feeling daring, the Sky Lodge is a very cool place to stay. They built mini lodges on the side of a mountain and you have to climb up to get there. The climb was not bad at all, but if you’re scared of heights this isn’t the stay for you. I didn’t stay here but I went up for lunch, which is another option if you’d rather not stay the night.

Peru Travel Guide
@dorhaymi

What’s something most people don’t know about Peru?

People may not know that in Cusco specifically, the altitude is much higher than what most of us are used to, to the point that it can cause altitude sickness — which most people experience when visiting Cusco. The symptoms can range from mild to severe, and can include nausea, headaches, and feeling short of breath.

I was super exhausted my first day in Cusco and I knew about the altitude sickness so I was prepared to just rest that first day. One remedy is coca leaf tea or coca candy which helps alleviate the symptoms, and you can get those everywhere in Cusco including at your hotel. Some people also buy a small oxygen canister to help with the shortness of breath.

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Best time of year to visit?

The best time to visit would be between May and October which is the dry season. I went in September and the weather ranged from 65 to 75 degrees (the desert was about 80 to 85) which was perfect.

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Characters from ‘Encanto’ get made into portraits so lifelike they look like real people

What do you get when you mix artificial intelligence with editing software?

Mind-blowing images, apparently.

Brazilian digital artist Hidreley Leli Dião creates ultra realistic portraits of beloved cartoon characters as well as historical figures.

The magic is in a unique blend of Photoshop, FaceApp, Gradiente and Remini, according to his contributing article on Bored Panda. Using this formula, even The Simpsons characters feel like real people you would pass on the street.

Some of Dião’s latest works include the characters of Disney’s “Encanto,” like:

Mirabel

The face shape! The hair! The smile! He nailed it.

Luisa

To no one’s surprise, Luisa was highly sought after by fans.

Bruno

I think the song will change to “Everybody Is Talking About Bruno” after seeing this picture.

Isabela

A portrait perfect enough for Miss Perfect herself.

Camilo

It’s like he could hop out of the frame and start talking to animals in real time. Wow.

Pepa

As a fellow redhead constantly trying to keep my emotions at bay, this one was my personal favorite.

Julieta

Here is Mirabel’s mother Julieta, giving off major Aunt Voula vibes from “My Big Fat Greek Wedding.”

And, of course,  Abuela Madrigal

I think it’s safe to say even if Dião doesn’t have a magic door like the Madrigal family, he’s got superpower: digital wizardry.

But of course, this is not Dião’s first Disney deep dive. Feast your eyes on some of these:

Carl Fredrickson from “Up”

Moana from “Moana”

Ariel from “The Little Mermaid”

Also Prince Eric

Pocahontas from “Pocahontas”

Joe Gardner from “Soul”

Hans From “Frozen”

Another long lost Hemsworth brother, rediscovered?

Are you more of a history buff than a Disney nerd? Never fear. Dião’s work has something for everyone.

One collection includes what certain celebrities that met an early death might look like today, such as:

Amy Winehouse

Bruce Lee

John Candy

Janis Joplin

Prince

Marilyn Monroe

Another reimagines what historical figures might have look like in modern times:

George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Napoleon 

Leonardo da Vinci

Mozart

Beethoven

Sir Isaac Newton

William Shakespeare

Vincent Van Gogh

Marie Antoinette

Cleopatra

Alexander the Great

And just for fun, here’s what the Statue of Liberty might look like as a real person:

Thank you Hidreley for giving us some genuine wonder to peruse through on the internet. If you’d like to see more of Hidreley’s work, you can follow his Instagram here.

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Teen with a fishing magnet found a safe full of cash. And then he returned it all to its owner.

A new trend in treasure hunting called magnet fishing has blown up over the past two years, evidenced by an explosion of YouTube channels covering the hobby. Magnet fishing is a pretty simple activity. Hobbyists attach high-powered magnets to strong ropes, drop them into waterways and see what they attract.

The hobby has caught the attention of law enforcement and government agencies because urban waterways are a popular place for criminals to drop weapons and stolen items after committing a crime. In 2019, a magnet fisherman in Michigan pulled up an antique World War I mortar grenade and the bomb squad had to be called out to investigate.

Fifteen-year-old George Tindale and his dad, Kevin, 52, of Grantham, Lincolnshire in the U.K., made an incredible find earlier this month when they used two magnets to pull up a safe that had been submerged in the River Witham.

George has a popular magnet fishing YouTube channel called “Magnetic G.”

After the father-and-son duo pulled the safe out of the murky depths, they cracked it open with a crowbar and found about $2,500 Australian dollars (US$1,800), a shotgun certificate and credit cards that expired in 2004. The Tindales used the name found on the cards to find the safe’s owner, Rob Everett.

Everett’s safe was stolen during an office robbery in 2000 and then dumped into the river. “I remember at the time, they smashed into a cabinet to get to the safe,” Everett said, according to The Daily Mail. “I was just upset that there was a nice pen on my desk, a Montblanc that was never recovered.”

The robber, who was a teenage boy, was apprehended soon after the crime because he left behind a cap with his name stitched inside.

The father and son met up with Everett to return his stolen money and the businessman gave George a small reward for his honesty. He also offered him an internship because of the math skills he displayed in the YouTube video when he counted the Australian dollars. “What’s good about it is, I run a wealth management company and… I’d love him to work for us,” Everett said.

Although the safe saga began with a robbery 22 years ago, its conclusion has left Everett with more faith in humanity.

“I was just amazed that they’d been able to track me down,” he said. “There are some really nice and good people in this world. They could have kept the money, they could have said they attempted to get hold of me.”

“There’s a big lesson there. It teaches George that doing good and being honest and giving back is actually more rewarding than taking,” Everett added.

Treasure hunting isn’t the only allure of the hobby for George. His mother says the hobby has taught him a lot about water pollution and its effects on local wildlife. “George is very environmentally conscious. He always has been since primary school,” she said. “When he first started to do this, he was after treasure. Everything ends up in the rivers and canals.”

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Inmates in California prison can exit with a better chance of success due to first college behind bars

Prison is supposed to serve two purposes: punishment and rehabilitation. But often prisoners emerge with the skills to be a better criminal and little knowledge on how to live an improved life. A prison in California is hoping to change the revolving door effect for some inmates by being the first to have a fully accredited junior college behind bars.

At Mount Tamalpais College at San Quentin State Prison inmates can earn an Associate of Arts degree by taking classes in literature, American government, astronomy and precalculus. The college was named after the mountain next to the prison and was accredited in January after a commission determined the extension program at the prison was providing a high-quality education. The college can accommodate up to 300 prisoners, and is currently full with another 200 on the waiting list.

San Quentin State Prison is broken up into different sections, including a section housing death row. It has offered rehabilitation programs to prepare inmates for a life outside of prison walls for some time. In the medium security part of the prison, inmates have dozens of educational, self-help and job-training opportunities that they can take advantage of. The positive programming available to inmates makes San Quentin a sought-after prison for prisoners across the state who want to utilize the time they must spend behind bars.

Derry Brown, 49, is currently serving a 20-year sentence for burglary and assault. He earned his GED in prison and is now attending the college program. Brown told ABC News that he takes pride in being a college student and may pursue a music career in his hometown of Los Angeles when he is released from prison next year. “There’s a joy in learning – that’s why I want to continue. Even when I get out, I’m going back to college,” he said.

The college is privately funded by donations and includes paid staff and volunteer faculty members, many of whom are graduate students from Stanford and the University of California Berkeley. The annual budget to run the college is $5 million. This isn’t the first program of its kind at the prison, though it is the first one to be fully accredited. In 1996, there was a program eventually titled Prison University Project that also offered associate degrees. President Jody Lewen started the process to have the college run fully autonomously three years ago after the previous university closed and the partnership ended.

Lewen told ABC News, “Very often in the field of higher ed, people will look at educational programs in prisons and they’ll say, ‘Well, that’s a program or project. It’s not a school.’ Our hope is that by being an independent, accredited, liberal arts college that operates in a prison we make it more difficult for people to overlook those inside and we help them imagine our students differently.”

The program is open to any general population prisoner with a GED or high school diploma, but excludes death row inmates.

Prison education is known to change the outcome of people’s lives when they are released, and this in turn can help change their families’ lives and the generational course that may have been set before them. The hope is that the recidivism rate for lower level crimes would be reduced with former inmates now having a solid education and plan for the future.

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‘Princess Bride’ Star Cary Elwes Was Bitten ‘Not By A ROUS, But A Rattlesnake’ In Real Life

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Actor Cary Elwes is in good spirits after he was bitten by a snake (yeah, really) and it looks just as bad as you would expect. Despite being traumatically injured by a literal rattlesnake, the actor posted a pic on his social accounts with a Princess Bride reference. “Bit not by a ROUS but a rattlesnake,” the actor wrote, which stands for “rodents of unusual size,” a nod to his iconic Princess Bride role, and his character Westley.

“Grateful to the staff of Malibu Urgent Care, LA County Fire Dept. and the staff and medical professionals at @UCLAHealth for their great care,” Elwes added. “Am recovering well thanks to all these wonderful folks.” The caption was accompanied by a photo of an injury that looks like it came from the set of another Elwes movie, Saw. Or maybe from a fight with his sworn enemy, Ted Cruz.

This isn’t the first time the actor has been hurt: on the set of The Princess Bride, Elwes was famously knocked out while filming a fight sequence. Elwes recounted the story in his book, As You Wish: Inconceivable Tales From The Making Of The Princess Bride: “I woke up in the emergency room, still in costume, to the frightening sound of stitches being sewn into my skull…It was my dumb idea.” Method acting really has come so far, hasn’t it?

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Watch Denzel Washington Give The Heat A Motivational Speech (And Roast Trae Young’s Haircut)

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The Miami Heat dominated Game 4 of their first round series against the Hawks on Sunday, beating the Hawks by 24 in Atlanta to take a 3-1 series lead despite being without Kyle Lowry, who missed the game with a hamstring injury.

It was a sensational performance headlined by their smothering defensive effort that kept Trae Young outside the paint for the entire game aside from one shot attempt in the All-Star’s worst game of the series. The Heat were relentless from the opening tip and the Hawks were never able to put together a second half run to get back into the game as they did to swipe Game 3, and maybe part of that motivation came from an impromptu speech they received at the team hotel by the elevators from none other than Denzel Washington.

The movie star offered the Heat veterans advice on always paying it forward and continuing to set the standard every day with their effort, while offering Lowry a speedy recovery before noting he expected the rest of the team to “handle their business for you.” The funniest part, without a doubt, is him giving them some trash talk to deliver on his behalf to Trae Young, saying “tell that little boy to get a haircut…what kinda haircut he workin’ with?”

Maybe that message was delivered and played a role in Young’s Game 4 performance, because I’d certainly struggle to stay focused on the task at hand if I found out that Denzel Washington was roasting my haircut.

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Lea Michele Once Let Jonathan Groff Look At Her Vagina For Educational Purposes

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In what is surprisingly not a Glee plot point, Lea Michele has revealed that she and co-star Jonathan Goff were very close when they played opposite each other in the broadway musical Spring Awakening.

Michele and Goff are both featured in the new HBO doc, Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known, where they go in-depth on the history of the show and its legacy. Of course, the weirdest tidbit of information wasn’t about the show, but about the fact that Michele admitted she had once shown Groff her vagina and used a desk lamp to explain her anatomy. Though it might sound weird to fans, Michelle insisted that that’s just showbiz, baby! Allegedly Groff, a gay man, wanted to learn more about the mysterious body part.

Michele told EW, “Honestly, the great thing about this documentary is it’s a wonderful microscope into who we are as individuals, and not just who people think we might be. Radical Media and the incredible production team behind this documentary, we felt so safe and comfortable with them.”

She added that the two have only grown closer with her co-star. “It was so wonderful to talk about this material as an adult and get asked real serious questions. Not like, ‘What’s it like to have sex with Jonathan Groff every night?’ So I just felt really comfortable with them. With that level of comfortability came a story of just what goes on behind closed doors between me and Jonathan Groff. That’s only one of them. There’s a lot of other things,” Michele added, to which Groff laughed.

Groff and Michele have been friends for years, the duo even released a Christmas duet (cute!) and of course, starred on Glee together. Does Groff think she’s not a nightmare to work with?

Spring Awakening: Those You’ve Known will premiere on HBO on May 3rd.

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Karol G Just Announced Her 2022 ‘Strip Love Tour’ Of North America

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Karol G has her foot firmly on the gasolina right now. The Colombian urbano singer brought out J Balvin for her explosive Coachella weekend two set this past weekend, and dropped her first new single of the year on Friday in the breezy “Provenza.” Now she’s just added a complete slate of $trip Love Tour North American tour dates to go along with her previously announced Latin America dates.

Once the Latin American leg wraps up in June, the $trip Love Tour officially begins for Karol G in Chicago on September 6th and presses on for over 30 new dates. Tickets for Karol G’s $trip Love Tour go on sale Friday, April 29th here. An artist pre-sale begins on Tuesday, April 26th and noon local time at the same link with the pre-sale code: AMOR.

05/14 — Santiago De Cali, CO @ Estadio Olímpico Pascual Guerrero
05/21 — Bogota, CO @ Movistar Arena
05/22 — Bogota, CO @ Movistar Arena
05/25 — Santiago, CL @ Movistar Arena
05/26 — Santiago, CL @ Movistar Arena
05/27 — Buenos Aires, AR @ Movistar Arena
05/28 — Buenos Aires, AR @ Movistar Arena
06/02 — Quito, EC @ Coliseo General Rumiñahui
06/03 — Guayaquil, EC @ Coliseo Voltaire Paladines Polo
06/04 — Lima, PE @ Arena 1
06/05 — Lima, PE @ Arena 1
06/08 — Zapopan, MX @ Auditorio Telmex
06/09 — Monterrey, MX @ Arena Monterrey
06/11 — Mexico City, MX @ Arena Ciudad de México
06/12 — Mexico City, MX @ Arena Ciudad de México
06/15 — Tegucigalpa, HN @ Estadio Chochi Sosa
06/17 — San José, CR @ Parque Viva
06/18 — Panama City, PA @ Plaza Amador
06/19 — San Salvador, SV @ Estadio Cuscatlán
09/06 — Chicago, IL @ Allstate Arena
09/08 — Philadelphia, PA @ Wells Fargo Center
09/09 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/10 — Newark, NJ @ Prudential Center
09/13 — New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
09/14 — Washington, DC @ State Farm Arena
09/17 — Montreal, QC @ State Farm Arena
09/18 — Toronto, ON @ State Farm Arena
09/20 — Charlotte, NC @ State Farm Arena
09/22 — Miami, FL @ State Farm Arena
09/24 — Orlando, FL @ State Farm Arena
09/26 — Tampa, FL @ State Farm Arena
09/27 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena
09/29 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
09/30 — Hidalgo, TX @ Payne Arena
10/04 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
10/05 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
10/07 — Kansas City, MO @ T-Mobile Center
10/09 — Denver, CO @ Ball Arena
10/11 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
10/13 — San Diego, CA @ Pechanga Arena
10/14 — Las Vegas, NV @ T-Mobile Arena
10/15 — Anaheim, CA @ Honda Center
10/18 — Sacramento, CA @ Golden 1 Center
10/20 — San Francisco, CA @ Chase Center
10/21 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
10/25 — Fresno, CA @ Save Mart Center
10/27 — Portland, OR @ Moda Center
10/28 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
10/29 — Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena

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Ice-T Has A Suggestion For The ‘Kinda Dope’ Thing That Elon Musk Could Do With Twitter

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Earlier this month, Elon Musk started flexing his billionaire wallet with a bid (to buy Twitter) that didn’t immediately go well. All appeared to be shut down, and amid news that Hulu will soon premiere a New York Times exposé about Tesla autopilot crashes, Elon got what he wanted from social media. CNN reports that Twitter went ahead and accepted a cash offer from Musk, who’s said to have lined up $44 billion for the deal.

All of this took place within the same month of Elon buying up 11% in Twitter shares and sparring with a Saudi prince and then deciding/not-deciding to sit on the board. Musk celebrated his purchase with a statement, in which he praised Twitter’s “tremendous potential” and further declared, “Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

Yes, that’s a lot. And everywhere on Twitter, people are alternately thrilled and upset, depending on whether they think the platform will go downhill in a deluge of trolls or (somehow) improve. Well, let’s just say that there’s at least one person who isn’t stressed over it, and that would be Ice-T. Don’t talk to him about the Oscars, but feel free to consider what he thinks Elon could do: “It would kinda dope if Musk bought Twitter and just shut it off.”

Ice also offered up a “For the Record” statement, just so no one interprets what he’s saying in a political way. “I’m not on the Left or the Right,” he wrote. “Red or the Blue.. That’s Gang Bangin if you ask me… #Politricks.”

One could safely guess, however, that Ice-T wouldn’t be upset if he got that “edit” button that he’s wanted for years. Fingers crossed!

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Pusha T Updates Fans On Collaborations With Nas, The Weeknd, And Tyler The Creator

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AMA (ask me anything) sessions aren’t just a great way for fans to get to know artists better or for artists to promote their new work, they’re also useful in manifesting interesting collaborations — both for artists and fans who want to see their favorites working together. Pusha T, who just put out his new album, It’s Almost Dry, logged onto Twitter for a curated #AskPusha session via Twitter Music, and among the usual silly questions (Push had a particularly aggressive response to “is a hot dog a sandwich?”), he also gave status updates on collaborations with a number of fan-favorite artists.

After revealing that his Nigo collaboration “Hear Me Clearly” originally featured rap OG Nas, fans naturally wondered whether Pusha would drop a remix. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like that’s in the cards for now. “No we probably will not hear that remix,” he replied before offering some hope. “Maybe another song in the future tho…”

Another rapper fans wanted to know about was Tyler The Creator, with whom Pusha previously worked on the single “Trouble On My Mind.” However, it doesn’t look like that one’s coming anytime soon either, as Pusha wisecracked, “Absolutely I would but this nutcase only asks me to go Miami house hunting with him…”

Push posited his own dream collab when another fan asked if there were any Toronto artists he’d work with — probably trying to bait him into a Drake-related response. While he avoided the low-hanging fruit, he offered a surprisingly sincere reply that wasn’t too many degrees from the 6 God himself: The Weeknd.

And among other questions, Pusha answered how he felt about those fans of his music who wouldn’t appear to be his “target audience.”

All in all, #AskPusha turned out to be insightful and possibly even fruitful if it means Tyler The Creator and Push coming together — or maybe even a cokestravaganza featuring the powder’s two biggest promoters.