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MF DOOM Joins The Avalanches For A Energy-Boosting Remix Of ‘Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life’

May marked six months since the world was shocked with the news of MF DOOM’s passing, a death that actually occurred on October 31, 2020, but was withheld by his family until the end of the calendar year. The announcement sent ripples throughout the hip-hop world as many took to social media to share their condolences and their best memories that involved the late rapper.Last month, the first posthumous piece of music with MF DOOM arrived through a joint album with Czarface (Esoteric and Wu-Tang’s Inspectah Deck) titled, Super What?. Now the late rapper’s voice can be found alongside The Avalanches.

The electronic band tapped the late rapper to join them for a remix of “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life” on the 20th anniversary deluxe reissue of The Avalanches’ 2000 debut album, Since I Left You. The updated track keeps most of the song’s original production intact while bringing in a new dose of energy thanks to DOOM’s slick lyricism and undeniable energy.

Shortly after his death, it was revealed that DOOM was very close to completing a sequel to his and Madlib’s Madvillain album Madvillainy, often saying it was “85% done” according to Peanut Butter Wolf, the founder of Stones Throw Records. As for The Avalanches, the song is just one of 15 remixes that will appear on the deluxe reissue of Since I Left You.

You can listen to the “Tonight May Have To Last Me All My Life” remix in the video above.

Since I Left You (20th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) is out 6/4 via Modular Recordings. Pre-order it here.

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Top Chef Portland Power Rankings, Week 10: A Tofu Tournament! A Tofuournament!

Has there ever been a season of Top Chef where the favorites have been this obvious? The only season that comes close in my mind is season five, when Stefan Richter won damn near every challenge leading up to the finale, when he lost to Hosea Rosenberg like the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. Of course, that season had just one obvious favorite. This time around, there’s at least two, possibly three, and it’s so close between them that the show manages to be both predictable and exciting at the same time.

Anyway, this week began with a Chipotle challenge. As Padma explained it, “Our friends at Chipotle have provided these 53 real ingredients that they use to make their food fresh every day.”

Wow, real ingredients? Count me in, dude. The only thing I hate more than fake ingredients are fake friends.

Whereas the challenges seemed pretty straightforward this week, the show tried to compensate with EVER MORE COMPLICATED JUDGING SCHEMES! This meant that not only would the chefs “use these ingredients to make something unique for us,” the six of them would be doing a series of three head-to-head battles. Two would make something “tangy and crunchy” for Tom, two would cook something “smokey and charred” for Gail, and two something “spicy and tart” for Padma, that spicy tart (just kidding, please don’t cancel me).

That was kind of a fun twist, though part of me wishes they’d just gone full Cafe Gratitude with it and forced the chefs to design a dish based on how the judges were feeling that day. “I want something that says ‘heroic.” “I’m still trying to process my relationship with my dad.” “I’m feeling very temporary about myself right now,” and so forth. It could be like the Derek Delgaudio special of cooking battles (what would The Rouletista eat?).

Meanwhile, if you’ve been following the judges on Instagram, you may have noticed them posting their “Top Chef journeys,” a meme which I have to think was inspired by Steve’s meditation on what fame does to dorky chefs and their personas in this column from a few weeks ago. Whatever the case, please enjoy Richard Blais’s pasta hands and Dale Talde’s camo hoodie.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPmXpVwLh7C/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CPmfi1BjgOy/

Oh, Richard Blais. It seems like he has a bit of that David Spade thing going on, where every hairstyle feels like a temporary experiment. The faux hawk though… man. People forget how many faux hawks there used to be on Top Chef. Top Chef used to be America’s number one source of faux hawks.

Anyhoo, after that it was time for a tofu battle. The chefs got to visit Ota Tofu to learn how the vegan sausage is made, then got together for another tournament-style challenge. This three-round format, in which the goal was more not to lose rather than to win (the better they cooked the fewer rounds they had to participate in), required lots of judging. In this house, there is no winner! There are only “not losers!”

Luckily, Tom brought his most serious hat for the occasion:

Bravo

There’s a little room up there for extra thinkin’. I’d like to imagine that if you could see inside Tom’s mind in this shot it would just look like Jackie Treehorn’s notepad in The Big Lebowski.

RESULTS:

Quickfire Challenge Top Three: Shota, Dawn*, Gabe. (*winner)

Elimination Challenge:

Round One: Shota d. Maria (5-5 tiebreaker). Gabe d. Dawn (5-5 tiebreaker). Jamie d. Byron (9-1)

Round Two: Maria d. Byron and Dawn. (9-1 over Byron, Dawn via DQ)

Round Three: Dawn d. Byron

6. (even) ((Eliminated)) Byron Gomez

NBC Universal

AKA: Manolo. Burger King. Goldblum.

It was looking like it was curtains for Byron early on in this episode and he ended up fulfilling expectations. In an episode defined by razor-thin margins of victory, where the first two head-to-head battles in the elimination challenge came down to tiebreakers, Byron got trounced 9-1 by Jamie and then 9-1 by Maria.

Still, that only sounds bad because the other matches came out to ties. Even in his own lopsided losses two professional chefs still thought Byron’s dishes were the winner. It’s pretty amazing that there were no unanimous winners in that context. The dissenting judges should’ve been forced to explain their decisions. Anyone who has ever worked in a restaurant knows that no matter how perfect a dish you put out there’s always going to be someone who doesn’t like it for completely arcane and arbitrary reasons.

“Yeah, this dish was great… it’s just that I only eat chicken in the shape of dinosaurs.”

In any case, pour one out for Rico Suave, the Costa Rican sensation. I’ll be rooting for him to take down Sara in the Last Chance Kitchen finale if only so I don’t have to hear her anxiously laugh at herself for two more episodes.

5. (-1) Maria Mazon

NBC Universal

AKA: Gas Can. Backdraft. James Brown. Mole Maria.

Maria opened this episode thinking she had the tools to dominate the Mexican challenge, only to lose to Shota. I have to think that was because she fried her avocado. Does anyone else have a strong aversion to cooked avocado? It’s perfect raw. Or maybe I’m just the dumb baby in my own joke about chicken shaped like dinosaurs?

Maria had a chance for revenge against Shota on Shota’s turf, and it was looking like it was going to be a disaster. First Maria’s chosen filling, the okara chorizo, didn’t pan out and she had to toss it in the trash. Imagine that? The gritty byproduct of ground soybeans that they strain out of tofu to keep it from being gritty turned out… gritty. I think she probably should’ve figured that out without having to cook it first, but oh well. Maria pivoted to a tofu-dough masa, which didn’t set in time.

Again, did she not test her own masa?? That was like the main component!

Even with all that working against her, you have to consider it a moral victory that Maria still managed to battle the tofu king Shota to a 5-5 tie in a tofu battle. She lost the tiebreaker, but also: don’t we deserve to know how that tiebreaker worked? The judges just shout at each other until one judge admits that they were wrong, or what? Where is that footage? “My bad, guys, I actually have bad taste and am a dumb baby.” -Richard Blaise

Maria’s instincts and ability to make tasty food have taken her this far, but it feels like some of the holes in her food knowledge are starting to get exposed this far into the competition. She’s looking like the plucky underdog going into the final challenges.

Notable Quote:

“I’m like a kid in a candy store with all these Mexican ingredients.”

Notable Critique:

“I thought the masa was just mush. The tofu wasn’t treated well at all.”

4. (+1) Jamie Tran

NBC Universal

Aka: Splat. Police Academy. Womp Womp. Hello Kitty.

Speaking of underdogs, there was the previously eliminated Jamie, who came into this looking like one of the weaker chefs and ended up making what sounded like the best dish of the episode, her tofu-stuffed banh xeo (Vietnamese crispy crepe). That was a straightforward dish that sounded like something I’d order. Jamie has come a long way since her broccoli couscous curry disaster (also the name of my punk band’s obscure side project).

Notable Critique:

“You can eat like 12 of these.”

3. (even) Shota Nakajima

NBC Universal

AKA: Beavis. Big Gulps.

Big Gulps came out of the gate hot, or at least spicily, beating Maria at her own Mexican food game and nearly burning Padma’s pants off in the process (would love to see that R-rated episode of Top Chef, by the way. Top Chef After Dark: Bottomless Judging Edition.) He solidified his top contender status in the process, but then solidified his bottom-of-the-top-three status by nearly getting beaten by Maria at his own game in the tofu challenge.

That being said, doing food two or three or four different ways has traditionally been the kiss of death on Top Chef, and Shota managed to win while doing tofu six ways. Buddy, that’s too many ways. You don’t get bonus points for self-sabotage. Cook smarter, not harder.

Notable Critique:

“While Shota used tofu six different ways, it all tasted the same.”

2. (even) Gabe Erales

NBC Universal

AKA: Good Gabe. Canelo. Fozzy. The Foz. The Masa Father. Jamón.

For the second or third week straight it feels like a tough choice at the top of the rankings. On the one hand, Dawn looked like she narrowly escaped going home and Big Fozzy came through near the top of both challenges. On the other, she beat Gabe at his own game in the quickfire and I think I have to give her some of the benefit of losing via injury in the elimination second round.

The Foz busted out all the weird tricks this week, too — like roasting his pork loin in “bay leaf oil” and choosing not to smoke the components of his sauce but the finished sauce itself. That’s some galaxy brain-ass cooking technique right there. That wasn’t quite good enough to win the quickfire but he did barely edge out Dawn in the elimination challenge first round. This one is basically a pick-em.

Notable Critique:

“He didn’t braise it. He dropped it in a sauce and brought it up.”

1. (even) Dawn Burrell

NBC Universal

AKA: Hothead. ‘Sheed. Legs. Breaking Dawn. Milk Carton. The Sphynx. Zeus. Flamethrower.

Rollercoaster of an episode for my odds-on favorite this week. She won a Mexican food challenge and then leading up to the tofu battle revealed that she has experience working in a modern Japanese restaurant. For a second there it sounded like she was about to run away with this thing, but then it seemed like she might be back to her self-sabotaging ways from the first two episodes.

I wince a little every time the chefs go ham on the mandolin slicers in this show (they go so fast! and seemingly carelessly!) so when Dawn actually sliced her finger on one it was borderline traumatizing. She ended up having to throw out some components and her “Nashville hot tofu” (which sounded like one of the best dishes of the episode) was disqualified on account of not having 10 completed portions. Come on, you pussies, man up and eat some blood.

For a second there it seemed like the injury may have gotten in Dawn’s head, but when Dawn and Byron put up two strikingly similar dessert dishes (both tofu mousses with mango) the judges probably realized that choosing an underdog like Byron over the winner of like seven out of the last 10 challenges (I don’t know the actual stat, I’m not looking this up) would incite a viewer revolt and gave Dawn the narrow victory.

My galaxy brain take is that getting eliminated might’ve actually been better for Dawn. That way she could’ve popped down to Last Chance Kitchen and had a chance to beat Sara in a one-off battle, then returned to the show just in time for the finale, rather than have to wait for Sara (presumably) to win Last Chance Kitchen and then have to keep beating her and everyone else until the end of the show.

That’s just the kind of genius thinking you can expect from a cooking show expert like me. I’d probably be out there solving cold fusion if I wasn’t here trying to think up new nicknames that rhyme with “Saucier.”


Vince Mancini is on Twitter. You can access his archive of reviews here.

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Months After Tom Cruise’s Rant, ‘Mission Impossible 7’ Was Reportedly Shut Down Again Due A Positive Coronavirus Test

Mission Impossible 7 may have one of the franchise’ most dangerous stunts yet waiting for theatergoers when the movie finally wraps up, but the project was yet again hit with a delay this week. Filming amid the coronavirus pandemic has been something of a nightmare for the MI7 crew, and despite plenty of very public warnings about the dangers of COVID-19 the virus seems to have made its way into the picture yet again.

The Hollywood Reporter shared Thursday that production on the oft-delayed MI7 was shut down again, this time after at least one positive COVID-19 case among the crew. Because of the exposure, things will go dark on set in the UK for a fortnight.

Filming on the Tom Cruise sequel will shut down for 14 days while those involved self-isolate. It is unclear how many members involved in the production tested positive for coronavirus.

“We have temporarily halted production on Mission: Impossible 7 until June 14th, due to positive coronavirus test results during routine testing. We are following all safety protocols and will continue to monitor the situation,” read a statement from the production.

Filming for MI7 was shut down last February in the early months of the pandemic, and production picked back up as the film’s shoot spanned the globe in the months that followed. What’s more, the movie’s filming became synonymous with COVID-19 precautions when footage of star Tom Cruise berating the film’s crew over lax health and safety standards leaked and went viral in its own right. Another star of the film has said the protocols are, indeed serious, with testing up to four times a week to protect against outbreaks while filming overseas. Despite all of that, though, apparently things were not as secure on set as everyone had hoped and now filming on the franchise will have to wait just a bit longer.

[via THR]

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SZA Requests Travis Scott’s Phone Number So She Can Perform ‘Love Galore’ With Him Again

This month marks four years since SZA released her classic debut album, Ctrl. Fourth anniversaries typically don’t warrant much celebration in the music world, but it appears the singer could have something up her sleeve for it. Her hope apparently is that it’ll involve a performance of “Love Galore” with Travis Scott as she hopped on Twitter to request his phone number to make it happen.

“Can somebody ask Travis to perform love galore w me one last time for old times sake,” she wrote. “Ion got his number lol.”

“Love Galore” is of course one of the standout efforts from Ctrl and the second-highest charting song from the album, behind the fan-favorite, “The Weekend.” SZA and Scott have performed the song together on a few occasions, including at a New York City tour spot and a visit to The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, both of which occurred in 2017.

With SZA’s next album set to hopefully arrive in the coming months, it would be nice to see her perform “Love Galore” and potentially more from Ctrl before moving on to the next chapter of her career.

SZA’s tweet comes after she revealed she “burst into tears” while rehearsing “20 Something,” the outro from Ctrl, which adds fuel to the speculation for a special performance for her debut album.

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‘Bobcat scare’ evacuates entire high school but the mystery invader was a missing house cat

Officials at West Scranton High School in Pennsylvania panicked on Tuesday morning when they thought they saw a bobcat roaming the school grounds. Security cameras captured footage of what they believed to be a ferocious predator stalking the cafeteria.

Bobcats are fast and have razor-sharp claws. Although they are known to shy away from humans, bobcats can attack if rabid or have babies nearby. So, students were sent home early for their protection.

The Game Commission arrived and searched the campus for two hours and couldn’t find the bobcat. But what they did find was a regular house cat.


In fact, there was no bobcat at all, just a Clouded Jack cat that resembles the wild animal. The game commission found out the cat was microchipped and had been missing from its family for three months.

“It looks, I mean, identical. (It has) the colors of a bobcat; it’s missing a tail,” Game Warden Jon Bowman said. “So just err on the side of caution. We wanted to make sure all the students are safe and staff are safe.”

Now, the cat has been reunited with its family, the kids can go back to school, and the Game Commission has a great story to tell.

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Anthony Bourdain’s humanity shines in trailer for new film about his extraordinary life

He was a chef, an author, and a travel show host, but people who loved Anthony Bourdain didn’t love him just for his work. They loved him for his unique ability to get to the heart of humanity through those lenses. Whether he was exploring culinary delights in Delhi or marveling at the colorful culture of Mozambique, Bourdain offered us a window to the world and an introduction to the diverse people who call our planet home.

His openness about his own shortcomings and his ability to connect with places and people in a real, down-to-earth, honest way drew a large audience. And because people felt a real connection with him, his untimely death from suicide in 2018 rocked the world in a way that’s hard to describe. A man who had such a love for the world leaving it in such a way was a painful blow. We all know that mental health struggles don’t discriminate, but Bourdain’s suicide at age 61 hit people hard.


Perhaps that’s why this preview of a documentary about his life, “Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain,” has received such an emotional response. Directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Morgan Neville, the film follows Bourdain’s career through his shows, books, and world travels. It includes interviews with his closest friends and colleagues, and is designed, Neville told Rolling Stone, to showcase Bourdain “in his own voice and in the way he indelibly impacted the world around him.”

Watch:


ROADRUNNER: A Film About Anthony Bourdain – Official Trailer [HD] – In Theaters July 16

youtu.be

Fans have feelings seeing this preview. But perhaps it will be a cathartic cryfest and a way to honor Bourdain’s contributions to the human story.

And for those who have not yet delved into Bourdain’s rich legacy, perhaps it will be just the introduction they need to take the plunge.

The film will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 11 and is set to be released by Focus Features on July 16.

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Tasting Notes On Buffalo Trace’s Foray Into The World Of Baijiu

Even if you have the most minimal knowledge of spirits, you’ve probably heard of Buffalo Trace. The iconic brand is well known for its flagship Buffalo Trace Bourbon as well as Eagle Rare, EH Taylor, Stagg, Weller, and the much sought-after Van Winkle expressions. But, if you delve a little deeper, you’ll learn that the Kentucky-based distillery has been working on its “Experimental Collection” for more than twenty years.

As of 2021, there are more than 30,000 experimental barrels of whiskey aging in Buffalo Trace’s warehouses. For most of the distillery’s existence, the expressions were whiskeys that were differentiated by the use of experimental mash bills, various barrel toasts, and other unique techniques. But now it’s releasing something truly experimental. Instead of bourbon, the brand is releasing its first foray into the world of baijiu.

If you’re not up on this colorless East-Asian liquor, you’ll be surprised to find that it’s the most popular global spirit. Making up around 31% of all spirits sales worldwide, baijiu usually ranges from 80 to 120 proof and is distilled from fermented sorghum and various other ingredients (millet and sticky rice are both used on occasion). Buffalo Trace’s Baijiu-style spirit is distilled in a similar method to its bourbon, but the mash bill leans on sorghum and peas rather than the usual corn and grains.

Now here’s the twist. While most baijiu is unaged, Buffalo Trace decided to mature its expression for 11 years in a combination of uncharred, charred, and toasted white oak barrels. That makes for a dark spirit with new layers of nuance and familiar touchstones for whiskey drinkers — a true hybrid. Our review of this experimental expression is below.

Buffalo Trace

ABV: 45%
Average Price: MSRP $46.99

The Bottle:

This baijiu-style spirit is the 24th experimental release from Buffalo Trace. The first expression was dropped in 2006. While baijiu itself might be a bit of a mystery to some Americans, it’s produced in a very similar fashion to whiskey. To put it simply, it’s a distilled spirit made from fermented grains.

Sounds familiar, right? It’s just the mash bill that’s changing. Regardless, the 10 years of aging certainly makes it pretty accessible to whiskey-loving palates.

Tasting Notes:

On the nose, you’ll find aromas of sweet raisins, dried cherries, caramelized sugar, and charred oak. The barrel seems to have made baijiu’s famous funk into more of an aged-fruitiness. On the palate, you’ll be greeted with flavors of dark chocolate, butterscotch, sour cherries, brown sugar, and just a hint of wood char. The finish is long, warming, and ends with a nice final nutty sweetness, another baijiu trademark, that should appeal to the most ardent bourbon fans.

Bottom Line:

This expression comes in 375ml bottles and was made available at various retailers in extremely limited quantities. If you see it, grab it. You might never run into a bottle again and it certainly takes your palate in new directions while remaining true to certain Buffalo Trace touchstones.

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Seth Rogen Paid Tribute To An Iconic ‘Superbad’ Character On Their 40th Birthday

Superbad is a movie about the awkwardness that often comes with growing up, and Seth Rogen reminded everyone on Thursday that some of the best moments from that 2007 movie were written a very long time ago. Rogen paid tribute to an iconic character from the film on social media on Thursday and was sure to also make everyone feel incredibly old in the process.

The topic of his tweet was one of the most enduring characters from the breakthrough film, which Rogen and Evan Goldberg started writing when they were teens. Or more specifically, the alias that another character chose for his fake ID. Fogel, played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, has a fake ID the boys can use to get alcohol. But the ID has a photo that vaguely looks like Mintz-Plasse and is from Hawaii. More importantly, the name on the ID is simply “McLovin.”

“What are you trying to be an Irish R&B singer?” Michael Cera’s Evan asks incredulously. What follows is a few minutes of riffing about the ID and its absurd name. And according to Rogen, McLovin was in the movie’s script from basically the very beginning. On Thursday, Rogen shared an image of the ID, noting that Thursday was McLovin’s 40th birthday and that he originally wrote many of the jokes about McLovin when he was a teenager.

Considering that Rogen is 39, that would more or less make it the 25th anniversary of McLovin on top of his birthday from the movie. So it’s certainly reason to celebrate. Even if it means anyone who fondly recalls meeting McLovin on the silver screen is feeling pretty old today.

You can also see the fruits of this fake ID below.

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Maggie Rogers Shared That Her Singles ‘Alaska’ And ‘Light On’ Have Been Certified Gold

Maggie Rogers has been something of a Cinderella story in the music industry since the beginning of her career. Beginning with an auspicious analysis by Pharrell Williams, who was visiting her NYU class, the indie pop star’s first single “Alaska” became an almost mythical tale. After hearing her play the song, Pharrell himself had “zero notes,” and simply remarks on her singularity. That might be true, but in this case, Rogers is now joining a whole host of other artists when it comes to the significance of her glitchy dance-pop — “Alaska” officially became a certified RIAA Gold single as of June 1st. Not only that, but another song from the artist, “Light On” was also certified Gold in June.

And the singer shared the news on Twitter by screenshotting the awards with a simple “thank you.”

https://twitter.com/maggierogers/status/1400154838185529344/photo/1

After her initial EP in 2017, Now That The Light Is Fading, Rogers put out a debut full-length in early 2019, Heard It In A Past Life. Both “Light On” and “Alaska” were included on her debut album, and the singer/songwriter has let fans know that instead of moving forward into releasing brand new music she felt it was necessary to share her old songs from 2011—2016. So late last year she released Notes From The Archive: Recordings 2011 — 2016 to give her listeners a peek into what led up to “Alaska” and all the rest. She’ll likely be back on tour soon now that the world is opening up, and hopefully have more new music again very soon. For now, she deserves a few days of basking in her new accomplishments.

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Lena Waithe On Chicago’s Best Burger And Her Passion For Mentorship

When you consider Lena Waithe’s public persona, or at least when I do, there are certain things that come to mind:

  1. She digs streetwear.
  2. She appreciates good food.
  3. She’s committed to telling stories that highlight new creative voices (that Emmys speech still gets me).

If you’re going to have a few things about you floating in the ether, those are three very solid picks. The first two are recreations with rabid fanbases and lots of experimentation. But that third one is the kicker. In an era when often-manipulative-sometimes-abusive models of mentorship are being scrutinized, Waithe is genuinely committed to empowering up-and-coming creatives without any expectation of something in return. Her Hillman Grad Mentorship Labs connects mentees from historically marginalized communities with opportunities and guidance from Waithe herself and other creative professionals.

That’s a big undertaking that requires serious partners with deep pockets, the most recent of these being Häagen-Dazs. The ice cream brand’s “That’s Däzs” initiative committed $100,000 to support the work of the Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab, part of a $1.5 million commitment to support “underrepresented creatives and tastemakers” over the next three years.

With a new Waithe-starring season of Master of None on Netflix, a new season of the Waithe-created The Chi about to land on Showtime, and Hillman Grad launching a record company, I caught up with the superstar multi-hyphenate to talk mentorship without strings attached, dealing with critique, and her favorite burger in Chicago.

You did David Chang’s show as a guest, guest judged Top Chef, and you won an Emmy for the incredibly food-focused Master of None — though the show is obviously so much more than that, especially this season. How long has thinking about food at that analytical level been a real passion for you? At what point were you like, “Whoa, this is going to be something that I geek out about and I get really into”?

Oh, man. Well, I think being from Chicago is a reason why I think I love food and also growing up in my grandmother’s house. She was originally from the south, Arkansas to be exact, and her way of cooking was always, of course, by feel and by gut and by instinct. Never any recipes around. I think that, to me, was always something that I just really got into and then, being a part of Master of None and being around Aziz — you can’t not become a food snob while being around him. He’s going to introduce you to the best restaurants, all those different kinds of things, and so, I ain’t even joking, he’s a person that got me into eating oysters. I wasn’t into that before nor had I really tried it. He was like, “No, this is how to do it.” It was that kind of thing.

His passion inspired you to dive deeper.

For me, that’s also important about food — not being afraid to try new things and not being afraid to try things that you ordinarily would never try. And then you never know you may like it, or you may hate it, but it’s about trying and it’s about having those experiences. For me, this has been a wonderful journey and I’ve grown so much. And also too, I learned how to get a little bit healthier and be more mindful of the things I’m eating and what’s in it and all that kind of stuff. The journey with food has been such a lovely one as I continue to grow as a person and find tastes and things that I like. And it’s tricky because we haven’t been able to travel as much over the past year, but I think that also goes hand in hand with… Whenever I will travel somewhere, I always want to go to the best spots that look like the hole in the wall that the locals really like.

So working with an ice cream brand actually feels like an organic fit, especially with the causes so aligned?

It’s been a wonderful thing. Because Häagen-Dazs is all about two creators who knew that ice cream was a bit of a luxury and it’s something that’s been very decadent. And so what they wanted to do was they wanted to make that luxury accessible to everyone. And that’s what was so interesting about their new initiative now, and that they want to donate $1.5 million to many different organizations over the next three years, obviously Hillman Grad Mentorship Lab being one of the first recipients of a 100K, donated to our program in order to pay for teachers and resources and things like that. They’re in line with what we believe, which is following your dreams is a luxury that should be accessible to everyone.

But it’s not. It’s isn’t accessible. Because so many people don’t have the luxury of just quitting their jobs or going to work in a mailroom with no pay for six months and so what that does that do? It lends itself to a certain group of people that can do that.

And those people often have the privilege of generational wealth.

Oh yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. And that’s why it made so much sense when Häagen-Dazs reached out because we had already locked the program. And again, it was one of those things, if you build it, people will come up. So they had heard about the program that said, “Hey, we’d like to donate some funds.” And we’re like, “Great! Because we’re paying for everything on our own.” We didn’t ask for any outside funds. We just were like, “We will take the money that we’re making from these other projects and put it into this program,” which we had done already, but then we’ve added to it so that way we can make sure all the teachers are getting paid and the resources are there for people.

Because if you also do want to be a writer, you’re going to have Final Draft. So we did a little partnership with Final Draft and that way they could make the software more accessible. And they gave some of our folks some free software. So it’s all about working with different companies and making sure that our mentees have everything that they need in order to be successful. And also, they’re not paying anything. This is all free and we got five execs, on the exec track, we have 10 people on the writing side and 10 people on the acting side. So it’s just been really beautiful.

And I just met with the mentees the other day, as well as the instructors yesterday, and so we’re in it. We’re in it with these folks. We’re having these conversations. And I’ve also realized, I think people think mentorship is just giving somebody a job. It’s not. It’s about getting to know them, knowing what their dreams are, having real conversations, and what made them want to follow this dream in the first place? So I think once you get to know the person that you’ve hired and brought in, that’s when the real mentorship begins. Because then you know who they are as a human being and they’re no longer just a statistic, but they’re somebody with a dream.

I’ve read some interviews with you where it’s so clear that not only are you unafraid of the next generation of people coming through, but you want to champion them. You’re like, “Get into this space and let’s make better stuff. And if that puts you chasing on my heels, then I’ll live with that.” I think that’s an incredibly brave approach.

I appreciate that. And the truth is, a lot of the stuff we do behind the scenes — there are things that I’m doing and working with people that folks will never know because it’s not about that. And I think that’s the true work. That, to me, makes me feel like that’s a… That’s a part of this revolution. That’s a part of this uprising. That’s a part of this protest. It’s about just helping somebody own their strengths. There’s no reason for… Because a lot of times we try to help folks, they think, “Well, what you want in return?” And I often say, “I don’t want anything,” but I think we’ve been so trained to not trust anyone, to think that if somebody wants to help you, they want something back. And it’s like, “Nah, you Black, you Brown, you queer, out here just trying to do it, let me be helpful. How can I do that?”

And for me, I’m a person that’s very accessible. Somebody hits me, I’ll try to respond or at least point them in the right direction. And it doesn’t matter, I still get swung at on Twitter. People are still like, “Oh, you trying to do this…” And that’s what I try to tell people that really want to do this. When you actually have made it to the place that you think is the promised land, that’s when you’re going to get swung at the most. That’s when you’re going to really go in and remind yourself of why you wanted to do this in the first place. Because there are going to be days when “you made it” where you want to quit. It’s just like, “What am I doing? What am I doing this for?”

What do you tell people at that point?

You got to remind yourself, it’s about following the purpose that was put inside of you and walking in it. Because the thing about walking in your purpose is that it’s a joy and it’s a privilege and it’s a luxury, but what will happen is you’ll have people that’ll celebrate you for it and also there will also be people that will resent you for it. And that just comes with the dinner. And so that’s what I also try to impart on these mentees as well, because they feel like, “If I could just get that movie out, this TV show going, if I could just do this thing…” I think there’s also this idea that people will like me, people will applaud me. Not necessarily.

I always make sure that that’s not what’s driving it for them.

Damn, people are coming to you and they’re saying, “If I could just get to your level of success, I won’t have to be wrestling constant insecurities while staring into the void of a collapsing empire at the end of capitalism.” And you’re like, “But first, you got to just love the art.”

Yeah, you do.

I like that.

And that’s the shit nobody wants to hear. You got to love the process because the truth is people will go, “Oh, I want to be successful. I want to get to where that person is,” but then how many documentaries that we’ve seen about big stars and people that we love and admire and you realize, “Damn, they were going through all that behind the scenes? Shit.” And a lot of that is because people do what? They put expectations on people. They hold them to a different moral standard. They want them to be perfect. They don’t want them to do anything that they don’t like. So that all comes with it. That all comes with being quote-unquote successful or quote-unquote making it. And that’s where I think a lot of people falter because they start buying into the image that people have created or projected onto them.

While that’s happening, you still got to go make art. And when you put it out, people are going to say, “We don’t like this.” Then, guess what? Do it again, yeah. Make it again.

You know what I’m saying?

Yeah, put something out. If it fails, put something else out.

That’s the thing. Every time I put something out, you know people are going to try to drag it. That’s just going to be a part of it, but now it’s become so commonplace that I’ve learned to expect it. And so that gives me freedom to do what I want. Because guess what? It’s going to happen anyway, my guy, so why not just write and do whatever the fuck you want? Because people are going to be mad regardless. And you are always going to have those people that go, “Hey, I like this.” And other people go, “I hate that.”

And guess what? They both get to be right.

Yep, we don’t have to argue with critics.

No, they both get to be right. And the only thing that gets tricky with all this social media, sometimes some person can say something that’s not accurate and then people can start to believe that it’s the truth. That’s when I think it really frustrates people because then you’re like, “Well, no, there’s a narrative. That’s not correct that’s being taken.” And that’s really hard.

That’s a little different — when people make character-based assumptions.

But also, guess what? You can’t fix that. You can’t fix it. You can’t go to each person and say, “Hey, I’m a good person.” That’s not how this goes. If somebody wants them to understand you, they will. If somebody wants to believe a lie about you, they will. So you got to let people do what they going to do. I’m a big believer in live and let live. If somebody wants to hate me, you have every right to do that. But the tricky part is, but if they’re hating me because of something that isn’t even true, that can be really frustrating. But what are you going to do?

Just keep creating, I guess.

Yeah, just keep making shit. You just keep making work. Now imagine having this conversation with a young person that just wanted to be a writer and tell a story. It’s like, “Guess what? It’s not that simple.” It’s not. If following one’s dreams were easy, everybody would do it.

You seem deeply committed to the idea of mentorship without expectation of return — which I find very rare and admirable.

How can we use these funds to pour into the communities that need them? That’s always my first question. So, that’s what I’m saying. Even if some of my own people are swinging at me, I’m always going to be swinging for them.

Major pivot because we both love Chicago and we both love food — where should people eat in the Chi? Small Cheval is my number one rated burger in the country. That’s the one we called out on our “best burger” list back in 2018. Have you ever —

You just took my answer, man.

No way!

You took my answer, yeah. And the tough thing is that I’ve tried to fall back on meat a little bit just because you can’t do too much, but that’s the place I always go to eat. It’s ridiculous. I always go whenever I’m in Chicago and I recommended it actually to some friends, the two amazing ladies who run on Black Market Vintage. They were in Chicago and they said, “Where should we go?” And I said, “Au Cheval” and they went and they had a wonderful meal and I was like, “Yes, great.” Because there’s nothing better than giving somebody a really good restaurant recommendation. So that’s what I would say and I’m hoping… Because I haven’t been to Chicago since the pandemic for obvious reasons, but I’m hoping they still are able to deliver or give people that amazing experience with their food.

Wait, so you were going to say Small Cheval or Au Cheval?

Au Cheval is how you say it, correct?

They have a place called Small Cheval, which is like a little fast-food burger concept that you should try next time.

Oh, I haven’t been there. I haven’t tried that.

That’s the one that’s my favorite burger and it’s right on the loop.

Oh okay. I only knew about Au Cheval.

Yeah, Au Cheval is great, too.

It’s cool that they have that available. That’s actually cool. Because again, getting into Au Cheval is a whole thing. You got to wait an hour. It’s a whole situation. So, they have something else that’s a little bit easier? That’s really good to know.

It looks like a 1950s fast food joint, but it’s just a one-off and the burgers are incredible, so check that one the next time you’re in town. What about shooting with Master of None or shooting with David Chang? What’s the place from one of those experiences that you tell people about?

Oh man, that’s a loaded question. You know what? I’ll say this. If we’re in LA, we’re going to My 2 Cents, with Chef Alisa’s [Reynolds] stuff. That’s the restaurant I would tell people.

What makes you love that spot so much?

Well, the fact that it’s Black-owned, the chef happens to be Black and queer, which is a bonus. But I just love the fact that you can have a vegan spaghetti that’s amazing, but then you can also have an oxtail taco, which is brilliant. Her mac and cheese is undeniable. The desserts are phenomenal. It’s just the kind of soul food that you have that you just feel like, “Yeah, this is actual soul food because it’s good for my spirit and it also just tastes amazing.”

And also the chef is just phenomenal and she’s a force of her own. She’s amazing. And we hang out. We vibe out and we hang and she’s just the best. So My 2 Cents — whenever somebody’s in LA, they need to pull up.