#just the fact he’s releasing another album at 81 is a reason to celebrate in itself

[allinsideyourhead]

Seven Psalms is out tomorrow(!!!), so for no reason in particular, here’s Paul in a pink t-shirt.

[businessliveme]

The World’s Best Restaurants: 2019

(Bloomberg) — Mirazur in Menton, France, is the No. 1 restaurant in the world.

This is the first time chef Mauro Colagreco and his sunny Provencal dining room have clinched the top spot; previously the restaurant was No. 3. This is also the first time France has gotten the No. 1 spot since the awards began 18 years ago.

That’s in part because executives behind the World’s 50 Best Restaurants list made a profound change to the rules this year, decreeing that no previous winner can be No. 1 again—or even be ranked on the list.

Previous winners have now been relegated to a “Best of the Best” category. That includes Osteria Francescana, Massimo Bottura’s modernist restaurant in Modena, which has won the award twice; Eleven Madison Park, which took the top spot in 2017; El Cellar de Can Roca; and the original Noma.

But the 2.0 version of Noma, which is set in a different location in Copenhagen with a new menu format, is eligible for the top spot and in fact skyrocketed to the No. 2 place on the list. William Drew, group editor of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants, says the criteria they used, which included location and menu concept, was not just to allow Noma, one of the world’s highest-profile dining spots, to be in contention. “The aim is to have an objective set of criteria that prevails over time,” he says. Leading up to the announcement, which took place in Singapore on the evening of June 25 before an audience, Noma was an insider favorite to clinch the top spot.

The Best of the Best is a convenient landing place for some formerly top-ranked restaurants that have been falling on the list, like the Fat Duck in Bray, England, which last year came in at No. 74. Nonetheless, chef/owner Heston Blumenthal is sanguine about the experience: “If you get on the list, lap it up, bathe in the warmth of it, but just do your work. Nothing is permanent.”

Mirazur sits at the foot of a mountain and is housed in a 1930s building looking out over the sea, just inside France’s border with Italy. The Argentine-born chef draws inspiration from the region, serving vegetables from his own gardens and other local produce to create colorful Mediterranean dishes. Colagreco’s signature creation is oyster with tapioca, shallot cream and pear. The lunch menu costs 160 euros ($180), while the full menu is 260 euros.

“What a great year. Three Michelin stars and No. 1 all in the same year,” said Colagreco while accepting the award. “It’s a year I shall remember forever. I don’t have words to explain. I own the sky!”

He says the next step after basking in the awards is to expand his “little” 5-acre gardens into something greater. “We are fantastic producers, winemakers—we are a little paradise. Our vision is to share and to try to give love and to live happily with our work. It is a simple vision, but it is a vision of life.”

The World’s 50 Best committee also announced that it is highlighting diversity in advance of the ceremony. According to the website, voters are asked to “take issues of representation and reputation into consideration with their choices.”

This year, the list was also expanded from 100 to 120 to coincide with the list’s leading sponsor, San Pellegrino, celebrating its 120th anniversary. It’s a “one-off” expansion, according to Drew.

The restaurants appearing on the list from 51-120 were released ahead of time. That half of the list included restaurants from 25 countries, which demonstrates one good reason to expand the list, advertiser anniversaries notwithstanding. The expansion also makes it easier to highlight restaurants in cities that haven’t caught the 50 Best’s attention before, like Alcade in Guadalajara, Mexico (109 on the list). “We embraced the opportunity to showcase an even more diverse range of restaurants,” says Drew.

A lot of the buzz around the awards are the drops—and this was a year that saw more dramatic movement than usual. Besides Noma, Atelier Crenn in San Francisco entered the list at No. 35, and The Chairman, a Cantonese spot with dishes like flowery crab with aged Chinese wine, was another new entry at No. 41. The host city, Singapore, cracked the top 20: The elegant Odette moved up to No. 18.

Among the notable demotions on the list was Attica in Melbourne, which fell an astonishing 64 spots, to No. 84 from 20. Also eyebrow-raising were perennial favorites Arzak in San Sebastian, Spain, to No. 53 from 31, and D.O.M. in Sao Paulo, which fell to No. 54 from 30.

The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list is organized and compiled by William Reed Business Media. It is created from the votes of 1,040 restaurateurs, chefs, food writers and foodies. The voters are split into 26 separate regions around the world. Each region has its own panel of 40 members. (Vines formerly chaired the U.K. and Ireland panel; he is no longer involved.) The awards started in 2002 as a feature in Restaurant, a U.K. publication, based on the picks of journalists and chefs. The founders compare it to a music magazine compiling a best-albums list.

Ahead of Tuesday evening’s ceremony, three awards were announced: Daniela Soto-Innes, of Cosme in New York, won Elit Vodka World’s Best Female Chef; the American Express Icon Award went to the humanitarian chef José Andrés; and Lido 84, a locally focused restaurant in Lombardy, Italy, won the Miele One to Watch.

Here are the winners (with last year’s place in parentheses).

“NEW ENTRY” indicates the first time the restaurant has appeared on the list. “RE-ENTRY” indicates its reappearance on the list after a year of absence (i.e., due to a closing/renovation).

1. Mirazur, Menton, France (3) 2. Noma, Copenhagen **NEW ENTRY 3. Asador Etxebarri, Axpe, Spain (10) 4. Gaggan, Bangkok (5) 5. Geranium, Copenhagen (19) 6. Central, Lima (6) 7. Mugaritz, San Sebastian, Spain (9) 8. Arpège, Paris (8) 9. Disfrutar, Barcelona (18)

10. Maido, Lima (7) 11. Den, Tokyo (17) 12. Pujol, Mexico City (13) 13. White Rabbit, Moscow (15) 14. Azurmendi, Larrabetzu, Spain (43) 15. Septime, Paris (40) 16. Alain Ducasse au Plaza Athénée, Paris (21) 17. Steirereck, Vienna (14) 18. Odette, Singapore (28) 19. Twins Garden, Moscow (72) 20. Tickets, Barcelona (32) 21. Frantzén, Stockholm (65) 22. Narisawa, Tokyo (22) 23. Cosme, New York (25) 24. Quintonil, Mexico City (11) 25. Pavillon Ledoyen, Paris (29) 26. Boragó, Santiago (27) 27. The Clove Club, London (33)

28. Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, U.S. (12) 29. Piazza Duomo, Alba, Italy (16) 30. Elkano, Getaria, Spain (77) 31. Le Calandre, Rubano, Italy (23) 32.  Nerua, Bilbao, Spain (57) 33. Lyle’s, London (38) 34. Don Julio, Buenos Aires (55)

35. Atelier Crenn, San Francisco **NEW ENTRY 36. Le Bernardin, New York (26) 37. Alinea, Chicago (34) 38. Hiša Franko, Kobarid, Slovenia (48) 39. A Casa do Porco, Sao Paulo (79) 40. Restaurant Tim Raue, Berlin (37)

41. The Chairman, Hong Kong **NEW ENTRY 42. Belcanto, Lisbon (75) 43. Hof Van Cleve, Kruishoutem, Belgium (63) 44. The Test Kitchen, Cape Town (50) 45. Sühring, Bangkok (54) 46. De Librije, Zwolle, Netherlands (51) 47. Benu, San Francisco (53) 48. Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet, Shanghai (24) 49. Leo, Bogota (99) 50. Schloss Schauenstein, Fürstenau, Switzerland (47)

And here are the previously announced winners from 51 to 120:

​51. ​​​​​​Reale, Castel di Sangro, Italy (36) 52. Mikla, Istanbul (44) 53. Arzak, San Sebastian, Spain (31) 54. D.O.M., Sao Paulo (30) 55. Maaemo, Oslo (35) 56.  Relae, Copenhagen (71) 57.   Nobelhart & Schmutzig, Berlin (88) 58. Sud 777, Mexico City (64)

59. Burnt Ends, Singapore (61) 60. Indian Accent, New Delhi (90) 61. Uliassi, Senigallia, Italy **NEW ENTRY 62. Nihonryori  RyuGin, Tokyo (41) 63. Florilège, Tokyo (59) 64. The Ledbury, London (42) 65. Selfie, Moscow (70) 66. Core by Clare Smyth, London (66) **NEW ENTRY 67. Astrid y Gastón, Lima (39) 68. Fäviken, Järpen, Sweden (67) 69. Nahm, Bangkok (49) 70. Saison, San Francisco (46)

71. SingleThread, Healdsburg, California (91) 72. Aqua, Wolfsburg, Germany (73) 73. Maní, Sao Paulo (87) 74. Lasai, Rio de Janeiro (100) 75. DiverXo, Madrid (96) 76. Momofuku Ko, New York (62) 77. Chef’s Table at Brooklyn Fare, New York (69) 78.  Lido 84, Gardone Riviera, Italy **NEW ENTRY 79. Mingles, Seoul (78)

80. Estela, New York (83) 81. Quique Dacosta, Denia, Spain (68) 82. Enigma, Barcelona (95) 83. Dinner by Heston Blumenthal, London (45) 84. Attica, Melbourne (20) 85. Amass, Copenhagen **RE-ENTRY 86. Tegui, Buenos Aires (60) 87. Martin Berasategui, Lasarte-Oria, Spain (76) 88. Lung King Heen, Hong Kong (80) 89. 108, Copenhagen (98)  90. Alo, Toronto (94) 91. Sushi Saito, Tokyo **RE-ENTRY 92. Harvest, St. Petersburg, Russia **NEW ENTRY 93. La Cime, Osaka, Japan **NEW ENTRY 94. Aponiente, El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain **NEW ENTRY

95. Gaa, Bangkok **NEW ENTRY 96. Belon, Hong Kong **NEW ENTRY 97. Vendôme, Bergisch Gladbach, Germany (66) 98.  Anne-Sophie Pic, Valence, France **RE-ENTRY 99. The Jane, Antwerp, Belgium (89) 100. Oteque, Rio de Janeiro **NEW ENTRY 101. Brae, Birregurra, Australia (58) 102. Amber, Hong Kong (56) 103. Jade Dragon, Macao **NEW ENTRY 104. Cococo, St. Petersburg, Russia **NEW ENTRY 105.  Kadeau, Copenhagen **RE-ENTRY 106. Restaurant David Toutain, Paris **NEW ENTRY 107. Il Ristorante Luca Fantin, Tokyo **NEW ENTRY 108. L’Astrance, Paris (52)

109. Alcade, Guadalajara, Mexico **NEW ENTRY 110. Neolokal, Istanbul **NEW ENTRY 111. Chambre Séparée, Ghent, Belgium **NEW ENTRY 112. St. John, London (84) 113. Vea, Hong Kong **NEW ENTRY 114.  La Colombe, Cape Town **RE-ENTRY 115. Per Se, New York (81) 116. St. Hubertus, San Cassiano, Italy **NEW ENTRY 117.  Epicure, Paris **RE-ENTRY 118. Ernst, Berlin **NEW ENTRY

119. Atomix, New York **NEW ENTRY 120. Sugalabo, Tokyo **NEW ENTRY

The post The World’s Best Restaurants: 2019 appeared first on Businessliveme.com.

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[theperfectlywise]

The curious case of Nicki Minaj: Female emcees, respect, & marketing in the streaming era

Missy Elliot’s Miss E…So Addictive was the first album by a female rapper that I bought. Or rather, that my dad bought for me the summer of 2001. Before a generation lost their innocence when those planes crashed through the World Trade Center. Before the streaming era took over and put the entire music industry’s discography on our iPhones. And when ripping the annoying plastic covering off that CD case would gave you a singular rush of anticipation. The late Purple God Prince gave us a gentle rebuke about albums at the 2016 Grammy Awards, before his untimely death: “Albums still matter. Like books and Black lives, albums still matter.”

But with time comes change, so we’ll spare the excess nostalgia for another time. And given the amount of music I consume daily, buying albums today would likely leave me homeless and penniless, with nothing but my Kate Spade bags, wigs & CDs as declared assets. So there’s that.

Female emcees have always had a tricky relationship with hip-hop, especially along the lines of visibility. Today, Missy’s ….So Addictive and Ms. Lauryn’s Miseducation records rest in an old black case, along with countless others by male colleagues (i.e., Jay, Mobb Deep, Outcast, Wu Tang Klan, etc.). Those two CDs are token items, like the one Black guy that always get killed first in horror movies — there to confirm that female emcees exist, but still not enough to suggest real interest in their stories. Thankfully, I’ve remedied that oversight in my adult years.

Fast forward to 2008, when an up-and-coming Queens emcee named Nicki Minaj captivated the hip-hop world with her Sucka Free mixtape and 2009 Beam Me Up Scotty follow-up.

A Lil’ Kim clone through and through down to the lingerie picture, Beam Me Up Scotty put me on notice to Nicki’s talent as a rapper — something she would later confirm when she washed two hip-hop heavyweights (Kanye West and Hov) on the same song, Monster. Nicki the Ninja would later carry the success of that mixtape, her Pink Friday album, and an eccentric and a playfully sexual Barbie aesthetic to become the highest-selling female rapper of all time. She would run unopposed with this status for years to come.

Looking at Nicki’s recent controversies and chart performance — Joe Coscarelli of The New York Times noted: “Of her [Nicki’s] two songs as a lead artist currently on the Billboard Hot 100, none is higher than number 81”— you get the sense this unopposed run has inspired complacency, if not outright arrogance on her part. Sure, we can chalk this complacency up to hip-hop’s fucked up expectation that only one woman rapper can sit on the throne. That would be a valid argument, as talented female emcees like Rapsody have not enjoyed mainstream success, despite being a Grammy-nominated artist and rapping better than the rainbow-haired, lean-drinking weirdos currently dominating the new school.

That being said, it is my observation that Nicki is currently hanging by the same rope she gladly hung Lil’ Kim with years before. That same standard that helped Nicki during her rise — and relegated Kim’s legacy to an afterthought — is slowly painting her as a “has-been” now.

Where are the receipts? Let’s look at Nicki’s 2018 so far (in chronological order):

April 3, 2018: Coming out of social media hiatus

Nicki was spotted at LAX Airport after being on a social-media hiatus since December 2017. With an all-black ensemble and over-sized shades in tow, Nicki’s airport walk-through signaled a return to the public — and created anticipation for more. Is she coming out with a new song, after all these months? A new interview? We would get this answer a little over a week later.

April 12, 2018: Zane Lowe interview, new singles, and those Cardi B/Tokyo Stylez comments

In the midst of releasing Barbie Tingz and Chun Li, Nicki gave a deep-dive on a variety of topics including her current artistic process, social media, Meek Mill’s legal troubles, and Cardi B. Given that Cardi’s Invasion of Privacy album was released the prior Friday (April 6th), her comments on Cardi grabbed the most headlines.

On Cardi B, Nicki said:

“The only thing with Cardi that really, really, really hurt my feelings was the first interview she did after ‘MotorSport’ came out… With ‘MotorSport,’ I kinda felt ambushed. Up until this recent interview she did, I had never seen her show me genuine love in an interview. And I can just imagine how many girls wished they could be on a song with Nicki Minaj.”

When asked why she didn’t appear on camera with Cardi in the MotorSportmusic video, Nicki effectively threw celebrity hair-stylist Tokyo Stylez under the bus for a scheduling conflict:

“Even with the scheduling conflict, she’s using my hairdresser now so even he can attest to the fact, Tokyo [Stylez]…He knows there really was a scheduling conflict and it was because of him. He’s the one that couldn’t show up. I texted him, ‘You know, if I don’t show up the day she’s shooting, they’re gonna act like I’m doing it to be mean with the current Nicki hate train.’ He wasn’t able to come, and that’s fine.”

I side-eyed these comments for a couple of reasons. For one, Nicki’s assertion that “many girls” wish for a Nicki collab tells me that she expected Cardi to bow down and kiss the ring. Given Nicki’s prior beefs with female rap legends (see: Lil’ Kim’s 2012 Breakfast Club interview) who believed she didn’t pay respect during her rise, it’s strange that she would take Cardi to task in this way. Also, publically blaming the lack of on-camera appearance on a celebrity hairstylist was a messy and unnecessary move. Why throw another professional under the bus for your lack of joint on-screen appearance?

May 24, 2018: Queen is pushed from June 15 to August 10

In an Instagram live-stream, Nicki announced that Queen would be released on August 10th, as opposed to the originally announced June 15 date she teased during a Vogue interview on the Met Gala red carpet. Granted, album push backs are perfectly normal. In many cases, the extra time can help an artist perfect their record and it also gives management more leeway to execute the roll-out. On the other side, album push backs can signal doubts on either:

1.) The quality of the project

2.) How much said project will sell/connect with audiences

3.) Clarity with the album roll-out strategy

In Nicki’s case, to return from hiatus in April with two singles (Barbie Tingz and Chun Li) only to push the album release from June to August points to some internal doubts about the ability of the project to compete in a summer of high-profile releases (i.e., Kanye Kardashian, Drizzy, Nas, etc.). Also, this might be a small detail, but there’s a lack of a cohesive aesthetic between Nicki’s recent singles that is hard to ignore.

Shout out to @bluekeyblade for pointing out this lack of cohesion on this Twitter thread.

The varying aesthetics here contrast with other mainstream artists. Here are some examples Twitter users pointed out under that thread:

You can argue that the increasing emphasis on singles during the streaming era has reduced the need for cohesive projects and aesthetics. However, the marketing professional in me believes these varied aesthetics points to a record label and management team that are testing different aesthetics to see what consumers will connect with. Streaming era aside, it is evident a clear aesthetic is key to a successful brand strategy. Between Mariah’s album fonts, Ariana Grande’s Dangerous Woman bunny ears, and RiRi’s red hair during the Loud era — all of these artists had a cohesive look that was synonymous with their projects. That Nicki doesn’t appear to have a cohesive aesthetic going into an album roll-out is a worrying sign for how she is being marketed in this new streaming era.

June 13, 2018: ELLE magazine interview, and those sex-work comments

With the tagline “The Queen Returns,” it’s clear this cover-story was meant to promote her new album and assert her return back to the top. You might have missed this though, as controversial comments around sex-work dominated headlines.

“Maybe I was naive, but I didn’t realize how many girls were modern-day prostitutes,” she said. “Whether you’re a stripper, or whether you’re an Instagram girl — these girls are so beautiful and they have so much to offer. But I started finding out that you give them a couple thousand dollars, and you can have sex with them.”

So I’ll start with this reaction gif of Kurt from Glee:

Upon reading these comments, I’m struck by the lack of empathy from a woman who has earned millions by selling her body and sex appeal. Maybe Nicki was simply unaware that performing sex work is often a literal means of survival for poor and disenfranchised women. Contrary to popular belief, sex work doesn’t just occur among the impossibly beautiful Instagram models who fuck rich men for Birkin bags and a trip to the Maldives. On the other side of this jet-set living are poor, LGBT women of color who perform sex work to feed and provide for their families. New York Times best-selling author and trans activist Janet Mock spoke on this very reality in a 2018 AM Tonight interview with Alicia Menendez.

Also, to have these comments come out around the same time she released Rich Sex, a song with these poetic lyrics just boggles the mind.

If you know your pussy worth a Benz truck

(Rich sex)

Don’t let homie fuck unless his bands up

(Rich sex)

Go to DR, get that fat transfer

(Rich sex)

It ain’t such a thing as broke and handsome

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

If you let that broke nigga fuck, we tellin’

(Rich sex)

July 7, 2018: Wanna Thompson, Karen Civil, and those DMs

This brings us to the most recent “controversy” surrounding Onika and those Twitter DMs with Wanna Thompson, a freelance writer from Toronto. I won’t add more to this story, as much has been recently discussed related to Wanna’s original tweet, Nicki’s DM, and Wanna’s subsequent firing from Karen Civil’s website. Check out the New York Times profile on Ms.Thompson for the whole story. Needless to say, the experience has done little to promote Ms. Minaj in a positive light ahead of her album release. Also, it’s interesting that Wanna identified the need for Nicki’s artistry to evolve — a complaint other critics have noted. I mean, how many “bitches are my sons” bars can we take?

Missy Misdemeanor commented on the current state of music and female emcees during a 2012 Breakfast Club interview. When asked about Nicki Minaj — understandable given Nicki’s presence as the top-selling female rapper — Missy curiously wrapped her praise for Nicki’s hustle with the need for unity, respect for music’s predecessors, and new talent development. Judging by Nicki’s history of feuds with older female rappers (Lil’ Kim being the most prominent ) and rumors of behind-the-scenes sabotage antics against her peers, Missy seems to be alluding to some funny-style actions on Nicki’s part. When you think about Missy’s call to nurture new hip-hop talent (lest your own legacy becomes discredited by the new school) and Nicki’s current inability to produce a hit single with lasting power, her words sound that much more prophetic right now. That may soon change though, as Bed, a Ariana Grande collab and a rumored collab with Tekashi 69 are sure to capture attention ahead of the album release. And controversy aside, all press is good press, right?

Looking at Missy’s 20+ year career and the goodwill she still wields in the industry, I’m reminded of how important it is to treat people with respect. That stars are not immune to a fickle consumer base that loves them one second and discards them the next. That complacency is the killer of growth. And when all else fails — it’s alright to sit down, mind your business, and eat your food. We don’t see Beyonce giving controversy-laden interviews and clapping back at music writers on Twitter for a reason. Just saying.