Italy Fabri (YouTube)
Yoon Haein: For Italians who live on espresso, an iced Americano can feel as strange as cold soup would to Koreans. And when it comes to pizza, the Korean habit of piling on endless toppings can be just as shocking. “Some pizzas could honestly traumatize an Italian,” says Fabrizio Ferrari, better known as Fabri, an Italian chef now based in Korea. That was exactly how he felt when he first got a taste of Korean-style pizza five years ago. In 2025, Fabri posted a video with a title you couldn’t scroll past: “An Italian Tries Korean Pizza Topped with Carbonara (feat. time-to-unfriend vibes).” On the lineup were a pizza topped with carbonara pasta, a Cheongyang chili bulgogi pizza topped with potato chips, plus extras like sweet potato mousse and cheese bites, a green salad pizza, and even a drizzle of honey. Professors Massimo and Valentina, both Italians who had been in Korea for about two and a half years, could only burst out laughing or let out a shocked sigh that what they saw was still called pizza. The highlight came when honey appeared next to the salad pizza. To Italians, adding sweetness to a dish they consider a meal is nearly impossible to accept. Even Fabri, who had been gleefully teasing his friends, said, “I still don’t get it,” showing that his Italian side was alive and well and giving viewers a laugh.   

Still, Fabri and his friends embrace these familiar yet strange foods as a new cultural experience. They give open-minded reviews, admitting that the mix of carbonara and pizza actually works, and they gamely dip slices into garlic sauce or honey. At the end of the video, they sip on “Ah-Ah” (iced Americano) and “Ah-Va-la” (iced vanilla latte), a moment that would make any Korean smile with pride. Through his channel, Fabri often shows the fun and freshness of Korean food culture from a foreigner’s point of view. What makes him stand out is his balance: he never falls into blind praise or harsh criticism of either culture. For example, when he discovers that Pikachu pork cutlets are a nostalgic childhood food for many Koreans, he tries them again, even if the taste isn’t as great as he hoped, just to understand the fun. Using his chef’s know-how, he explains why pickles always come with Korean-style pizza: “It is essential to Koreans because they cut through the greasiness, just like the way kimchi has shaped Korean taste buds.” He also introduces his Italian friends to cocktails made with homemade fruit syrups and lets them experience wrapping ssam(Korean wrap) culture and eat it in one bite. In one video, even though cutting spaghetti is “sacrilege” in Italy, his friends cheerfully chop up Mak-guksu(Korean buckwheat noodles) with scissors the way Koreans do. What Fabri shows on YouTube is flexibility paired with his cooking expertise. His videos highlight what is unique about his own culture while also teaching respect for others. From ingredients to cooking styles, from table settings to the way food is eaten, “Italy Fabri” makes you realize again that food is never just food. It always carries the bigger story of culture.

Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 21st Century
Kang Ilkwon (Music Critic): There is one thing that never changes and never will: nothing baits an argument better than a ranked list that crowns the “greatest.” It is the perfect lure, guaranteed to set off endless debates. This time, Billboard cast the line. On August 26, 2025, it dropped its ranking of the “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 21st Century,” based on chart data from January 1, 2000, through December 28, 2024. The list reflects combined performances on the “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums” and “Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs” charts.

At the very top is Drake: 30 No. 1 singles, 15 No. 1 albums, and an astonishing 355 entries on the charts. His achievements go beyond what the numbers can show. In second place is Beyoncé, whose career began with Destiny’s Child and shone even brighter as a solo artist. The Weeknd takes third place, translating gloom, pleasure, and dreamlike beats into his own language, far beyond the label of “alternative R&B.” Chris Brown and Usher, extending the legacy of traditional R&B and dance performance, follow at No. 4 and No. 5. Behind them are Lil Wayne (No. 6), Jay-Z (No. 7), Rihanna (No. 8), Eminem (No. 9), and Alicia Keys (No. 10).

The heated debates broke out outside the top 10. The spotlight landed on No. 11, No. 12, and No. 13. Some fans objected that Kendrick Lamar, at No. 12, was ranked above Kanye West (Ye), who landed at No. 13. Both artists have released outstanding music. Still, fans argued that given Ye’s innovative production and impact on the music scene, it felt unfair to see him placed lower based solely on chart numbers. Post Malone, who came in at No. 11, also sparked controversy with the question: “Is he really an R&B/hip-hop artist?” In fact, at a certain point, he stepped beyond hip-hop, becoming one of the figures who embody the genre-blurring spirit of the 21st century.

For all the debates, lists like this are undeniably fun. They are also meaningful, serving as an archive that allows us to look back on and preserve R&B and hip-hop in the early 21st century. Looking over the full ranking, the importance of collaborations and features has never been clearer, and the powerful presence of women artists stands out. If reading this sent you off to check Billboard’s “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the 21st Century,” then it is time to watch the surge of fan debates rising worldwide.

This Time Tomorrow (Emma Straub)
Kim Boksung (Writer): Reading the opening to author Emma Straub’s novel “This Time Tomorrow,” it’s clear that while protagonist Alice didn’t get everything she wanted in life, she’s still got it pretty good. There’s one major exception, though, and that’s that she’s grappling with her father’s failing health. That changes—somewhat—when she falls asleep on her 40th birthday, only to awake back on her 16th birthday. The most striking memory she’s reliving? Her dad, again in his 40s, is back in good health and an all-around charming man. Now that Alice is back in the 1990s, she potentially has the power to alter the course of both their futures.

The book humorously compares time travel approaches in different movies, but other than setting up the story, “This Time Tomorrow” doesn’t focus on this sci-fi device and instead is really a novel about the relationship between father and daughter. That in itself keeps the book a breezy read, but the subplot with Alice’s best friend, and the detailed word pictures of the city around her, make this book a pleasant and quick summer read just before the season winds down.