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Need some humor to get through Shanghai’s perpetual lockdown?

Check out Swankie the Villain’s remix of Biz Markie’s ‘Just a Friend’

LiFTED | Marcus Aurelius | 12 May 2022


For more than 50 days, the 26 million people in Shanghai have been under a strict lockdown. There have been food shortages, a lot of soggy cabbages, and food delivery madness. Videos online have shown people being pulled out of their homes, as well as long lines for daily COVID-19 tests.

With no end in sight, the one way people have to make it through is humor. Drama teacher Orville Maciel has been in China for four years and he’s actively making online videos on WeChat and other social media platforms as Swankie the Villain. He got Biz Markie’s ‘Just a Friend’ beat stuck in his head, so he went and tried to make it about the Great Lockdown.

What resulted was Swankie the Villain’s version of ‘Just a Friend’ backed by a lot of his friends. He shouts out rationed food, tinder, and riots with pots and pans, while his buddies with their kids and animals all make appearances in the video.

It’s good to see a foreigner video go viral for the right reasons in Asia. Swankie the Villain has a very positive attitude and tells people that they just need to lock in for the rest of the lockdown. But the hook does say what everyone is thinking, “When will this lockdown end? When will this lockdown end?”

Check out the video below on Swankie the Villain’s Instagram below.

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