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Lil Durk’s 2022 year just keeps getting better and better. The Chicago native dropped his seventh album 7220 earlier this year and it was a project that arrived with 17 songs and guest features from Future, Gunna, and Summer Walker. 7220 later went on to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard albums chart, and after falling a few spots some weeks later, it reclaimed the top spot for a second time this year. Lil Durk has propelled the album forward thanks to strong music videos and support from LeBron James. Despite all that’s going on in his world, Durk has still found time to give back to his community.

In partnership with his Neighborhood Heroes Foundation, Durk launched an HBCU college program for teenagers in his Chicago hometown. The exact details of the program are unknown at the moment, but in a post on the foundation’s page, they said that they’ll “be taking them to HBCU Colleges & exposing them to different careers.”

Together with the announcement, Durk also invited 20 students from the South Side of Chicago to join him in a luxury suite for a Chicago White Sox game where he also threw the ceremonial first pitch. For what it’s worth, the White Sox picked up a much-needed 3-0 win against the Los Angeles Angeles, so it’s safe to say that Durk and the Chicago teens gave the team the necessary boost they needed.

You can view the announcement in the post above.

Gunna is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Kehlani has never been one to make her fans wait too long for a new project from her. That’s evident through her latest project Blue Water Road, which arrives just two years after her sophomore effort It Was Good Until Wasn’t was released. Blue Water Road dropped with 13 songs and features from Blxst, Syd, Justin Bieber, Jessie Reyez, Ambre, and Thundercat. So far, Kehlani has shared videos for “Altar” and “Everything” from the project, with the latter coming when the project was released. Now, she adds a third one to the mix with a visual for “Up At Night.”

The new video kicks off with Kehlani asking her Google-powered speaker to play her sleep playlist. “Up At Night” soon roars in the background and Kehlani hops into bed to fall asleep. With that, we enter the singer’s mind which is filled with vibrant colors, elegant dance moves, sparkly diamonds, and more, which are all brought forth by her feelings towards a newfound romance.

During a recent Apple Music interview, Kehlani revealed that many of the songs on Blue Water Road were initially records for a deluxe version of It Was Good Until Wasn’t. However, she says she mentally “wasn’t in the deluxe of my last album” due to a unique experience at the location of where the music was recorded, and thus, Blue Water Road was born.

You can check out the visual for “Up At Night” in the video above.

Blue Water Road is out now via TSNMI/Atlantic Records. You can stream it here.

Kehlani is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The first quarter of Game 2 between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies featured some fireworks. In addition to high-quality play from both teams, the night began with a Flagrant-2 foul and an ejection for Dillon Brooks within the first handful of minutes. From there, Draymond Green was bleeding from his face in short order, forcing an eventful trip to the locker room, and Gary Payton II was quickly ruled out after injuring his elbow on the clothesline from Brooks.

In an otherwise typical interview between the first and second quarter, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr made waves by not exactly holding back his thoughts on how things went in the early going. Prompted by TNT’s Jared Greenberg on Kerr’s previous expectations of a highly physical environment, Kerr pushed back and insisted that what the Grizzlies did in the first quarter “wasn’t physical, that was dirty.”

This is the kind of thing that will not be well-received in Memphis, but it was also in the heat of battle, which could give Kerr some additional latitude. Brooks’ play certainly appeared to be dirty, as evidenced by the ejection, and the Warriors likely did not enjoy the fact that Green had to head to the locker room before emerging with swelling on his face.

Still, this isn’t an accusation that is thrown around lightly. It will be interesting to see the response on all sides after the game, particularly if the Grizzlies are able to even the series with a home win.

A chippy first quarter during Game 2 between the Golden State Warriors and the Memphis Grizzlies saw the Warriors lose multiple starters as the result of plays that Steve Kerr classified as “dirty.” One such moment came when Draymond Green went for a loose ball and caught an elbow to the face by Grizzlies big man Xavier Tillman.

Green was down on the ground in pain after, and once he got up, he started making his way into the locker room. The TNT Overtime feed caught Green making his way into the back, and while it is unclear exactly what happened, a visibly frustrated Green flipped off the fans in attendance at FedExForum.

Green left with just under nine minutes remaining in the first, and shortly after he made his way back onto the floor for the start of the second, the Warriors announced that he would be good to go for the remainder of the game after receiving some stitches. Additionally, Green appears to be playing with some swelling over his right eye.

Right before Green left the game, Warriors guard Gary Payton II was clotheslined while going up for a layup by Grizzlies wing Dillon Brooks. After a review, Brooks was tossed from the game for a flagrant 2, while Payton was eventually ruled out with a left elbow injury.

Actress Geffen Kaminer is making history for Israeli television: being the first autistic performer to play a character with autism.

The Times of Israel reported that the eighteen year old will appear in the upcoming series “East Side,” starring alongside Israeli actor and model Yehuda Levi as his beloved daughter Maya.

Other Israeli shows have featured autistic characters, such as the acclaimed comedy series “On The Spectrum,” which centers around three roommates on the spectrum (hence the title) trying to navigate life and love. However, until Kaminer, these characters have always been portrayed by neurotypical actors.

For Kaminer, winning the role was a fairly standard actor story. She saw an online casting call, signed up, and went through several auditions before getting the offer. The role was simply a perfect fit.

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Even though she was diagnosed with autism at age 6, Kaminar’s parents were advised not to tell her until the age of 9. She noted how this made childhood particularly difficult. “It’s really frustrating to be autistic, especially during adolescence,” she told The Times of Israel. “Basically, I don’t feel like everyone else. I don’t know what’s different for me because I don’t know what’s happening with them.”

Despite having a passion for acting, Kaminar felt that “nothing on television represented [her.]” So to play a character who was also on the spectrum seems to be a dream come true.

More authentic representation of neurodivergence in television is a growing trend worldwide. Amazon Prime’s “As We See It” follows a very similar storyline to “On The Spectrum”: three twenty somethings who are on the autism spectrum live together as roommates. Only this time, the three characters are actually portrayed by actors who are autistic.

Show creator Jason Katims told Forbes that the mindful casting choice was “important…because I wanted to get it as right as we could” adding that the attention to detail didn’t stop with the casting. “It was also really important, for the same reason, to have people on both sides of the camera who identify as on the spectrum.”

Similarly, in 2020 Disney came out with an animated short film titled, “Loop,” which not only featured a non verbal character as the lead, but is also played by non-speaking actress named Madison Bandy.

These efforts do much more than add a layer of accuracy. When most of our understanding of autism comes from fictional stereotypes, we run the risk of forgetting the nuance and complexities that come with individuals. Authentic representation can be a power educator to help us understand the real life experiences of those on the spectrum, on an empathetic level. Which can, in turn, help aid against discrimination, abelsim, and oversimplification of the disorder. As Altogether Autism contributor Rachel Wiltshire writes, “a better understanding of autism means it is safer for autistic people to come out. And when autistic people can live authentically autistic lives, they can flourish.”

Whether casting neurodivergent actors like Kaminar to play autistic roles, or placing more storytelling authority in the hands of neurodivergent individuals, the result is more likely than not to result in better representation. And that makes for not only more engaging entertainment, but entertainment that inspires us to value different points of view.

College is expensive. Parents work multiple jobs, put pressure on their children to perform at the top of their class in order to earn merit scholarships, all in the hopes for college to be mostly paid in full. Inevitably many students and parents have to take out student loans in an effort to fill in the gaps left by financial aid.

In the case of one Twitter user, Michelle Miller, her mother agreed to pay back half of Michelle’s student loans to ease the burden on the new graduate. After graduation the daughter owed approximately $30,000 and, split between the two of them, it meant they would each need to pay back $15,000.

Michelle lamented on Twitter about how her mother insisted on paying back her agreed-upon portion of the student loans though the daughter offered to take over payments. When Michelle’s mother informed her that the original $15,000 turned into $40,000 after interest, Michelle decided to save money in preparation to take over payments. However, her mother refused to allow it. Miller’s mother was expected to pay $400 a month on the student loans, but this would cut into her retirement, leaving her below the poverty level. To her mother, it was worth it to hold up her end of the bargain. Unfortunately her mother became unexpectedly ill and passed away before she was able to retire or pay back the loans. When going through her mother’s paperwork after her death, Michelle was met with a shock.

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The loan amount had doubled. Michelle’s mother hid that the interest rate on the loans had brought the grand total to $80k that she could never afford to pay back. But this story is not unique. Many borrowers go into debt thinking the benefit of the degree will outweigh the burden of student loan debt but the cost of an education continues to skyrocket and the interest rate on loans makes paying it back nearly impossible. When you go to school and take out loans, you expect to be able to afford monthly payments and hope to pay it back in a timely manner, eventually freeing up income, but that’s not always the case. A lot of people find themselves in a similar situation as Michelle’s mother. They take out a dollar amount that is repayable, only to look up and see they’ve repaid the original balance but they still owe more than they originally agreed to borrow.

If stories like Michelle’s are the norm, why aren’t we doing more to regulate student loan companies? Presidential candidates like to talk about student loan forgiveness, and some have come up with actionable plans, but it doesn’t solve the long term issue of student loan practices. The truth of the matter is that children who three months prior had to ask permission to use the bathroom are now expected to understand the long term implications of borrowing money from a company that doesn’t care that the average person can’t pay it back plus interest.

Seventeen- and 18-year olds with a dream of attending college and questionable loan practices is a perfect storm for continued crisis in the student loan arena. Until we can figure out how to better regulate the lending companies in charge of student loans, the next generation will repeat the cycle. People shouldn’t have to choose between pursuing their dreams and taking debt to the grave.

The Memphis Grizzlies entered Game 2 of their series against the Golden State Warriors in an 0-1 hole after dropping Game 1 on their home court. Things went pretty well early on during Tuesday night’s tilt, as they opened up the game on an 8-0 run, before one of their starters got ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul.

Gary Payton II ran out ahead of Draymond Green in transition, and was able to receive a pass from Golden State’s veteran point-forward that let him run into a pretty clear lane. Dillon Brooks tried to chase him down, but when Payton rose up for a layup, Brooks was still on the ground.

Regardless, Brooks tried to keep him from scoring. Instead of getting the ball, though, Brooks clotheslined Payton, which led to him hitting the ground hard.

The foul drew quite the response out of Golden State’s bench, with both Steve Kerr and Klay Thompson expressing their anger at Brooks.

The officials ended up going to the monitor to take a look at this and assessed Brooks a flagrant 2 foul, which led to his automatic ejection. It marks the second game in a row during this series where a key player got tossed, as Green was assessed a flagrant 2 for a foul on Brandon Clarke in Game 1. At the time of his ejection, Brooks had no points on 0-for-3 shooting.

After an ugly offensive performance in a Game 1 loss over the weekend, the Boston Celtics entered Tuesday’s Game 2 against the Milwaukee Bucks with a sense of urgency. If nothing else, the Celtics could not afford to drop the first two games at home and, with 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart ruled out of action with a thigh contusion before tip-off, Boston had little margin for error. The Celtics responded in kind, however, building a 25-point halftime lead and holding the advantage wire-to-wire in a 109-86 win.

Boston’s offense was the culprit of its issues in the series opener, but that was not in the case at the outset in Game 2. The Celtics zoomed to an 18-3 run at the outset and dominated on both ends of the floor. Milwaukee opened by missing ten of its first eleven shots, including six straight misses from Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Boston held Milwaukee to only three points in more than six minutes.

The Celtics connected on six of their first seven attempts from three-point range and, after an uneven performance in Game 1, Jaylen Brown wasted no time asserting himself. Brown scored 17 points in the first quarter, setting a new playoff career high in the process, and he connected on six of his first seven shots.

Milwaukee’s offense finally came to life in the latter portion of the first quarter, but Boston still held an 11-point lead after 12 minutes, largely as a result of 75 percent three-point shooting. The Celtics then produced a 10-4 run to begin the second quarter, taking a 17-point lead. In addition to stellar defense, Brown remained hot with yet another three-pointer, and Boston was rolling downhill.

Ultimately, the Celtics led by 25 points at the break, with Milwaukee kicking the ball around with seven turnovers in the second quarter. Boston took advantage of that carelessness, with Brown continuing to lead a prolific offense. He finished with 25 points in the first half, making nine of ten shots and all five of his three-pointers, and Boston shot 13-for-20 from three-point range with 17 assists.

The Bucks did bring additional intensity to begin the third quarter in an attempt to narrow the margin. After a nightmare first half, Antetokounmpo scored 12 points in the first seven minutes of the second half, fueling the Bucks on offense. In addition, Milwaukee held Boston to only seven points in the first seven and a half minutes, and a 10-0 run brought the Bucks within 16 points.

Boston managed to dodge the haymaker from Milwaukee, however, keeping a 17-point lead at the end of the third quarter. While Milwaukee shot 60 percent in the period and Antetokounmpo scored 18 points on his own, the Bucks committed seven turnovers, and the Celtics rescued things offensively down the stretch of the quarter, headlined by Jayson Tatum.

Most of the fourth quarter was a slog, with seemingly unending official reviews and a general lack of flow. Boston kept control amid the drudgery, though the Bucks slowly climbed within 12 at 94-82 with 4:30 to go. However, the closing kick was around the corner for the Celtics, with Boston using an 8-0 run and back-to-back three-pointers from Tatum and Grant Williams to end any threat from Milwaukee.

Though much of the damage was done in the opening minutes from the Celtics, it was an impressive bounce-back effort on the whole, and Boston never trailed in the game. Brown and Tatum combined for 59 points on efficient shooting, and Grant Williams added six three-pointers, 21 points, and high-end defense. As a team, the Celtics shot 20-for-43 from three-point range, and with Milwaukee shooting only 3-for-18 from beyond the arc, the math swung toward Boston.

For the Bucks, there is solace to be taken in the unsustainable nature of the three-point margin in this game. However, Antetokounmpo hasn’t been able to find efficiency in the series, and Milwaukee generated only 16 assists compared to 17 turnovers. The series will now shift back to Milwaukee, though, and both teams will be well-rested after an unusual three-day break in advance of Saturday’s Game 3. That game could be pivotal in deciding the series, but the Celtics needed a win on Tuesday and they were able to secure one.

This year is lining up to be a pretty big one for Post Malone. The singer announced that his fourth album Twelve Carat Toothache will arrive on June 3 and it’ll be his first full-length release since 2019’s Hollywood’s Bleeding. He’s teased the album with a couple of singles and previews of tracks on Instagram, but Twelve Carat Toothache is not the only thing that’s coming for Malone in 2022. The singer just announced that he is expecting his first child with his longtime girlfriend. TMZ reports that Posty shared the news during a private party for friends and family over the weekend.

Post Malone shared his excitement about his upcoming baby in a statement to TMZ. “I’m excited for this next chapter in my life, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, and for since I could remember I was sad,” he said. “Time to take care of my body and my family and friends, and spread as much love as we can every day.”

As for Twelve Carat Toothache, Post Malone previously confirmed that the project will include features from The Weeknd, Doja Cat, Roddy Ricch, Robin Pecknold, and The Kid Laroi. Posty even went as far as to preview records from the upcoming project which includes “Happy” with Doja, “Cooped Up” with Roddy, and “Love/Hate Letter To Alcohol” with Robin Pecknold of Fleet Foxes.

Roddy Ricch is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

We seem to have forgotten how to perform one of the most popular behaviors throughout human history, nothing. The closest we come to it these days is sleeping or resting. But when was the last time you did absolutely nothing?

When was the last time you stared out of a window for a long period of time? Can you remember the last time you sat in a park and just looked around? Have you ever just laid on your back and looked deep into the sky?

We live in a world where something is expected of us every moment. Either we’re working, socializing, cooking, cleaning, eating, drinking, traveling, scrolling through social media, or watching television. We’re always going somewhere or trying to get something.

We live in a culture that abhors doing nothing which is evident in our frantic work schedules and constant need to be entertained.

Imagine if you had the monk-like peace of mind to just put a stop to all of the doing and lived completely in what Eckhart Tolle calls “The Now.” Seems impossible, right?

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In the “Tao Te Ching,” philosopher Lao Tzu challenges people to balance all of the something they’re constantly up to by also learning to embrace the nothing. “When nothing is done, nothing is left undone,” the philosopher famously said.

Dr. Manvir Singh, a research fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study in Toulouse and a Ph.D. from Harvard’s Department of Human Evolutionary Biology, called attention to our inability to do nothing on Twitter recently.

Dr. Singh shared a tweet thread that highlighted a study from the ‘70s and ‘80s in small-scale non-industrial societies where researchers noted activities people engaged in throughout the day. The shocking fact—at least from today’s perspective—is that idling or “doing nothing” was one of their favorite activities.

In the 1970s & 80s, anthropologists working in small-scale, non-industrial societies fastidiously noted down what people were doing throughout the day. I’ve been exploring the data & am struck by one of the most popular activities: doing nothing. [thread] pic.twitter.com/Y3YuZUU55O

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

Background: The anthropologists (e.g., Bob Bailey, pictured) visited random people during waking hours & recorded what they were doing, building a representative sample of time use. Most of these data were collected while an anthropologist lived with the community for a year+. pic.twitter.com/cI025d3FSM

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

The researchers typically chose among ~60 activity codes, one of which was “Idle, doing nothing”. This is different from napping, chatting, fixing tools, tidying up, & idleness b/c of illness. As far as I can tell, it’s really about doing nothing at all, at least apparently. pic.twitter.com/yqaT9sdWku

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

Here are data collected in ’80-81 for the Efé, who lived mostly by hunting & gathering in the Ituri Rainforest of Central Africa. The median adult spent ~27% of their waking time doing nothing (in green). It was the most common activity. pic.twitter.com/EL5abCMjq7

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

Here are the data for two Machiguenga communities in Peru, collected in ’72-’73 (left) and ’86-’87 (right). The Machiguenga combined small-scale horticulture with foraging. Again, “doing nothing” leads the pack, either as number one or in the top 3. pic.twitter.com/FlhXlHoN9Z

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

“Doing nothing” didn’t always win. For the Madurese (Indonesia), it ranked 12th, perhaps reflecting the tiresome lives of more full-time agriculturalists. Still, across 8 diverse communities “doing nothing” came in 4th behind agri work, learning/teaching, & socializing (see plot) pic.twitter.com/ashWpnxMR7

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

Most of the high-ranking activities in these plots are well-studied by psychologists. But how much do we know about doing nothing? Not much. Living in fast-paced, industrialized societies with constant access to entertainment, it’s easy to lose sight of the value of doing nothing pic.twitter.com/6bqFgF72TO

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

These data were collected in the 70s & 80s but were digitized (I believe) by @JoHenrich & then released in 2019 with this paper led by @rabhui: https://t.co/7UWhrIhrAf

Here’s a link to the digitized data: https://t.co/QjG6qiHemL

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

Finally, I’ve been exploring these data in preparation for my talk at the Sophia Club (hosted by @aeon) on June 14th in NYC! If you’re in the city that night, come & chat about leisure, idleness, & work across cultures:https://t.co/wtaeXDurnZ

— manvir singh (@mnvrsngh) April 4, 2022

The tweet thread was an eye-opener for many people who’ve been birthed into an existence predicated on productivity.

I liked this thread to remind myself to do nothing now and then

— Serena DeStefani (@_DeStefani) April 4, 2022

I was just thinking how people feel the need to react immediately to everything all the time. Many simply cant sit still & listen or take in information for a long period of time without the need go react or do something

— ਜੱਟ ਫਰੌਮ ਮਾਲਵਾ (@notsoserious22) April 4, 2022

Interesting thread.

I feel that the term “idle” carries some negative connotations though. Perhaps an alternative term might be preferable.

Maybe “chillin'”

— Chamberlain (@houston_skeksis) April 4, 2022

Ready to get started doing nothing? I’ve found that one of the healthy byproducts of regular meditation practice is learning to appreciate doing nothing. A simple mindfulness meditation practice (which you can easily learn here) teaches you to set aside ponderous thoughts and to feel fulfilled existing in the moment without having to be productive or entertained.

In the Western world, we are constantly searching for a sense of fulfillment. In the Eastern philosophy of Taoism, a person can only be filled if they are first empty. So by taking the time to empty ourselves of sensory input, ponderous thoughts, or the desire to go somewhere or do something, we are opening ourselves up to new possibilities of fulfillment.

As the Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu once said:

Thirty spokes share the wheel’s hub;

It is the center hole that makes it useful.

Shape clay into a vessel;

It is the space within that makes it useful.

Cut doors and windows for a room;

It is the holes which make it useful.

Therefore profit comes from what is there;

Usefulness from what is not there.