The University of Houston is a state research university and the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. And Cube has never forgotten his love of design, either, even serving as the Getty Museums representative for a Charles and Ray Eames exhibit; Cube compared their mid-century style to sampling and mash-ups, always keeping it real in the rap game. However, recently Yale has produced its own batch of comedic competitors, such as John Hodgman, Demetri Martin, and Lewis Black. M.I.A. Dr. Dre, Big Boi, and T.I. The college rap scene is as unique as it gets Native Tongues, backpackers, hard-core gangsta artists, Dirty South rappers, pop stars, and underground rap artists all come from the college scene. Southern University and A&M College is a historically black university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In the early aughts, Natalie Portman was starring as Padm Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. While at college, Lee Jones played guard for Harvard's football team, and played in the infamous 1968 game where Harvard tied with Yale. It is the largest university in the United States by undergraduate enrollment, as well as the largest by total enrollment. Mini Bio (1) Willard Carroll "Will" Smith II (born September 25, 1968) is an American actor, comedian, producer, rapper, and songwriter. Its something that they have to perpetuate because its become part of raps image. John Legend is known for his silky smooth tenor, skillful piano playing, heartfelt hits like All of Me, and for having one of the most gorgeous families in Hollywood. Perhaps he has developed his own theories on how to best deal with lifes challenges as well. After making it in the movies, Shue returned to her alma mater to complete her B.A. He fielded scholarships from Georgetown University, Morehouse University, and Harvard University before deciding to attend UPenn. Ryan Leslie 11 languages Anthony Ryan Leslie (born September 25, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and entrepreneur from Washington, D.C. Still,the teen sensation holds a diploma (of sorts) from Harvard, and was able to continue her education online while balancing a packed schedule! Talib Kweli and Mos Def both studied theater at NYU before studying hip-hop. While all community colleges are public, some junior colleges are private. Not surprisingly, Kweli also scores as one of the rappers with the highest vocabulary, a product, most likely, of his deep reading in biographies, history, politics, and philosophy, all of which appear prominently in his socially aware lyrics. The British-born rapper and producer known as Young MC is forever defined by his biggest hit, Bust a Move, but dont reduce Marvin Young to a one-hit wonder. It was at Harvard, where he performed in Gilbert and Sullivan's Utopia Limited, that John Lithgow decided he wanted to be an actor. Rah Digga - Rah Digga is a legendary female rapper who attended New Jersey Institute of Technology. After graduating, he pursued a masters degree in education at the University of Maryland and said he was one of the top five students in his class. From a network television writing job straight out of college, to starring in Community, to stand-up comedy, to writing, directing, and starring in Atlanta, Glover has to be one of the busiest men in entertainment. OShea Jackson grew up in South Central Los Angeles, the younger of two sons of middle-class families. Pretty hot. NEXT: Movie Stars You Didn't Know Went to Ivy League Schools. While Glover had DJd and made a mixtape in college, it was writing (and, later, making cameos) on 30 Rock that brought Glover into the public eye. Some of these celebrities attended Harvard as undergrads while others went to Harvard Law School. After leaving college when commissioned by the United States Navy, Lemmon graduated from Harvard in 1947 with a degree in War Service Sciences. What Rapper Went To Harvard? All Rights Reserved. Stay up to date with StyleCaster on the latest celebrity and entertainment news, as well as red carpet style photos. 6. Rashida Jones graduated from Harvard University in 1997. After dropping out, he founded his first company, Virgin Records, which would go on to become one of the most successful record labels of all time. Ezra Koenig, the band's lead vocalist and songwriter, apparently had a pretty good experience. 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St. Johns University is a private, Roman Catholic, research university located in New York City, United States. Are you the "hip hop expert" on your trivia team? Who is the most famous rapper with a degree? Before her roles in Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion and Mighty Aphrodite, Mira was a top student who studied at Harvard. Eminem raps with a vocabulary rivalling Shakespeares, while Wu-Tang members GZA and Ghostface Killah have vocabularies even larger. There are several rappers who went to college. #5 Notorious B.I.G. No musical or. Aleksia is a Boston-based freelance writer, content strategist, and the outspoken owner of two chihuahuas. major in English from Harvard University in 1997. Maryland rapper IDK will teach a tuition-free music business seminar at Harvard for BIPOC students this August. J. Cole graduated Summa Cum Laude from St. John's University in 2007. He majored in Communications. Theyre talented, theyre successful, theyve made fortunes and reputations for musical brilliance,and they have an Ivy League education to boot. After earning his GED, he attended the University of Phoenix as a psychology major and transferred to take online classes there as well. . Believe it or not rappers have a lot more going on for them then just a hit single and a few tours. In this article, I will list the rappers that have post-secondary education. This didn't stop him, though, and he used pseudonyms to perform. Likewise, LL Cool J received an honorary degree from Northeastern University in 2014. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as writers, singers, musicians, intellectuals & academics and film & theater personalities etc. Degree:Dramatic Writing,New York UniversityImage Source: Hip Hop Wiki. Talib Kweli studied experimental theater at New York University. From the East Coast to the West Coast, and from the Dirty South to the city of Paris, famous rappers all over the world have received college degrees. Rappers Who Went To College and What They Studied. The children were taught by their mother, aunt, and a French governess, who evidently did a fantastic job: Teddy was admitted to Harvard in 1878. But he was also the son of hard-working, striving Jamaican immigrants, and slacking off, running the streets, and getting in trouble was not an option. Check D is a legendary political rapper that spread positivity and knowledge into the rap game. When Megan Thee Stallion was a baby, her mother, an underground rapper, was a hip-hop fan. Roosevelt and his siblings suffered from a variety of physical ailments, and as a result, were home-schooled. This list of notable alumni is loosely sorted by popularity and has people from different domains of life, such as writers, intellectuals & academics, miscellaneous, media personalities and film & theater personalities etc. With Drayton who called himself Flava Flav, and worked moving furniture for Chucks fathers business Chuck recorded a single called Public Enemy Number One. The rest is history. Matt Damon. Despite the best efforts of A Tribe Called Quests Q-Tip to get her signed to Columbia or Def Jam, Megan made her way independently, building her reputation on her preternaturally confident flow, fearlessly explicit lyrics, and some of the most quotable punchlines since Biggie. Before shooting to fame as one of cinema's most iconic high school students, Rizzo, in Grease, Stockard was a Harvard student. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters. They signed Young as their first artist, but their first major success came with Tone Loc, spitting rhymes written by Young MC. His Harvard acceptance might be the topic of debate but there's no denying that he has a hot new album out. Founded in 1831, NYU is considered one of the worlds most influential research universities. There is a scene that spoofs the old Reese's Peanut Butter Cup commercial where Method's character Silas sits in his car with a bag of contraband and no . One of the most admired MCs of his generation, Dante Smith aka Mos Def aka Yasiin Bey is known for his socially-conscious lyrics, his restless reinvention, and his distinctive drawl. Lauryn Hill released her first solo album, At Columbia, Hill took classicalmusiccourses, and was on her way to, TheSalutatorian of his high school, Legend had his pick of universities to attend. We can see that he is putting his degree to good use -- the communications in his music and business side of him had to play a role in his partnership with Interscope records. Ok-- Tyra Banks' music career was a bit of a flop, butthis top model and host of America's Next Top Model did try her luck as a recording artist. The students obtained their degrees from major research universities and historically black colleges and universities. These musicians beat the odds twice once to get into a super tough university, and again to make their mark on the music industry. She is a lover of short stories, Billie Eilish, and rainy days (in that order). He has enjoyed success in television, film, and music. He graduated and got a job as a Correctional Officer. Colin Jost attends the Lincoln Center American Songbook Gala honoring Bonnie Hammer at Broadway Theatre on January 29, 2020 in New York City. In fact, the Grammy-winning indie rock band metas undergraduates atColumbia, and preformed for the first time in 2006 at the New York Ivy League's student union. 4. TheSalutatorian of his high school, Legend had his pick of universities to attend. Alicia Keys was signedby Columbia Records at only 15 years old. ; 4 Garcia said his father passed away on April 8, 2022.; 5 Gazzy Garcia is his real name, and he is from Miami, Florida. Flavor Flav was born to an impoverished family in the Bronx and rose to prominence as the leader of Public Enemy, a hip-hop group. He majored in psychology. How Important is the LSAT to Law School Admissions? degree from Harvard Law in 1990, and passed the bar, working as a lawyer for eight months. Its no surprise that Guru could hold his own at the most competitive and elite historically black college in the nation: Morehouse College. Meanwhile, hip-hop has become a serious field of academic study consider producer 9th Wonders residency atNorth Carolina Central University, or theHarvard Universityfellowship for hip-hop scholarship established by Nas. Like our content? Although Amy Brenneman studied comparative religion at Harvard, it seems theatre was her true love, as she co-founded Cornerstone Theater Company while she was there. Sorvino spent a year of her degree as an exchange student at CIEE in Beijing, where she became fluent in Mandarin Chinese. Instead, the bright, dedicated student excelled at Hunter College High School (a secondary school operated by Hunter College) and was accepted into Hunter. After the school closed . And it all started at NYUs Tisch School of the Arts, where Glover studied Dramatic Writing, graduating in 2006. She started writing poetry as a teenager after watching classic movies such as Lil Kim and Foxy Brown. Childish Gambino studied at New York Universitys Tisch School of the Arts. Who says that people can only excel at one thing? The new data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center shows enrollment among first-year students declined 3.1% this fall. He described his experience at Harvard as "life-altering" and he jokingly gave a special shoutout to one of his professors, calling them "absolutely gangster." 6 Ciara He went to Georgia State University and majored in Music Management. Some of your favorite rappers have attended your childrens graduation. After graduation, he went on to study and play football at Harvard, also on a scholarship. Anyway Lil Wayne did go to college. & Southfield Freeway in the Warrendale neighborhood due to his mother and father constantly being in and out of prison. Her education and communications skills have been well-honed, and she has received numerous endorsements as well as a spot on Forbes 30 Under 30 list. Like his mother he majored in English. However, perhaps it was his time as editor of the Harvard Lampoon that set him up for his career in comedy. Kweli and Mos Def are the owners of a cultural awareness center, the Nkiru Center for Education and Culture, which they established from an Afrocentric bookstore that was in danger of closing; Kwelis mother, Dr. Brenda Greene, chairs the board. That kind of dedication shows in every aspect of an impressive, and still developing, career that is already going on a decade. Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he attended Eli Whitney High School, according to author Dennis Abrams biography, Jay-Z (Hip-Hop Stars). At Columbia, Hill took classicalmusiccourses, and was on her way to history major when she and her Fugees bandmates album, The Score, was released. Jay Zs first protege at his Roc Nation record label, J. Cole is a Renaissance man of the hip-hop craft, a student of the genre and a creator as adept behind the boards as he is behind the mic. During his time at Harvard, Jack Lemmon was president of the Hasty Pudding Club and vice president of Dramatic and Delphic Clubs, but due to academic probation, he was banned from acting onstage. The University of Alabama is a public research university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and the flagship of the University of Alabama System. With acceptances rates as low as 4.5%, walking the hallowed halls of these New England schools is no easy feat. While others passed with flying colors, others just. Yo Gotti - Yo Gotti attended Southwest Tennessee Community College and took Business as his major. All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2023 Interactive One, LLC. Her degree in Health Administration was obtained by Texas Southern University in 2021. In his public speaking, however, he encourages people to consider education. He directed his debut feature, Pi, seven years on from graduation. 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