Educated Emcees: 10 Rappers Who Went To College

Before they were selling out shows and dishing out bars, a number of rappers spent their time hitting the books.
While others passed with flying colors, others just passed by; attending for a brief period before focusing on their music career.

From Kanye to Kweli, check out 10 rappers who were the head of the class below.

J Cole- Jermaine Cole left Fayetteville, North Carolina to attend St. John’s University where he excelled, graduating Magna Cum Laude.

The Roc Nation rapper has since admitted that he chose the New York school as part of his plan to meet Jay-Z, a plan that obviously worked out well.

Talib Kweli-Kweli attended New York University (NYU) and majored in theater. He comes from a well educated a family, with a mother and father who were both college professors and a brother who teaches at Columbia.

Kanye West- Of course the “College Dropout” went to college. Kanye attended both Chicago State University and Columbia College briefly but didn’t attend for the curriculum however. Instead Ye said he had simpler reasons for his attendance, art and food.

“I like simple ideas. I thought, ‘Why did I go to school?’ I didn’t go for math class, I went for gym, for lunch, for art.”

Ye of course dropped out to work on his music career.

Plies– Plies, real name Algernod Lanier Washington, has raised a number of eyebrows when it comes to the truth about his college education.
There are reports that he attended the University of South Florida where he majored in nursing but there are also reports that he attended Miami University in Ohio on a Football scholarship and was later asked to leave for undisclosed reasons.

The “goon” has yet to speak officially on his education.

Ludacris- Christopher “Ludacris” Bridges attended GA State University where he majored in music management before moving on to radio internship that led to a position as host “Cris Lova Lova” alongside co-host Poon Daddy. He went on to found Disturbing Tha Peace Records and released his debut album Back For The First Time in 2000.

David Banner- David Banner attended Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he served as president of the Student Government Association, received a bachelor’s degree in business, and also reportedly became a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. He later attended the University of Maryland, College Park to pursue a master’s degree in education.

Diddy– Diddy is a proud Howard University attendee. Diddy didn’t finish however at the historically Black institution and dropped out after starting a pivotal internship at Uptown Records.

Common- Common had common sense enough to attend college at Florida A&M University. Lonnie Rashid Lynn attended the HBCU majoring in business administration before reportedly dropping out in 1992.

Lil Wayne- Enrolled at the University of Houston in2005, majoring in political science. At the time Wayne told MTV that he’d chosen the college because its not too far from New Orleans, but far enough that he won’t be distracted by all his hometown family and friends.

He also adds,

“I’m not going back to school. I’m really going to school for the first time.”

 

Paul Wall– Wall also attended the University of Houston where he majored in mass communication. Wall did not finish but went on to link up with Swishahouse Records where he continues to make music to this day.