Peace,

You stated in #87 –
“I’m not sure where you are getting your information from Tanya but Wayne was 15 when he joined the Hot Boys and they dropped their first group album when Cash Money was still an indie label…Wayne was 18 they dropped their second group album and Wayne dropped his first solo album. So again he wasn’t an unknown rapper when he started college.”

I stated in #86 –
“Lil Wayne was 14 years old when he first publically began making music. Those albums dropped before he was even college age. Most people in that situations wouldn’t even consider college, they would just throw themselves full-throttle into being famous and making millions.”

You stated in #87 –
“Its a lot more commonplace than you think that rappers either have degrees or have spent some time in school and it’s not because they needed a backup plan…”

I stated in #86 –
“…For those that “got their degrees before going into the music business”, that just further proves my point. They didn’t have the distraction of fame and money while completing their degrees which makes the feat of receiving the degree less impressive.

You listed Andre 3000, Lauryn Hill, Rakim, Jay-Z, and Biggie as your top five rappers. Did any of them take a pause after their initial fame or in the middle of all the fame and money to go to school???

This is one of the reasons why Wezzy stands out.”

You obviously missed the premise of my argument!

Now the fact that you don’t recognize some of the names of these rappers doesn’t at all mean that they don’t or haven’t had promising careers because they do and have. There is a lot more music out there than what hits the mainstream, there are countless artists that have very strong independent, underground and overseas followings that is in no way a slight to there success just because they’re not getting spins on the Powers, Hots and mainstream video outlets (in fact many prefer the indie underground route because in the end it’s much more lucrative than having a big label behind you). I would encourage you to just explore and you’ll find that there is a lot of great music being made that you won’t hear via mainstream outlets. When you realize that there are only 3 big major labels and only 2 major companies that own 95% of all radio stations it becomes clear how filtered mainstream music truly is. That is why you can go to any major city and there’s always at least one Clearchannel station and one Infinity and or Radio One station with very little change in the playlist.

I get it, you like Wayne and that’s cool. Like I said what he’s done in terms of college is admirable and because many of my kids like his music as well I use him as an example of someone that despite humble beginnings can still get a quality education. But rappers have been going to college for years and just because you may not have heard of them and you said you’re not a hip hop head doesn’t make their accomplishments any less relevant because you don’t know of them as well as you know of Wayne which is obvious. Its a lot more commonplace than you think that rappers either have degrees or have spent some time in school and it’s not because they needed a backup plan, it’s because they want to be as knowledgeable as possible about the business of music. Artists these days are much more savvy regarding the music business than those in the past and a lot of that has to do with them going to school.

You stated – “Wayne was already famous and had 2 solo albums and 1 group album under his belt before going to college.”

Lil Wayne was 14 years old when he first publically began making music. Those albums dropped before he was even college age. Most people in that situations wouldn’t even consider college, they would just throw themselves full-throttle into being famous and making millions.

Wayne threw himself into the books and completed his degree. That shows character and substance to a significant degree. – Pun intended!

And the fact that I don’t recognize most of those rappers lends to the notion that their rap careers were probably not that promising, which is why they HAD to go to school and find something else to do. For those that “got their degrees before going into the music business”, that just further proves my point. They didn’t have the distraction of fame and money while completing their degrees which makes the feat of receiving the degree less impressive.

You listed Andre 3000, Lauryn Hill, Rakim, Jay-Z, and Biggie as your top five rappers. Did any of them take a pause after their initial fame or in the middle of all the fame and money to go to school???

This is one of the reasons why Wezzy stands out.

Then you would be making a wrong assumption Tanya. The only rappers I listed that would be considered old school would be Chuck, Moe Dee and Shante, the rest have been making music for the last 5-15 years. Wayne was already famous and had 2 solo albums and 1 group album under his belt before going to college. All of these other rappers except Kool Moe Dee got their degrees before going into the music business, and specifically Phonte and Big Pooh actually met as students in college in NC. Shante is a special exception because her entire college career was financed by her record label as part of a clause in her contract they never expected her to actually follow through with. They paid for every dime from undergrad all the way to her PhD.

What Wayne did by going to school is admirable but many have done it before him and are still doing it.

I’m assuming most of those rappers are old school, so my question would be; how many of them received their degrees before their rapping career???

Most rappers don’t have a retirement plan, so when their rap careers come to an end they have to “resort” to a “normal” course of life, i.e. – school and the workforce. Thus, some of them may later earn degrees.

The fact that Weezy earned his degree as an “urban” youth and BEFORE his considerable fame, speaks volumes, in my humble opinion.

MCs with degrees isn’t as rare as one would think.

Phonte and Big Pooh of Little Brother
Naledge of Kidz in The Hall
David Banner
Stat Quo
Chuck D
J-Live, who is a teacher in addition to being an MC with a huge underground following
Dr. Roxanne Shante
Kool Moe Dee
Chingo Blingo
Immortal Technique (Poly/Sci grad and one of the dopest MCs most people have never heard of)
Skinny Deville of Nappy Roots
Master P
Killer Mike
Just to name a few then there are countless others that attended school but didn’t finish like E-40, DJ Premier, Plies, Kweli, & Mos Def

I too felt the same way about Weezy. But then I saw his “Ask Weezy” segment on MTV, and it totally changed my mind!

I would urge you watch a few of those clips on YouTube; it might change your perspective.

Weezy is not as disturbed as he looks!

BTW- He has a BA in Psychology! How many other rappers have degrees?

DC do you have reflective character disorder, because you always try and put your flaws on me!!!

I.E. – “…don’t front, you’re behind the screen acting real ‘cagey’ with your thesaurus and rhyming dictionary.” -DC

DC, now you know that was you with a thesaurus and rhyming dictionary trying to combat my flow.

And I think it is very clear based on most of your responses to my posts that you’re the one with reading comprehension issues! But we can compare SAT scores and college GPAs if you want a definitive conclusion!

Love ya DC!!!