Q-Tip Receives Honorary Doctorate From Berklee & Speaks At Commencement Ceremony

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Bestival - Day 3
WAREHAM, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Q-Tip of A Tribe Called Quest headlines on The Castle Stage during Day 3 of Bestival at Lulworth Castle on September 9, 2017 in Wareham, England. (Photo by C Brandon/Redferns)
Q-Tip has received a prestigious honor.

Q-Tip accepted an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music alongside jazz artist Ledisi and Puerto Rican bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa on Saturday. The school recognized them for their "profound influence as artists, educators, and activists." For Q-Tip specifically, they mentioned "his forward-thinking artistic vision, which merges rap, jazz, and other styles with socially conscious lyrics, as well as for his impact as a producer, actor, educator, and cultural ambassador." In turn, the legendary A Tribe Called Quest rapper spoke to the graduating class at their commencement ceremony.

“To choose this path [of the artist] is a courageous choice indeed. You are handed the task to be courageous in your personal lives, to find balance between intellect and instinct… to not let bad choices define you, but to refine you,” he said to the class of 2024. He added that accomplishments such as these serve as "precious mantras . . . to remind you that you are worthy, and that you can do it. You got this!”

Q-Tip Performs At Rolling Loud

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Queens native Q-Tip appears as a guest during the Wale set at the Rolling Loud NYC music festival in Citi Field on October 29, 2021, in New York City. (Photo by Astrida Valigorsky/Getty Images)

He reflected on the honor in a since-deleted post on Instagram that HipHopDX caught before being taken down. Captioning a photo of himself holding up the honorary doctorate, he wrote: "Thank you again to the folks at Berklee for the honor bestowed. What a great time to share w dear friend @ledisi and new friend @santarosalive and CONGRATS to the class of 2024! Im still pinching [pinching emoji] #berkleecollegeofmusic.” Check out the post below.

Q-Tip Shows Of Honorary Doctorate From Berklee

The honor comes after Q-Tip celebrated his 54th birthday, last month, at which time he promised that he's still working on new music for his fans. Be on the lookout for further updates on Q-Tip on HotNewHipHop.

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About The Author
Cole Blake is a current staff writer at HotNewHipHop based out of New York City. He began writing for the site as an intern back in 2018 while finishing his B.A. in Journalism at St. John’s University. In the time since, he’s covered a number of breaking stories for HNHH. These include the ongoing YSL RICO trial, the allegations surrounding Diddy, and much more. His work also extends outside of hip-hop, having written extensively about a myriad of topics including politics, sports, and pop culture. He’s attended several music festivals to provide coverage for the site as well, such as Rolling Loud and Governors Ball.
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