Q-Tip has received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College Of Music for “his forward-thinking artistic vision”.
Earlier this month, the rap legend, jazz artist Ledisi, and Puerto Rican bandleader Gilberto Santa Rosa were all honoured by the prestigious music institute.
Last Saturday (May 11), the A Tribe Called Quest member took to Instagram to celebrate himself and his co-honorees alongside a photo of him wearing a customised cap and gown, along with a scarf that read: “Black excellence”.
“Thank you again to the folks at Berklee for the honour bestowed,” he wrote. “What a great time to share [with] dear friend @ledisi and new friend @santarosalive and CONGRATS to the class of 2024! I’m still pinching [pinching emoji] #berkleecollegeofmusic.”
Check out a screenshot in the post below.
Q-Tip receives honorary doctorate at Berklee College of Music: “Still pinching [myself]” pic.twitter.com/iGBex1BmK7
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 12, 2024
Berklee College said that Q-Tip was honoured for “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”.
The college also shared a quote from the New York rapper’s speech to the graduating class: “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 [the] balance between intellect and instinct… to not let bad choices define you, but to refine you.”
In addition to his doctorate, Q-Tip and the rest of A Tribe Called Quest were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame this year. They were added to the performer category alongside Kool & The Gang, Mary J. Blige, Cher, Foreigner, Dave Matthews Band, Peter Frampton and Ozzy Osbourne.
On Instagram, A Tribe Called Quest’s Jarobi White wrote: “Wow!!! @qtiptheabstract @alishaheed we did it! Phifey, we got you in[to] the Hall of Fame! Wish you were here. Well, I know you’re watching so… Fuck yeah!!! LOL. To all of the questers, from the bottom of our hearts, thank you!!!!”
The class of 2024 will be officially inducted on October 19 during a live ceremony at the Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse in Cleveland, Ohio. The event will be broadcast live on Disney+ and then will be available to stream on Hulu the following day. The 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will be shown on ABC at a later date.
Other nominees who were not honoured this year include Oasis, Mariah Carey, Sinead O’Connor, Sade, Jane’s Addiction, Eric B. & Rakim and Lenny Kravitz.
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