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J.Cole 'What Dreams May Come' Tour - New York, NY

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J. Cole’s scholastic background has been well documented. The platinum rapper majored in communications and graduated Magna Cum Laude from St. Johns University. Despite an impressive 3.8 grade point average, Cole apparently never got his diploma. As Sowmya Krishnamurthy reports from The Village Voice, things were held up on a bit of a technicality:

“I owed money for a library book that I didn’t turn in,” he admitted sheepishly. He has “no clue” what title it was but apparently even one vanishing book cost him his degree. “If you have any outstanding fee, that translates to money. There’s a price associated with it. I never paid. That’s why I don’t have my degree.”

Thursday night, in a makeshift greenroom backstage at J. Cole’s show at St. John’s, Dr. Julia Upton, the former Provost and the professor of his “Discover New York” class presented Cole with his diploma. Apparently when you’re a chart-topping rapper, the associated fine can be waived.

Check the full story, including Cole’s thoughts on returning to his alma mater and what he plans to do with his diploma at The Village Voice’s music blog.

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