New York City rapper Nas has been a staple of the rap game, releasing some of the most polished and lyrical music the genre has seen. He has earned awards and plaudits from just about every corner of the industry, but last night earned possibly his biggest piece of hardware yet. Heading up to Cambridge, Massachusetts, the Illmatic rapper was given the W.E.B Du Bois Medal, the highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies at Harvard.
Nas was bestowed the award along with other awardees like former Attorney General Eric H. Holder.
Nas was given the award for his achievements in African-American culture as one of the leaders in rap for the past two decades.
Speaking on stage, he shared some words of words of wisdom for all of the kids out there who have a stereotype of rap via Rap-Up.
"These are the things the kids need to see. The real things," he said. "This is a light I want on me. I hope that I can be a great role model for those kids...you can be more than the typical image of rap."
A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 4:51pm PDT
As one might expect, much of it was documented on social media, including his very nice looking medal.
A Young Harvard A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 4:32pm PDT
Dinner with the professors Marcyliena Morgan & Lawerence Bobo #harvard
A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 5:32pm PDT
Understand the Cipher A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 6:42pm PDT
A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 7:01pm PDT
