J. Cole Receives His Diploma at St. John’s Concert

While he has been open about the influence Kanye West had on him as a young artist, J. Cole didn't end up as a college dropout. As has been widely publicized since he first rose to fame with his second major mixtape, 2009's The Warm Up, Cole graduated Summa cum laude from Queens' St. John's University, earning a 3.82 GPA. (The "Lights Please" rapper majored in communications, minored in business.) However, he never received his diploma, having failed to return a library book--Cole forgets the title--or pay the necessary fine. But last night (April 9), as he played a show at St. John's, a group of his former professors presented the rapper with the diploma, the school having waived the fee. As Cole told The Village Voice, "Tonight, I guess they let me slide." He said he plans to send the piece of paper to his mother.

Since his time as a borrowed book delinquent, Cole has risen to the top of the hip-hop heap, his 2014 Forest Hills Drive debuting atop the Billboard charts with over 370,000 copies sold, despite a dearth of traditional promo appearances. It was his second number-one album; his 2011 debut, Cole Wold: The Sideline Story had also topped the charts, while 2013's Born Sinner fell just short of Kanye West's Yeezus, finishing second.

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