Nas Harvard University Award: Rapper Receives W.E.B. Du Bois Medal

Nas was honored by Harvard University this past week, as the veteran rapper received the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal from the prestigious school. The Illmatic hip-hop star made history at Harvard, as he became the first rapper to receive the school’s highest honor in the field of African and African American Studies. He was joined by U.S. Attorney General, Eric H. Holder, Jr., who also received the award that same evening at Harvard’s Sanders Theatre.

While accepting the incredible honor, Nas, whose real name is Nasir Jones, spoke on the award in a speech, sharing some inspiring words. “These are the things the kids need to see. The real things. 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,” he told the attendees. He even tweeted, “Historic night for the rap game. At the Hutchins Center Honors for the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal ceremony. This is a first for the Rap Game to receive this award but, definitely not the last. Thank you. #HarvardHistory.”

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A photo posted by Nasir Jones (@nas) on Sep 30, 2015 at 6:42pm PDT

Harvard has already honored the rapper in the past, being that in 2013 the school created the Nasir Jones Hiphop Fellowship, which tribute his musical career contributions and “outstanding lyrical content.”

DigBoston news and features editor, Chris Faraone, spoke on Nas and his contributions to society through his music in an interview with Boston magazine: 

“Nas is more than an MC. He’s my favorite writer, and it’s to their credit that highbrow institutions like Harvard are already recognizing hip-hop luminaries like him while they’re still actively making remarkable music. Furthermore, if there’s one region outside of New York on which Nas has left an indelible stylistic mark, it’s New England, where traces of his unique brand of lyrical urban journalism can be heard in rappers ranging from Reks to Slaine,” he said of the rapper.