Kanye West Deserves His College Degree, Dammit

By John Wong on May 11, 2015

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Back in March, the School of the Art Institute of Chicago announced that it was granting a ton of cool people honorary degrees, which is kind of like one of those degrees schools give out to famous people just for being famous.

Some people that the school chose to give out one of these degrees to include the president of the Art Institute of Chicago, Douglas Druick, artist and SAIC alum Janet Byrne Neiman and… Kanye West.

Yes, that Kanye West.

Actually, it wasn’t even the school that first announced it – it was Yeezy himself who dropped the news in an interview, saying, “I was a gifted artist since age five and won national competitions and went to art school. I’m actually getting an honorary doctorate on May 5th from the Art Institute of Chicago.”

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Upon hearing the news that Kanye West was going to be receiving an honorary degree from one of the most prestigious art schools in the country, many people shat a brick. “He’s a narcissist,” “he’s just a celebrity,” “he doesn’t do shit for Chicago,” etc., etc.

What most people don’t understand, is that this isn’t just Kanye West, Kim Kardashian’s husband and media provocateur. This is Kanye West, Grammy Award-winning, multiplatinum recording artist, producer, fashion designer, creator. The fact that he’s always in the news for saying and doing crazy shit is just a part of his genius.

The SAIC Dean of Students, Lisa Wainwright, couldn’t have said it any better: “The guy is smart. The lyrics are smart, the music is beautiful, it’s complicated, it’s post-modern, it’s hip, it’s awakening, I couldn’t be happier.”

Wake up, people. Kanye West is the embodiment of today’s pop and millennial culture, glued together in an endless stream of self-assuredness and panache. You add to that the artistic vision and talent that Yeezy possesses, and you have someone who has, and continues to, push the limits on what people think can be done – and is acceptable.

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So when SAIC students, Chicagoans and really, anyone in general, puts into question the merit of Kanye West, you need to realize that while the world may be done with Kanye West, Kanye West is not done with the world.

I’m really just waiting for one of the art students to rush the stage during the ceremony while they’re handing out the honorary degrees and pull an “Imma let you finish…” moment.

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