Kanye West Receives Honorary Doctorate In Chicago

Kanye West’s mother must be smiling down on him. On Monday, West received an honorary doctorate from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

West, who prides himself on being a rapper, fashion designer, filmmaker, producer, and entrepreneur attended the ceremony and sat in front of a student body of 900 graduates who were receiving their diplomas from the Chicago school.

According to the Chicago Tribune, Kanye appeared slightly nervous as he addressed the students and professors of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

During his speech, West apologized for his opinions over the years. “I’m sorry, that was just my opinion. I felt my nerves a bit. I don’t feel that feeling a lot. The nerves of humility and modesty when being honored, a humanization of a reality of being recognized. All I thought as I sat (in the audience), kind of shaking a little bit, is I need to get rid of that feeling, I need to not be nervous.”

Then he threw that humility out the window in a way only Kanye can as he changed the subject. “This honor is going to make your lives easier, for two reasons: You don’t have to defend me as much! And I’m going to make all of our lives easier.”

During his speech, which was five minutes in total, West took long pauses, and never exactly explained how his honor will make things easier for the students and the next generation of college hopefuls.

In addition to getting an honorary doctorate, West performed at the United Center and sat for a Q&A with 400 students. One of the questions he answered from a student was, “Do you wanna build a snowman?” While the question was obviously asked in jest, West took it to heart.

“I say I wanna build a snowman because I want Bob Iger, the head of Disney, to invest in my ideas. Not one idea, not a good idea, or even a bad idea — a series of them. But just in my ideas … I feel Disney should have an art fund that completely supports all of the artists and … I feel there should be a responsibility.”

Kanye West’s wife, Kim Kardashian wished West well on Instagram.

“Dr. Kanye West!!!!!!! I’m so proud of you baby & I know your mom would be so proud too!!!!”

Kanye West’s late mother Donda West was a professor at Clark Atlanta University and later on the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University. Dr. Donda West passed away in 2007 after complications due to a cosmetic procedure.

[Image via Mark Davis / Getty Images]