Fact Check: Did Kendrick Lamar go to college? Rapper commencement speech to 2024 graduating class of Compton College goes viral

Kendrick Lamar made his first public appearance since the extremely publicized feud with Drake in the past few months. In a recent commencement ceremony at Compton College, Lamar gave an inspirational speech. Amid the appearance, it is worthwhile to examine Lamar's academic background.

The 36-year-old rapper attended Centennial High School, in his teenage years. He also reportedly became the first member of his family to graduate. Lamar was academically strong and also scored an overall GPA of 4.0. However, he couldn't go to college in order to pursue his music career.

The rapper reportedly had plans of studying astronomy and psychology, had he gotten into a college, back then.

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Kendrick Lamar's speech at Compton College

In his recent public appearance, K.Dot appeared at Compton College, to give an inspirational speech at the commencement ceremony. Being born in Compton as well, the rapper mentioned how the California city was always a "future for him."

He added how the city is filled with talented individuals including several artists and creators. He continued:

"That's why I always screamed this City. I traveled the world. It's no place like this one right here. No place, no place. And I still believe, I still believe in everything that we doing."

Kendrick Lamar further added that the people there were not just a representation of the entire world, but specifically of him as well. He further addressed the set narratives that people often have for the current generation. Lamar said:

"I still believe it's time that we change the narratives. Some people tell us, this generation don't have what it takes. Gen Z. We talk about it all day. They try to pull us down and say, we don't know what we doing."

He added how the kids of this generation "have a heart," and emphasized it too. He continued:

"Y'all can go out here and tell and express y'all thoughts and say it with conviction and passion and stand on it and be unapologetic about it."

The rapper concluded his speech by saying:

"This degree that y'all have right here is just as big as any degree. I don't care what school. I don't care what institution. Compton College, this Compton degree is just as big... It's all about taking these resources and taking what you learned and applying them. It's simple as that."

In a 2012 interview with FUSE, Lamar revealed that one of the biggest regrets of his life would be missing out on college. He added that after having a successful career in music and quite a busy life, it'd be difficult for him to focus on college until he put in some honest effort.

In 2015, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Lamar expressed a similar feeling by stating that he "could have and should have" gone to college. He further added that this always had stayed in his find. However, the artist then claimed that it wasn't too late either.

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Kendrick Lamar has visited an educational institution before

It wasn't the first time that Kendrick Lamar visited an educational institution. A few years ago, in 2015, Lamar visited High Tech High School in North Bergen.

Lamar spent quite some time with several students of the school, where they performed spoken word sessions and rap with the hip-hop artist. Then 27-year-old Kendrick Lamar described the ambience to be extremely energetic. Lamar spoke about what inspired him to write the songs. As reported by The New York Times, he said:

"When I talk to kids, I’m really listening. When I do that, we have a little bit of a bigger connection than me being Kendrick Lamar and you being a student. It’s almost like we’re friends. Because a friend listens."

The school visit happened after Kendrick Lamar got to know about a school teacher, Brian Mooney, who helped the students understand Tony Morrison's novel The Bluest Eye, using Lamar's To Pimp A Butterfly. This reportedly allowed students to study and understand the novel better. Lamar, later responded to it while talking to The New York Times, where he said:

"I was feeling incredibly grateful and humbled that my work received that much exposure and reached that wide of an audience that Kendrick himself read it."

According to the official page for the Grammy Awards, after Lamar dropped good kid, m.A.A.d. City, in 2012, his lyrical content became of topic of study and discussion for several academics. Concordia University had also announced that his lyrics and their meanings would be a part of their course.