17 Hip Hop Celebrities That Attended HBCUS
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have birthed some of hip hop’s great artists. Many attended, a few graduated, but all of them were nurtured at HBCUs. Below we have a short list of 17 hip hop celebrities that have ties to HBCUs.
Megan Thee Stallion
youtube.com/hbcugrad
Megan Thee Stallion grew up in Houston Texas and began college at Prairie View A&M University. She took some time off and resumed her studies at Texas Southern University.
On April 15th, 2019 her single Big Ole Freak made the Billboard Hot 100.
Megan began rapping at 14 following in her mother’s footsteps who was also a rapper. She starting gaining attention when she went viral on instagram rapping with guys at Prairie View. On April 10th, 2019 she reached 1 million followers on instagram. She cites Notorious B.I.G., Pimp C and Three 6 Mafia as her biggest influences.
Common
instagram/common
Common is a rapper actor and philanthropist originally from the southside of Chicago that attended Florida A&M University. His debut album, Can I Borrow A Dollar, came out in 1992. He won a grammy in 2003 for his collaboration with Erykah Badu, who also attended an HBCU, Grambling State University. He won his second grammy in 2007 for his duet with Kanye West, Southside. In 2015 he won a golden globe for his song Glory in the film Selma. Common has also been in over 17 movies.
As a teenager, he worked for the Chicago Bulls. He attended FAMU for two years and majored in business administration.
In 2015, Common started his own film production company, Freedom Road Productions.
Common used to be a vegan but is now a pescatarian.
He has a foundation, The Common Ground Foundation, that empowers underprivledged youth to be productive citizens.
Common performed at the 50th anniversary of HBCU Grad Martin Luther King’s death.
2 Chainz
2 chainz is a rapper from Atlanta, Georgia. He was originally a part of the group Playas Circle.
In high school he played basketball and graduated second in his class.
He attended two HBCUs. He initially attended Alabama State University, transferred to Virginia State University, and returned to Alabama State University to finish his degree.
His songs No Lie, Birthday Song and I’m Different all made the Billboard top 50. He also has a show on Vice, Most Expensivist. He started his own line of clothes called CEO Millionaires.
David Banner
instagram/davidbannerlikespictures
David Banner grew up in Jackson, Mississippi and went to college at Southern University in Baton Rouge. At Southern, he was the Student Government Association president. He earned his degree in business administration. He later enrolled at another HBCU, University of Maryland Eastern Shore, to pursue his master’s, but he left to pursue music full time.
David Banner has produced music for himself, T.I., Trick Daddy, Lil Boosie and Lil Wayne. Banner has been nominated for 3 BET awards and he was awarded the Visionary award by the national black caucus for his work following Hurrican Katrina.
Wale
Wale is a rapper from Washington, DC. He attended Virginia State and Bowie State on football scholarships. He eventually dropped out due to academic reasons.
Wale has had two number one albums on the Billboard 200.
Wale hosts the annual WaleMania during Wrestlemania weekend.
He has won one BET award and has been nominated for a grammy.
Little Brother
Little brother was a hip hop group that met in 1998 while they were students at North Carolina Central University.
The group consistents of rappers Phonte and Big Pooh and DJ/producer 9th wonder. The group produced four studio albums and six mixtapes during their nine year career. They were highly regarded by fans and critics.
Das EFX
Das EFX met at Virginia State University in 1988. They signed with EPMD and their first single, They Want EFX went platinum. Das EFX still tours to this day.
Metro Boomin
instagram/metroboomin
Super producer Metro Boomin was born and raised in St Louis. While in high school he began making beats and working with Atlanta artists Future, 21 savage, Migos and Gucci Mane. His mother would drive over eight hours on weekends to take him to work with these artists.
After graduating high school, he enrolled at Morehouse but left after one semester to focus on music.
He has over 12 top 20 hits with Drake, Migos, 21 savage, Post Malone and others.
He has won two BET awards for producer of the year.
E-40
instagram/e40
E-40 has released 27 studio albums.
After a talent show at Grambling State University, him and his cousin B Legit decided to start rapping.
E-40 was one of the first west coast rappers to sign a major label deal.
E-40 also has a business career with interests in multiple brands including restaurants and alcohol.
Lords Of The Underground
instagram/lotug1
Lords of the Underground met while attending Shaw University. Redman was one of the group’s early DJs.
Their first two albums peaked at 66 and 47 on the Billboards charts. They released a third album in 1999.
The Lords were integral during the golden age of hip hop.
Don Cannon
instagram/doncannon
Don Cannon went to Clark Atlanta University. He’s a producer and DJ that has worked with 50 cent, Lil Uzi Vert, Logic, Jeezy and others.
In 2013, he was named vice president of A&R at Def Jam.
In 2016, he was named as one of XXL’s top producers of the year.
Charlie Heat
instagram/goodworkcharlie
Charlie Heat is a platinum selling record producer who is signed to Kanye’s GOOD Music.
He has worked with Kanye, Travis Scott, Madonna, Kehlani, Sevyn Streeter and Pusha T.
Charlie attended Clark Atlanta University on a music scholarship.
Charlie received three grammy nominations for his work of Life of Pablo.
Sean Combs
Diddy is one of the most prolific figures in hip hop. He founded Bad Boy records that was the home of Notorious B.I.G., Craig Mack, Mase, Total, Machine Gun Kelly, King Combs and more.
He got his start by interning for Andre Harrell at Uptown Records. He used to commute back and forth to New York while attending Howard University.
Diddy owns a controlling stake in Ciroc and Deleon Vodkas, Blue Flame Marketing, Bad Boy Records, Sean John Clothing and countless other ventures. He’s almost worth $1 billion.
Killer Mike
Killer Mike is a rapper, actor and activist. He got his start featuring on albums with Outkast.
As an activist, Killer Mike focuses on social inequality, police brutality, and systemic racism.
In 1995, Killer Mike briefly attended Morehouse College.
Mike also owns a barber shop called SWAG. He’s married with four children.
Bobby Valentino
Bobby V has had three number 1 albums on billboard.
Bobby V went to Clark Atlanta University and majored in Mass Communications.
He has been nominated for Soul Train, NAACP and Vibe awards. He has won Urban Music and BMI awards.
Rico Love
instagram/iamricolove
Super producer Rico Love grew up in Milwaukee and New York, and attended college at Florida A&M University.
The first record Rico Love ever wrote, Throwback, ended up on Usher’s Confessions album. He has also wrote for Beyonce, Nelly, Kelly Rowland, Diddy, Chris Brown, Keri Hilson, Fergie and Fantasia. He has also been featured on songs with T.I., Jermaine Dupri, Jamie Foxx, Rich Boy and Fat Joe. He won a grammy award for Best Male Vocal R&B performance for Usher’s There Goes My Baby.
DJ Envy
instagram/djenvy
DJ Envy is the host of the breakfast club. He attended Hampton University after growing up in Queens, New York. He has a degree in business administration. In 2003, he signed to DJ Clue’s record label Desert Storm. He got his big break when he sat in for Angie Martinez on Hot 97 when she got pregnant.
DJ Envy has made appearances on Beamer, Benz or Bentley, 106 and Park, Entourage and Tha Corner. He has also been the VJ of MTV’s Sucker Free Countdown. Currently, him and his wife have a podcast called The Casey Crew that talks about relationships and family.
