LL Cool J receives honorary degree from Northeastern University

LL Cool J and hats go together whether it's a Kangol, a fitted or a flat cap, he's got it but he recently switched his hat game up when he received an honorary degree from Northeastern University.

Last Friday (May 2), the rapper turned actor was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree and to make things even more special, his daughter, Italia Smith, graduated with honors during the same ceremony.

According to Vibe magazine, Cool J, whose real name is James Todd Smith, accepted his degree with great pride and even poked a little fun at his nay sayers.

"I've been called a few things, but never a doctor, that's for sure," he joked. "For them to recognize my body of work and my contributions to the world of art is an amazing feeling."

But his greatest pride came from seeing his daughter walk across the stage.

"It made me feel real proud because I know she put a lot of hard work in, a lot of dedication, a lot of commitment and a lot of hours," he explained.

His daughter shared his sentiment, proud to have her father on stage.

"It was emotional, it was exciting, I'm just happy to reach a new milestone," she said.

Other recipients of Northeatern's honorary degrees this year included Janet Napoli­tano, former U.S. Sec­re­tary of Home­land Secu­rity who is now pres­i­dent of the Uni­ver­sity of Cal­i­fornia; former NFL player Wade Davis II, who is cur­rently the exec­u­tive director of the You Can Play Project-an orga­ni­za­tion ded­i­cated to ending dis­crim­i­na­tion, sexism, and homo­phobia in sports; Victor J. Dzau, the pres­i­dent and CEO of Duke Uni­ver­sity Health System and incoming pres­i­dent of the Insti­tute of Med­i­cine; and Donald G. Comb, founder and chairman of the board of New Eng­land Bio­labs and founder of the Ocean Genome Legacy.

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