Kanye West is a rapper, fashion designer and self-described "visionary," but one thing he never had on his resume was being a doctor. Now, he can even add that on to his title as he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Proud wife Kim Kardashian shared a photo of her husband dressed in a cap and gown with her 32 million followers on Instagram. In her caption, the reality queen said his beloved mother Donda, who was a university professor and died seven years ago, would have been delighted too. She wrote, "Dr. Kanye West!!!!!!! I'm so proud of you baby & I know your mom would be so proud too!!!!"

It's a big milestone in the rapper's life as he dropped out of Chicago State University aged 20 to follow his dreams of a music career. In a typical act of bravado, his debut album in 2004 was named The College Dropout.

Over a decade after leaving a college degree behind, Kanye was recognized for his "transformative, genre-defying work," which encompasses rap, music production, film, and designing his own fashion and footwear. He has also contributed to his wife's career, encouraging her to produce a book of selfies, "breaking the internet" with her nude photos and masterminding her image.

Kanye West dropped out of university aged 20 to dedicate himself to music Photo: Getty Images

In his acceptance speech, Yeezy said, "I am a pop artist. So my medium is public opinion and the world is my canvas." Laughing, he went on to address his reputation for controversy, which is fueled by his habit of storming the stage during awards ceremonies and giving his opinion on the prize winners.

Kanye continued, "'I'm sorry' is something that you can use a lot, it gives you the opportunity to give your opinion, apologize for it, and give your opinion again. You should not be sorry for your opinions!"


Kim told him that his late mother, who was a university professor, would be proud Photo: Getty Images

He concluded by saying that honors like being in Time's 100 most influential people and this doctorate validate his work. "When I was giving a lecture at Oxford, I brought up this school because when I went on that mission to create in other spaces, apparel, film, performance, it would have been easier if I could have said that I had a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago. Thank you.”

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