Most of these emcees knew they wanted fame in the rap game long before they donned a
high school cap and gown.
Which is perhaps why some of them never even made it that far, whereas their peers earned
college degrees to hang next to their platinum albums.
Here's how far these rappers got in school.
Jay-Z
Growing up in Brooklyn, New York, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter first attended Eli Whitney High School,
according to a biography.
The school closed in the late 80's, due, in part, to "violence in its halls and classrooms,"
and he transferred to George Westinghouse Career and Technical Education High School,
where some of his classmates included Busta Rhymes and the late Notorious B.I.G.
Jay-Z would later enroll at Trenton Central High School in Trenton, New Jersey, where
his school years would abruptly come to an end.
He wound up dropping out of school and took refuge in the streets before he eventually
snagged a record contract, Forbes reported.
Looking back on his trajectory to superstardom and his lack of formal education, the "Empire
State of Mind" artist knows just how special he really is.
During a cross-country school tour, he stopped by Chicago's Marshall High School and warned
a group of students that he's the, quote, "exception to the rule" when it comes to successful
high school dropouts.
Eminem
To say Eminem hated school is an understatement.
Since he moved often and changed schools up to three times per year, he told 60 Minutes
that he was a victim of bullying.
"Beat up in bathroom, beat up in the hallways, shoved in the lockers."
Unable to connect with his peers, his grades suffered.
According to a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, he failed the ninth grade
three times before he eventually dropped out.
Drake
With some help from a friend's father who just so happened to be a talent agent, Drake
snagged the role of Jimmy Brooks on the Canadian television program DeGrassi: The Next Generation
when he was just 15, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
Sadly, heading out into the workforce as a teen meant school took a backseat, and he
became the breadwinner of his family.
Looking back on being a high school drop-out, Drake didn't seem content with his decision,
telling in Kentucky Sports Television he never, quote, “really got like a great school experience."
But in 2012, he decided to finally make his education dreams come true by completing his
GED.
G-Eazy
Gerald "G-Eazy" Gillum left his hometown of Oakland, California behind to attend Loyola
University in New Orleans.
With his Bachelors of Science degree in Music Industry Studies in the palm of his hand,
he would go on to become one of the biggest names in the industry.
College in The Big Easy definitely paid off for G-Eazy.
Kendrick
With an insane amount of Grammy awards to his name, it's clear Kendrick Lamar's way
with words has music lovers under a trance.
And the gifted rapper didn't need to spend years at a post-secondary institution to perfect
his flow either.
He became the first in his family to graduate from high school when he earned his diploma
from Centennial High School and had a 4.0-grade point average, Rap-up reported.
Nicki Minaj
New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School specializes in visual and performing arts,
and Nicki Minaj just so happens to be one of its famous alumni.
After graduating in 2000, she attempted to return to the campus she loved so much, but
her plans were crushed.
According to Showbiz 411, Minaj was rejected because she wanted to bring a television crew
along with her, and the NYC Department of Education declined to protect the privacy
of its students.
Welp, that's one way to ruin a "Moment 4 Life."
Cardi B
Speaking with The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cardi B recalled being "very disruptive" during
her school years.
Though she was always getting, quote, "kicked out of class," the emcee said all of her teachers
were upset when her school years came to an end.
"I made teachers cry when I left.
Like it's like, 'We love you so much, Belcalis.
We're really gonna miss you.'
But the smartest person, the teachers wasn't crying for them."
Immediately following high school, she graduated… straight to the strip club.
According to the bio page on her official website, Cardi B used the money from working
the pole to, quote, "escape poverty and domestic violence, having been in an abusive relationship
at the time."
She also put some of those hard-earned dollars towards a college education, which she ultimately
abandoned after becoming a social media sensation.
Lil Wayne
Growing up in the gritty Hollygrove neighborhood in New Orleans and having one of the hottest
songs on the radio meant Lil Wayne was forced to carry a gun for protection whenever he
set foot on his high school campus.
He told Katie Couric that it was his mom who encouraged him to drop out at the age of 14
when she saw him packing a firearm into his backpack one morning.
"She walked back to my room and said, 'You don't go to school no more.
You're getting a GED.'
And I was like, 'Okay.'"
He earned his GED and enrolled at the University of Houston with a major in political science,
according to Free Press Houston.
And later, he would enroll at the University of Phoenix to take advantage of their online
psychology courses.