From the East Coast to the West Coast, all the way down South, some of the industry’s most popular rappers have received a college degree. Surprising? Sort of. Awesome? Yes.

On the surface, you might not think hip-hop and college can co-exist, or that if you choose one path, you can’t choose the other. Not necessarily. Getting a higher education isn’t limited to one demographic by any means, and just because you like to spit some bars, doesn’t mean you can’t study for finals.

For most college students, today (8/24/15) marks the first day of the school year, and feelings are all over the place: “Yay, school’s back! I get to see my friends! Syllabus Week! Beer! Yay!” Or we have, “Sh*t. School’s back. More tests and homework. Finals. Yay.” College students fall somewhere on that spectrum.

So, whether you’re feeling excited about going back to school, or you’re already dreading it, just realize you’re not in it alone. Plus, if you do what you’re supposed to do, you’ll end up with a college degree in no time, just like some of your favorite rappers. So whether you are looking to take an online mba degree or are thinking about attending college soon, keep in mind what you could do and what would be best for you for the field you want to go into. Keep your best interests in mind, it’s your life.

With that being said, click on the following pages to see which of your favorite emcees spent just as much time in the classroom as they did in the studio.