A college graduate himself, J. Cole was invited to Harvard University last night to speak to students as part of a dissertation on hip-hop called “The Next Move: A Conversation with J. Cole.” The Roc Nation rapper discussed his early musical influences (he was bumping Kool Moe Dee, Bobby Brown and Michael Jackson before being introduced to 2Pac by his stepfather), having pipe dreams of playing in the NBA, the moment he realized he was good at rapping, using college as a stepping stone to achieving a rap career and racial stereotypes — both being stereotyped and stereotyping others himself. It’s a real interesting discussion, so set aside a good 45 minutes and soak in the knowledge below.

I used my plan B as the tool, as a ship, to my plan A. So my plan B was like I’m smart, I know I’m college-bound. I don’t necessarily plan on using my degree, but I know I’m college-bound… so I just used college as a ticket to get to where I think it’s at, which is New York City.

Watch all three parts of J. Cole’s discussion below…

Needless to say, it sounds like Jermaine enjoyed the experience, too…

Harvard, that was ill.

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) February 26, 2013

Lemme stop being cool, THAT SHIT WAS AMAZING. Thanks

— J. Cole (@JColeNC) February 26, 2013

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