The next time your son tells you he doesn’t need to study because he plans to be a rap star, you can tell him that he should follow in the footsteps of some well-known rappers who managed to do both. Here are some artists who have either graduated from or attended college. Some of these names may well surprise you.

College Graduates:

J.Cole: Graduated with honors from St. John’s University in New York City with a major in communications.

Ludacris: Graduated from Georgia State University with a major in music management.

Chuck D (Public Enemy): Graduated from Adelphi University with a degree in graphic design.

Attended College:

Two Chainz: Attended Alabama State University and played for their basketball team for one year. Transferred to Virginia State for his sophomore year. Not clear whether he graduated from Va. State, but rumor has him graduating from college with a 4.0 average. Whether this is truth or urban legend is hard to determine, but if there must be rumors, this is a good one.

Lil Wayne: Attended University of Houston, where he studied psychology. Currently takes classes online at the University of Phoenix.

Kanye West: Of course the creator of the albums “The College Dropout” “Late Registration” and “Graduation” went to college! He attended Chicago State University (where his mother was Chair of the English Department) and Columbia College in Chicago.

Sean Combs: Attended Howard University.

OK, for you non hip-hop loving parents, your homework is to familiarize yourself with the music of all of the artists above that you don’t know. You are likely to know the old school guys, like Chuck D and Ice Cube, and everyone talks about Lil Wayne, P.Diddy and Kanye West, but take a minute to check out their music, if you haven’t done so in a while. Also check out the newer guys. Why? Because hip hop is an international cultural phenomenon born in the U.S.A. that you should not ignore. You don’t have to love it, but since your children are growing up on it, you should pay some attention to it. (Also, you can really impress (or annoy) your sons with your newfound knowledge.) It is worth the investment of a few minutes of your time on youtube.com.