Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake have both had a day to remember, with their pair each receiving honorary doctorate degrees from the Berklee College of Music.
Over in America, folks are currently busy celebrating the end of the school year, with the long-awaited summer break about to kick off.
As such, plenty of graduation ceremonies have been taking place, with years of hard work coming to an end, and numerous honours and awards being bestowed upon some of the most-deserving students.
As Billboard notes though, the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts had some rather special guests in attendance, with both Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake receiving honorary doctorate degrees.
Check out Missy Elliott and Justin Timberlake accepting their degrees:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOfcARM6psw
Taking place on Saturday, May 11th, the pair appeared before an audience of almost 7,000, delivering an acceptance speech and offering sage advice to the graduating class.
“I was saying earlier, I don’t do surgeries, but I could probably work out some prescriptions,” Timberlake joked about his newly-minted status as a doctor.
“You’re defined by what you define failure as,” he added in a much more inspirational tone. “It’s not a thing if it leads you to your success. It’s all part of the journey.”
Likewise, Missy Elliott also addressed the sizeable crowd, receiving the honour just months after becoming the first female rapper inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
“I don’t even know how I’m standing here, but I thank y’all, I thank God,” Missy Elliott explained. “I just want y’all to know, there will be ups and downs. Prepare for that, but don’t give up.”
“I know you may hear that all the time, but if I had given up long ago, I wouldn’t be standing here today. You have come too far to quit.”
“I became ill where I couldn’t even write,” the hip-hop icon recalled, breaking down in tears while documenting her struggle with Graves disease. “My nervous system shut down on me.”
“I thought, ‘This was it’ – is no need for me to keep going. But something in my spirit, the drive, and the patience, as long as you are breathing, it is never too late.”
“People will tell you you’re too old. People will tell you it would never work. Don’t believe that, because I’m standing here today.”
These honours come just a week after Jack White also received an honorary doctorate degree, receiving the honour due to his tireless philanthropic work.
Check out Missy Elliott’s ‘Get Ur Freak On’:
