J. Cole presented with college diploma at alma mater gig

Rapper J. Cole was finally presented with a diploma eight years after graduating from St. John's University during a concert at his alma mater last week (09Apr15).

The Lights Please hitmaker graduated summa cum laude from the Queens, New York school in 2007, but he was never handed an actual diploma until he returned for a homecoming concert at the university on Thursday, when he was finally given his Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Arts, much to his and the audience's surprise.

J. Cole tells New York's The Village Voice his diploma was delayed because he failed to return a library book on time.

He admits, "I owed money for a library book that I didn't turn in... If you have any outstanding fee, that translates to money. There’s a price associated with it. I never paid. That’s why I don't have my degree.

"Tonight, I guess they let me slide."

As for what the hip-hop star is planning to do with his certificate, he says, "I'm gonna send it to my mom."