Plies Pays Teen's Entire College Tuition To Attend University Of Miami

via NBC Miami

Usually, when Plies hits the stage, you can count on hundreds and twenties raining down on the crowd as he raps about how much dough is in his bank roll.

But recently the Florida rapper decided to spend his cash a little more frugally at a rap concert.

According to Hip Hop Enquirer, Plies invited an 18-year old high school senior on stage at a holiday concert in Atlanta.

The girl, Khambrea Johnkins, probably was thinking she was about to get serenaded with a lyric containing her name and maybe an expletive or two. But instead, Plies, whose real name is Algernold Lanier Washington, shocked the crowd by saying he was proud to hear she was a graduating senior and offered to pay for her tuition to any college in the country.

"I don't give a damn if its Georgia Tech Notre Dame, Flora State, Harvard, or Yale, if you want to go to college, i am going to send you to college," Plies announced in his most gully Fort Myers voice.

Now anyone who knows Plies' lyrics knows that when he is talking about brains, it usually doesn't refer to a woman's intellect (check the verses to "Becky" or "Bust It Baby" for those in the dark).

But the Christmas surprise was a refreshing look at the 33-year-old Plies, who despite his self-professed "goon" status attended college at Miami University in Ohio and Central Florida before blowing up on the rap scene.

Plies had been criticized for tossing $50,000 in the crowd at one of his concerts, which got the haters stirring probably because they didn't get any.

Johnkins immediately flashed the "U" sign letting the 15,000 party goers know she wants to spend the next four years of her life in Coral Gables at the University of Miami campus. She plans on studying nursing.

"Well F--- it, I guess you are going to the University of Miami," Plies replied.

That's what we call a Christmas gift rapped the right way.

Wyclef Jean Goes Back To School At Berklee Collage Of Music

via the Boston Herald

Attending Berklee has been a goal of the 37-year-old, Haitian-born Wyclef’s since high school. Raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., and then New Jersey, he dropped out of Five Towns College of Long Island to devote himself to the Fugees full time. Now he’s fulfilling his dream of finishing college at Berklee.

“Berklee’s the best,” he said. “It’s like you’ve got the Honda and you’ve got the Ferrari. I don’t take the Honda no more. I moved up from the Honda. I’m like, give me the Ferrari. Give me the 360 Modena that’s fully equipped with the best. And that’s Berklee. From the studio programs to the theory programs to the ensembles, there’s nothing like it. Because I’m telling you, I live in the studio. I could have just been here recording an album right now. This is the truth.”

Though Wyclef has family in Boston and visits regularly, he hasn’t spent much time on the Berklee campus studying this semester or checking out Boston. He does most of his schoolwork via online courses; his few trips to campus have been for one-on-one classes with professors.

“I was incognito a few times,” he said. “I did come in for some classes, but it’s like I come in and I just jump in the car with my driver and then I’m out. I mostly do the online class. But next semester I’m telling my record company and my manager that I want to be here more. Because what I’ve learned already is that when I’m one-on-one with a teacher or physically in a class, I’m gonna get more out of it.”

Read the full article here:
Boston Herald - The education of Wyclef Jean

Learn more about the Berklee Collage of Music here:
Berklee website