What your favorite artist would study if they were back at school
You never know where your classmates will end up going in life. Ideally you graduate and get a good job, but a lucky and talented few exceed the expectation and make their claim to fame. Such an observation makes one wonder what it would be like if our favorite famous musicians went to UC Berkeley with us. What would it be like to have Kanye as your lab partner? Or to rehearse a scene for drama class with Lorde? Based on each artist’s career and character, we at the Clog have analyzed what kind of student they would be at the former No. 1 public university in the world.
Chance the Rapper
Music
Chance the Rapper is a man of the people. He radiates positivity in both his music and his real life, and knows how to get around when it comes to other people. His extroverted and outgoing personality is the kind you’d probably expect from a music major. Not to mention that he’d totally buddy up with his professors, come to office hours regularly and be a class favorite by the time he graduates.
Childish Gambino
Media studies
Last fall, Gambino told his fans to “stay woke,” and ever since then his message has been played in college dorm rooms and radio stations across the map. And in the world of media studies, there is no other option but to stay woke at all times (believe us, we’d know). Plus in real life, Donald Glover is a jack of all trades — rapper, sitcom actor, comedian and future Han Solo. It’s only fitting he embraces the media, covering everything from world news, the arts, food and Clog pieces (of course).
Drake
Pre-med
Many years ago, Drake sang about how he wanted to find girls hearts. Perhaps this isn’t what he had in mind when he said that, but Drizzy performing open heart surgery is certainly quite the image. Not only does he have the sympathetic qualities, but he’s the kind of guy that’ll go out for a night on the town and spend the entire time wishing he was studying instead – which is the exact thought process you need as a med student. Just when patients are hanging onto their last rope, Dr. Drake will them to “hold on, you’re going home.”
Frank Ocean
Architecture
Last summer, Frank made the internet flip out over a video of him building a staircase for hours on end. Being a man of aesthetics in ways ranging from album art to stage production, surely Frank spent some of his college career in interior design, architecture, and fashion courses. Just like the release of Blonde, Frank kept his major adviser waiting and waiting before he declared, but once he did he would graduate as one of the best students in the game.
Jay-Z
Business administration
Hov once said, “I’m not a businessman. I’m a business, man.” And between many successful albums, his own label, his role in the Brooklyn Nets and a streaming service that we all reluctantly used just so we could listen to Life of Pablo when it came out, Jay’s done his homework. That’s why it makes all the sense in the world for him to be seen walking around Haas School of Business in a suit. Sure, bypassing students will roll their eyes and judge him, but they aren’t married to Beyoncé … so there’s that.
Kanye West
Art history/practice
Whether it’s through his change of character with each album cycle, his short films, or even his tweets such as “what do I have to do to get a simple Persian rug with cherub imagery uuuuugh,” Kanye is pretty artsy-fartsy. During his art history courses, he frequently interjects his professor saying “I’ma let you finish, but …” before completely contradicting the professor’s point. His comments in discussion section frequently leave the GSI in awe and his classmates are often too intimidated to say anything after him.
Kendrick Lamar
English, with a minor in rhetoric
Kendrick’s way with words has gotten him very far in the music world, so it probably wouldn’t be shocking to hear that he pulled all A’s in his English courses (quite lofty even by UC Berkeley standards). That and the persuasiveness and message of his compelling rhymes in anthems like “King Kunta” or “Alright” tells you he probably took some rhetoric courses along the way as well. At this rate, Kendrick will probably be the first student to submit a freestyle for his master’s thesis.
Lorde
Undecided
Lorde is just a lost and confused girl living in a mad world. She’s still processing the fact that she was accepted into UC Berkeley, let alone choosing what she wants to major in or what career she’ll go into after she graduates. But that’s OK, plenty of us are unsure of our futures, and it’s better to focus on the ‘now’ anyway. Sure Lorde is still undeclared in her junior year, but she’s joined four clubs, gone to as many social events as she can, and has made memories more valuable than meeting certain major standards.
See, celebrities are just like us! Maybe one day if you’re lucky enough you can just drop out of the university and become a international pop star!
Contact Doug Smith at dsmith@dailycal.org.