Fat Joe has been awarded an honorary doctorate from Lehman College in his hometown of the Bronx.
The Terror Squad rapper attended the school’s 56th Annual Commencement Ceremony on Thursday (May 30) as the guest speaker, receiving his honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree while there. During his speech, Joey Crack revealed he currently feels more successful than he has in his entire career, emphasizing that there’s no age limit on achieving your dreams.”Some of you been around, but I’m telling you success never stops,” he told the graduating class. “There is no age limit to being successful.”
In an Instagram post about the day, he got a little more personal, adding a layer of context to his appreciation for the honor.”God is the Greatest! i promised my moms a Diploma & who would have thought i would have a Doctorate. I’d like to thank Lehman College for this humbling experience.”
Fat Joe is a multi-million dollar success story now, but he once missed out on a seven-figure payday due to his “tough guy” image. The Bronx rapper recently sat down with Forbes and told a story about the time the chief financial officer of a marketing agency tried to approach him with an offer to promote a beer company. The executive had a $2 million check in his pocket with Fat Joe’s name on it, but unfortunately for the Terror Squad leader, his sizeable entourage prevented it from reaching him.
“I was a real tough guy, Joe the Don, and I got the Terror Squad,” he began. “And so this man, I met him many years later. He was CFO of a marketing company out of Chicago. He passed away. But he saw me in Miami. My wife is with me, we’re having mojitos. He said, ‘Man, let me tell you a story. I had a $2 million check for you from a beer company who said, ‘Get Fat Joe.’ This was when ‘What’s Luv?’ was number one.
He said, ‘I came to the Bronx, I came to a club where you was at. You had about 40 guys around you and I saw you with my own eyes. I had a $2 million check in my pocket.’ He said he walked past the first 10, then grabbed him. ‘The Don don’t wanna speak to nobody.’ This is a guy in a suit looking like you. He walked around another five. ‘The Don ain’t speaking.’
He looked at me and said, ‘Wow, I have a $2 million check and I can’t even get to this kid. I can’t put this check in his pocket. As much as the company is telling me, ‘You better close that deal.’ So that’s the stuff that you block — your blessings.”
Fat Joe’s recent honor reflects both his personal growth and enduring success. From the Bronx to the stage of Lehman College, his journey underscores that there is no age limit to achieving one’s dreams.
