Over the weekend, André 3000 received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music. The musician — who recently shared the 7 Piano Sketches EP — was presented with the honorary Doctor of Music degree at Boston University’s Agganis Arena on Saturday (May 10) along with Sarah Bareilles.
André also gave a commencement speech, saying:
People will talk about what you do, good and bad. You will feel good and bad. But none of it matters. Like once it's recorded, once you've done what you have to do, that's the work. Everything else is chatter and it does not matter, it doesn't contribute to what you're doing. So always keep your original reason for doing music, that original feeling that you got when you were a kid when you heard the song in the first place, always keep that original feeling.
It's been an eventful month for André 3000. Upon releasing 7 Piano Sketches, he showed up to the Met Gala with a piano on his back. Shortly after, he faced criticism from jazz pianist Matthew Shipp, who called the EP “complete and utter crap.” Meanwhile, he's been putting up missing posters to try to find his notebook, which he lost in Amsterdam.
In November, André will be inducted into the Rock And Rock Hall Of Fame as part of OutKast, along with Chubby Checker, Bad Company, Joe Cocker, the White Stripes, Soundgarden, and Cyndi Lauper.
Watch André's commencement speech below.
