College Dropout, Lifelong Scholar: Why I Never Needed a Degree to Define My Success

Too Educated: A Boy Of Many Degrees

“College dropout / I ain’t posed to be here…” When I first heard those words from Nappyzee, it hit me differently, not just as a fan of the music but as someone who lives that sentiment daily. That line doesn’t sound like defeat to me. It sounds like freedom. It echoes the same quiet fire I’ve carried my whole career: the understanding that you don’t need a degree to be educated, and you don’t need a classroom to become successful.

I never took the traditional route. While others were chasing GPAs and majors, I was chasing meaning. I taught myself how to build, write, and innovate. I was learning about people, systems, and culture, and how to move through the world with purpose and precision. I didn’t wait for permission to create; I just created. And the deeper I went into my craft, the more I realized that formal education had never been the source of my power.

The industry I’m in, whether publishing, music, storytelling, or entrepreneurship, rewards vision, resilience, and originality. It doesn’t ask if you sat in the front row of a lecture hall. It asks if you’ve got the nerve to lead, the skill to build, and the heart to shift culture. Like Nappyzee, I wasn’t “supposed” to be here, according to the system. But I’m here. I built this. And I’m not alone.

Look at history. Basquiat didn’t graduate from art school. He dropped out and redefined what art could be. Malcolm X got his education through books and lived experience behind prison walls. Nipsey Hussle turned street corners into business schools. These weren’t flukes; they were living proof that learning is everywhere and success belongs to those bold enough to define it for themselves.

That’s what I stand for, and that’s what DeeliciousArtz represents. I’ve written and published over 100 books, not because someone told me I could, but because I knew I should. I’ve built platforms, created concepts like literary equations, and spoken in schools not to show off but to show up. Let people, especially young ones, know their dreams aren’t limited by their degrees. You are your own curriculum.

Education is essential, but don’t confuse it with formal schooling. Education is growth. It’s struggle, trial, mastery, and reinvention. You can get that in a classroom, but you can also get it in a studio, a library, a living room, or your own mind.

So when I hear Nappyzee open with “College dropout / I ain’t posed to be here,” I nod. Not because I agree that we don’t belong, but because I know exactly how it feels to prove that we do. And we didn’t need a diploma to get here. Just vision, discipline, and the courage to bet on ourselves.

Listen for yourself!

Nappyzee — College Dropout (Official Music Video)