Harvard student submits rap album as his senior thesis

BOSTON — A senior at Harvard University is earning praise — and an honours degree — for his debut rap album.

Harvard officials say Obasi Shaw is the first student in the university’s history to submit a rap album as a senior thesis in the English department.

Shaw is from an Atlanta suburb and describes his album as a moody take on what it means to be black in America.

The album draws on Geoffrey Chaucer’s 14th-century classic “The Canterbury Tales” and other literary works. It received the equivalent of an A-minus grade, enough to guarantee Shaw will graduate with honours next week.