Usher Raymonds has been called a recipient of an honorary doctorate. Granted by the Berklee College of Music, the 44-year-old Atlanta-Georgia crooner is recognized for his decades of success in the music and entertainment industry. Legendary Vocalists, Roberta Flack and Sona Jorbarteh will receive honorary Doctor of Music degrees, as well.
All three will have a chance to address the graduating class of 2023. The beginning ceremony is designed for May 13, 2023, at Boston University’s Agganis Arena. On May 12, ahead of the event, a reception and concert featuring a global cast of over 200 student vocalists, instrumentalists, dancers, arrangers, and track producers from the graduating class, will perform a musical tribute to the work of each of the honorees.
One-time recipients of honorary degrees from the college include legendary R&B/Soul icons such as Duke Ellington (the first, in 1971), Aretha Franklin, Quincy Jones, Celine Dion, B.B. King, Joni Mitchell, Chaka Khan, Esperanza Spalding, Willie Nelson, Missy Elliott, Ringo Starr, Gloria Estefan, and John Legend.
The news comes as the ‘My Way’ crooner readies to move into a new age of his career. Announcing a joint record label with L.A. Reid, the multiple Grammy award-winning R&B act has also teased he’s on the way “to wake up R&B” with a new album. Earlier this month the global celeb shared a rehearsal of his latest single “GLU” announcing tour dates in Paris. He foremost teased the track on Valentine’s Day.
“Part of the reason that I decide[d] to launch it [then] is that it’s a day of love. And what I found is, a lot of people who maybe don’t have love, and they just wanted to have self-love on that day.”
© 2023 • Story By Edem Latsu Nukafu
Writer’s email: edemlatsu093@gmail.com
