Dr Raymond! Usher receives honorary doctorate in music

Just call him, Dr Raymond. American singer Usher Raymond has been bestowed with an honorary doctorate degree. 

The Berklee College of Music awarded the R&B superstar a Doctor of Music degree. The 'Confessions' hitmaker attended his graduation ceremony with two of his children. 

His mother, Jonetta Patton, and his partner, Jennifer Goicoechea, were also there. 

"They call me D-o-c-t-o-r R-a-y-m-o-n-d. Thank you @berkleecollegefor honoring me and presenting me with a Doctor of Music degree. I’m so grateful for this opportunity to share a message to the next generation of artists, producers, vocalists, arrangers, dancers and more," he captioned a series of pictures from his graduation. 

Berklee reposted the pictures on its official Instagram page.

"Global megastar, eight-time Grammy Award winner, and Doctor of Music," the college wrote. 

During his commencement speech, Usher urged his fellow graduates that networking helped him get far in his career, which spans over three decades.

"It wasn't teachers or credited experts. But that doesn't discredit what this environment is or what the environment is that I grew up in. It just means that I managed to do something significant based on my passion. That makes me not only a student, but a master of my trade," NBC quoted him as saying. 

He also urged his graduation class to never give up on their dreams. 

"Keep running past that finish line [of your goals], break the barriers, identify that spark in you that motivates you to keep going, and don’t expect everything to be perfect and run smoothly,” he said, according to The Black Enterprise.

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Usher's friends and fellow musicians, Rico Love and Jermaine Dupri, were also pictured at the ceremony. Jermaine shared a video from the big day on Instagram.

"Out in Boston with my brother @usher as he Receives his Honorary Doctorate at Berklee 2023 Commencement," the rapper wrote.

Some of Usher's other famous friends took to the comments section to congratulate him on his big achievement. 

"Congrats King," Swizz Beatz wrote. 

Ava DuVernay wrote: "A wonderful acknowledgement of your musical accomplishments. Bravo!"

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Main image credit: Instagram/@berkleecollege