Singer Vanessa Williams dishes out wise words at her graduation!

UGLY BETTY star VANESSA WILLIAMS graduated from college on Saturday (10May08) with inspiring words for the younger generation of students. Williams dropped out of Syracuse University - where she studied musical theatre from 1981 to 1983 - to become a model. She became the first black Miss America in 1983, before being stripped of the title when she posed nude in Penthouse magazine.

The university decided to award Williams the remaining credit necessary for her degree and invited her to a graduation ceremony in New York state. Taking to the stage, 45-year-old Williams told graduates, "These days are irreplaceable and are the beginning of the rest of your life. Treasure the moment."

DR. KNOWLES IN DA HOUSE: BEYONCE'S DAD LANDS HONORARY DOCTORATE.

BEYONCE's record boss dad MATHEW KNOWLES has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate from his old university. Mathew was made a Doctor of Humane Letters at a ceremony at his alma mater Fisk University in Tennessee. Knowles Sr. was picked out for his work steering the careers of his daughter and her band Destiny's Child, and his work as head of label imprint Music World Entertainment.

Shakira Shakira: Latina superstar Shakira has praised British Prime Minster.

Latina superstar Shakira has praised British Prime Minster Gordon Brown for his plans to improve education in the developing world. The 31-year-old singer and the leader held a telephone conference with World Bank president Robert Zoellick to speak about their support of the Global Campaign for Education (GCE), which aims to have every child in the world in school by 2015.

The star, who is also a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, was impressed with Brown's intentions to achieve universal education. She says, "I think he (Brown) is a man with wonderful intentions and who is also very pro-active and who has been working very hard for this issue of education. I applaud his work and applaud the fact that he is brave enough to talk to celebrities like me... I think we are all on the same boat trying to get to the same shore, and trying to provide education for all children in the world."

Shakira also denies she is being 'used' by Brown to boost his popularity in the U.K. She says, "Absolutely not. I think he is a man with wonderful intentions and who is also very pro-active and who has been working very hard for this issue of education."

Thank You! Thank You! To all the students at CW JEFFREYS COLLEGIATE IN TORONTO!

This past Monday 24th March, I received an award from the students of C.W Jeffrey's Collegiate Institute, a career focusing high school in Toronto. It is located in one of the toughest neighborhoods in T-Dot. Jane and Finch area. I used to speak in high schools all over the USA and I was nominated for several, in fact too many awards. Baltimore County Volunteer of the Year, Maryland Volunteer of the Year, one from President Clinton, General Colin Powell etc. There are so many damn plaques that I left them all in Nigeria. See, it's not about the awards. It's about helping our youth. Just yesterday two black 20 yr olds have been added to the jail roll. This needs to stop after they bound and duct taped employees of a pawn shop and robbed it at the mall downstairs by my house. That was the assignment that kept me busy yesterday!

Normally, I speak about the dangers of drugs from a Pharmacist standpoint as I am also a Pharmacist. This time I spoke about the myths of hip-hop where we talked about the criminal records of every hip-hop star who had one and how they turned their lives around plus the ones who are still not getting it! Our kids are in gangs here!



Remember this video above in Toronto 2 weeks ago? 6 kids got shot, one died! Now we are hearing whispers out of my newsroom that it was a gang initiation where a potential gang member is told to go out there and kill a bunch of people and they will get in. These were a bunch of Somalian kids who were straight "A" students not in any criminal activity! Kids, I wanna thank you for the glass trophy and the huge gift card in the envelope. Mr. David Reid, Principal Spyropoulous and all of the staff and students. Call me anytime and I will be there. Finally, let's not forget Jordan Manners, the first kid to die in a school shooting in Toronto in May 2007, a week before I arrived in Toronto. This is what lead me to your school because things like this does not happen here and it must NEVER AGAIN!.

Quincy Jones to speak at University of Washington graduation, get honorary doctorate.

Mmmm.....Dr Jones? The AP reports that Quincy Jones will receive an honorary doctorate at the University of Washington commencement, where the musician-composer-producer-arranger will speak on June 14. The university's regents voted to award the degree at their meeting Thursday. The 75-year-old Jones moved to Bremerton, Wash., with his family at age 10 and began playing the trumpet in junior high school. He also sang in a gospel quartet before moving to Seattle.

He has toured with Lionel Hampton's band, and has arranged for other musicians including Duke Ellington, Ray Charles and County Basie. He's best known, though, as the producer of two of the biggest selling records of all time: Michael Jackson's 1982 album "Thriller" and the single "We Are the World."