Stand up! No need to be humble!
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Recent college graduate Nahla Ward pushed all humility to the side when she chose Kendrick Lamar’s “DNA” as the muse for her rapping about the transformative power of higher education on Instagram this past Monday.
In the video, the 21-year-old Temple University grad spits bars about her college accomplishments, decked out in full graduation attire.
The Connecticut native and Zeta Phi Beta sorority member kicks it off with the song’s most noteworthy verse, “I got loyalty, got royalty inside my DNA”, before putting her own spin onto the remixed track.
“I just graduated college, bachelor’s in CLA, studied Spanish and CJ, see my God, he makes a way,” she raps.
Then, in an epic beat-drop moment she hits us with, “GPA over 3.5, that’s right, I came to slay.”
Ward noted that she was very intentional in using “DNA” as the rap’s beat.
“The song highlights different pieces of what made him, him,” she told HuffPost on Tuesday in reference to Lamar. “I wanted to share how my experience in college has helped mold me into a young woman.”
And what an exceptional experience it was! Ward, who studied Spanish and criminal justice, won the Temple’s Diamond Award for exceptional students and the 2017 Criminal Justice Faculty Award. She was also crowned Ms. Temple Africa and the Pi Rho Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity’s Miss Black and Gold 2016. Like she said, she “…got honors and awards flowing in my DNA.”
What’s next for Ward? Per her chat with Temple Now, she plans to pursue a music career. This makes sense because Ward was chosen by the singer Monica as the winner of the viral #SoGoneChallenge this past August. So, Ward isn’t new to this; she’s true to this!
“Even though music is a form of entertainment, to me personally, through my music, I want to educate, inspire and encourage,” Ward told Temple Now. “To me, if there’s no message, it doesn’t make sense.”
Word! Shout-out to the super talented Nahla Ward! Whatever her path leads her, we know she will slay, because well… it’s in her DNA.
