(THE COLLEGE FIX) — Harvard University witnessed a first this past week: A student submitted a rap album as his senior thesis.

Obasi Shaw’s album Liminal Minds earned him a grade of “A-minus” which means he’ll graduate with honors this week.

“I never thought it would be accepted by Harvard,” Shaw said according to the Associated Press. “I didn’t think they would respect rap as an art form enough for me to do it.”

Shaw describes Minds as “a dark and moody take on what it means to be black in America,” relating stories about slavery and police violence. It also utilizes ideas from author James Baldwin and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.

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