Hip-hop legend watches daughter graduate from HBCU one week after his

WINSTON-SALEM, NC — Hip-hop legend 9th Wonder stood outside WSSU commencement on May 15 with a fresh degree, a proud daughter and a full-circle HBCU story.

The Grammy-winning producer, professor and Winston-Salem native spoke with HBCU Gameday in the parking lot of Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. The interview came during Winston-Salem State University commencement. It also came less than one week after 9th Wonder graduated from North Carolina Central University on May 9.

His real name is Patrick Denard Douthit. His stage name carries weight across hip-hop. But this month, his proudest title may be graduate.

“I never would have thought that me and my child would graduate a week apart,” 9th Wonder said.

His daughter, Jada Douthit, graduated from WSSU magna cum laude. She majored in mathematics with a minor in data science. She also played basketball, produced music and became a charter member of the brand new Phi Epsilon Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.



For 9th Wonder, the timing felt almost impossible.

“God made for the biggest way,” he said.

Hip-hop producer returns home to WSSU

Hip-hop took 9th Wonder around the world. But Winston-Salem still claims him.

He made that clear while standing just steps away from one of the city’s major venues. 9th Wonder said he is a native of Winston-Salem. More specifically, he said he is from Midway, North Carolina.

“I went to school here. I was raised here,” he said. “My family name is here. Douthit is here.”

That connection made the WSSU setting even more personal. This was not just a famous producer visiting a commencement. This was a hometown son watching his daughter close one chapter.

It was also a father watching her start several new ones.

Jada Douthit recently released an album. Her father said she produced the beats while another artist handled the rhymes. He laughed at the connection between their creative paths.

“I guess the apple don’t fall too far from the tree,” he said.

HBCU dream started before the fame

For all of his success in hip-hop, 9th Wonder said finishing college remained unfinished business.

Before the beats, before the records and before the university lectures, he was a student at North Carolina Central.

“Before 9th Wonder came along, before the beats came along, I was a HBCU kid first,” he said.

That sentence explains why the degree mattered. 9th Wonder has taught at Duke, Harvard, North Carolina Central, Penn and other institutions. Still, he said something felt incomplete.

He credited Kadeem Hardison and the character Dwayne Wayne from “A Different World” as early influences. That show helped shape how many Black students saw college life. It also helped make HBCU culture visible in American homes.

9th Wonder said friends and family helped push him to walk at commencement. At first, he was not sure he would do it. Then he thought about who might be watching.

“You have to understand what this says to people,” he said.

The message was simple. It is never too late to finish.

WSSU graduate Jada Douthit inspires father

WSSU was also the place where 9th Wonder watched his daughter grow.

He said Jada Douthit was born with 90 percent hearing loss. She later received cochlear implants. As a student, she had to sit in the front of classrooms and navigate accommodations just to hear.

For a father who built his career around sound, that reality was difficult at first.

“That was a shock for me when she was born,” he said.

But Jada kept moving. She became a point guard, a role built on communication. She became a music producer, despite hearing the world differently. She graduated with honors. She became a Delta. She released music.

“Who can write this stuff, man?” 9th Wonder said.

That is the story behind the smile. A hip-hop legend finished his degree at NC Central. His daughter finished hers at WSSU. Both moments happened within a week.

For 9th Wonder, the month was not just about graduation.

It was about completion, family and the HBCU roots that shaped the man before the legend.

The post Hip-hop legend watches daughter graduate from HBCU one week after his appeared first on HBCU Gameday.

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This story was originally published May 16, 2026 at 2:04 PM.