The One Mic star was feted on Wednesday (01Oct15) in Massachusetts for his contributions to African American culture.

Celebrating the honour on Instagram.com, Nas wrote, "Historic night for the rap game. At the Hutchins Center Honors for the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal ceremony. This is a first for the Rap Game to receive this award but, definitely not the last. Thank you. #HarvardHistory".

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali was also honoured at the ceremony.

Past recipients of the accolade include TV mogul Oprah Winfrey, Quincy Jones and Shonda Rhimes.

Nas has a longstanding relationship with the university - in 2013, he established the Nasir Jones Hip Hop Fellowship there.