25 Musicians Who Went to Art School

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Lady Gaga

Studied: Theater (Performing Arts)

Raised on the upper side of Manhattan, after high school, Gaga's mother convinced her to apply for CAP21, a musical theater conservatory, which is part of New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Gaga dropped out, only completing a few semesters before she began performing at local nightclubs and focusing on her musical career full-time.

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A$AP Ferg

Studied: Studio Art

Following in the large footsteps of Harlem's own A$AP Rocky, A$AP Ferg is becoming a household name for hip-hop heads in 2013. Prior to his mainstream success, Ferg attended art school, where he studied drawing and painting. Rumor has it that a painting done by Ferg hangs over A$AP Rocky's bed.

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Toro Y Moi

Studied: Graphic Design

Prior to Toro Y Moi's music career, he (Chaz Bundwick) graduated from the University of South Carolina with a graphic design degree in 2009, where he met fellow electronic artist and collaborator Washed Out.

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M.I.A.

Studied: Fine Art, Video, Film

Maya studied at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and received her degree in film in 2000. There, she learned screenwriting and made may fine art films and prints. These skills have helped her produce her own album artwork, videos, clothing, and more.

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Chuck D

Studied: Graphic Design

Before becoming a rap legend, Chuck D was studying graphic design at Adelphi University in Long Island. Chuck D eventually earned his degree prior to his demo being discovered by Rick Rubin and the origination of Public Enemy.

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2Pac

Studied: Ballet, Theater (Performing Arts)

Before he was gunned down on the Vegas strip (RIP), Pac was known as one of the hardest gangsta rappers in the game. So it will probably surprise you to learn that Tupac studied ballet and theater. That's right, Tupac studied poetry, acting, jazz, and ballet at the Baltimore School of Arts for the second half of his high school years.

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Nicki Minaj

Studied: Visual Art, Music, Theater (Performing Arts)

Born and raised in New York City, Minaj originally wanted to become a musical theater actress. She studied visual, musical theater, and the performing arts at LaGuardia High School before being cast in off-Broadway productions and eventually pursuing a career in hip-hop.

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Freddie Mercury

Studied: Art, Graphic Design

After spending much of his childhood in India, Mercury originally enrolled at Isleworth Polytechnic, but eventually earned a degree in art and graphic design from Ealing Art College, which he used to design the Queen crest, along with some of Queen's other album artwork. Mercury formed Queen in the following couple of years after his college graduation.

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Roger Waters

Studied: Architecture

All of the members of Pink Floyd attended art school briefly, though Roger Waters is the most known of them. Rogers studied briefly at Regent Street Polytechnic after a series of aptitude tests had shown a high level of potential success in architecture. He briefly considered a career as a mechanical engineer.

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Pete Townshend

Studied: Graphic Design

Pete Townshend, known for being the primary guitarist and lead singer of The Who, was enrolled in art school prior to his career as a musician. Townshend studied at Ealing Art College, the same school attended by Freddie Mercury, for about a semester until joining his first band with fellow students.

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Azealia Banks

Studied: Performing Arts

Azealia Banks, known for her Twitter antics and eccentric raps, attended the same LaGuardia High School as Nicki Minaj. Little is known of Banks' educational background, besides that she studied performing arts before dropping out of high school to pursue her music career.

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Damian Kulash

Studied: Visual Art

After attending high school in Washington D.C., Kulash went to college at Brown University, where he studied art and semiotics. Kulash played in many bands in college before becoming the front man and guitarist in the rock band, OK Go. He cites his artistic background as the creative foundation for much of his music career.

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Organized Konfusion

Studied: Art, Design

Little is known about Organized Konfusion's personal lives, although the duo are highly regarded as one of the best underground hip-hop acts that has ever existed. The two were classmates at the High School of Art and Design in New York, the same high school attended by fellow New York rappers Mobb Deep.

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Mobb Deep

Studied: Art, Design

Havoc and Prodigy were classmates at the High School of Art and Design in New York City. The group began their music career in 1986, but saw their first commercial success with 1992's The Infamous.

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Michael Stipe/REM

Studied: Photography, Painting

Studying at the University of Georgia, Michael Stipe majored in painting and photography while frequenting the local record store. It was there that Stipe met Peter Buck, the store clerk, and the two formed what would later become one half of REM.

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Keith Richards

Studied: Fine Art

Richards studied fine art at the Sidcup Art College after high school. However, he was generally distracted from his studies, focusing more on playing guitar in the rooms of other students. It was around this time when he met Mick Jagger, and the two began working on music together. The rest is history.

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Ice Cube

Studied: Architectural Drafting

Cube attended Taft High School before going to the Phoenix Institute of Technology to study architectural drafting. Around this time, Cube met Dr. Dre and began performing at parties with him.

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Karen O

Studied: Music, Theater (Performing Arts)

Karen O, front woman for the Yeah Yeah Yeah's, studied theater at Oberlin College before transferring to NYU's Tisch School of Performing Arts, so she could be in more of a musical environment.

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Florence Welch

Studied: Fine Art

Florence Welch of Florence + the Machine studied at Camberwell College of Arts in South London before dropping out to focus on her music. It was cleary a wise choice.

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Guy Berryman

Studied: Architecture

Coldplay bassist Guy Berryman was originally enrolled at University College London in a four-year engineering program before switching to a seven-year architecture program at The Bartlett. He eventually dropped out of school to work at the local pub and focus on Coldplay.

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David Bowie

Studied: Music, Art, Design

Bowie went to a specialty high school in England called Bromley Technical High School. At the time, this was considered to be an extremely liberal school of thought, and it furthered Bowie's love of the arts, which lead to a successful career as a musician. He was also taught by Owen Frampton, father of fellow musician Peter Frampton.

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Mick Jones

Studied: Art

After his education at the Strand School, Mick Jones went on to attend art school, in hopes of meeting other musicians with similar interests. It's unclear if Jones earned a degree before meeting fellow Clash band mates, Paul Simonon and Joe Strummer.

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David Byrne

Studied: Design

Following high school, David Byrne attended RISD (Rhode Island School of Design) for a semester, before transferring to the Maryland Institute College of Art. Byrne eventually dropped out and started his first band with fellow RISD classmate, Chris Frantz, who later became the drummer for The Talking Heads.

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Kanye West

Studied: Studio Art

Kanye attended the American Academy of Art after graduating high school. After only one semester, West transferred to Chicago State University where he met local artists and began his career in music production.

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Brian Eno

Studied: Fine Art

Brian Eno graduated from Winchester School of Art at St. Joseph's College in 1969 with a degree in fine art. This is where he met teacher and painter, Tom Phillips, who encouraged Eno's artistic visions, which eventually led to his work with Cornelius Cardew's Scratch Orchestra and propelled his career in music production.

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