Keri Hilson Plans to Keep Family Promise

Keri Hilson's debut album, 'In a Perfect World,' may be about to drop March 24, setting up the breakout songwriter to be a recording star in her own right. But despite having Lil Wayne on the single and a track she co-wrote with Justin Timberlake her family still isn't impressed yet.

"I'm the black sheep of my family," she told a crowd of students at Grammy Career Day. "I'm the only one who didn't graduate."

But talking to the Boombox at the Clive Davis pre-Grammy party, a few days after Grammy Career Day, Hilson made a public plea to Emory University.

"My degree was a theater degree, performance based, so I'm gonna go for the honorary if I can," she said. "I've been talking to the dean of the art school and Emory University, if you're reading this, I would love to get the honorary degree. I gotta get that piece of paper."

And she's serious. "But if not, I'll go back and do plays. I'll do plays at school and participate in the theater program as much as possible to get that degree."

Given her family's emphasis on schooling, will the honorary degree satisfy them? "Oh yeah, they'll go for it. That means it was worth their money," she says. "We got the piece of paper, that's what it's all about."