Kanye West was ''shaking'' with nerves as he received an honorary degree yesterday (11.05.15).

The 37-year-old rapper told 900 graduates at the prestigious School of the Art Institute of Chicago that he would make their lives ''easier'' as he picked up the honour because he would no longer need them to ''defend'' his credentials.

He said: ''I felt my nerves a bit, and I don't feel that feeling a lot. The nerves of humility and modesty when being honoured. A humanisation, a reality of being recognised. And all I thought as I sit here, kind of shaking a little bit is... I need to get rid of that feeling. I need to not be nervous.

''This honour is going to make your lives easier. Two reasons: You don't have to defend me as much. And, I'm gonna make all of our lives easier.''

And the 'All Day' hitmaker - who has 22-month-old daughter North with wife Kim Kardashian - also advised the students to apologise a lot as it made it easier to give an opinion.

He said: ''I am a pop artist. So my medium is public opinion and the world is my canvas.

'''I'm sorry' is something that you can use a lot. It gives you the opportunity to give your opinion. Apologise for it. And give your opinion again. People say, 'You should not be sorry for your opinions!' ''

Kanye - who dropped out of Chicago State University to pursue a music career - admitted when he decided to branch out into design having qualifications would have made things ''easier''.

He said: ''It would have been easier if I could have said I had a degree at the Art Institute of Chicago.''