Earlier this week, Lil Pump effectively bamboozled most of the music media with a single press release announcing he was slated to give the 2019 Harvard Commencement speech, an on-point way to promote his new record Harverd Dropout. Since then, Harvard University confirmed that German Chancellor Angela Merkel is still the scheduled speaker, and not the 18 year old "Gucci Gang" rapper. However, Pump did stop by the university's WHRB radio on February 28 for a "Lil Pump Herverd Takeover" for an unofficial commencement address, live interview, Q&A, and pop-up merch shop. Check out his speech in the video above, and watch clips from the event below.<doc-sep>On Friday, face-tatted teenage SoundCloud-rap miscreant Lil Pump released a new album called Harverd Dropout. The misspelling is intentional. Lil Pump never attended Harvard — or, for that matter, Harverd. He’s claimed that he was kicked out of his South Florida high school in 10th grade for fighting and for inciting a riot. But now he’s also claiming that he’s going to be Harvard’s commencement speaker this year. Harvard begs to differ. On Monday, Warner Bros., Lil Pump’s label, sent out a press release claiming that Lil Pump would deliver Harvard University’s 2019 commencement speech. Lil Pump himself even made a statement about this prestigious honor: You don’t gotta graduate from Harvard to do this speech. I dropped out, so they called me like they called the guy that made Windows and PCs and shit before I was born. You just need a cap and gown, which I got. When I found out, I was happy to give everyone a lesson. I’m all about the youth. Yes, they are the future. This is a preview of my speech, one word: ESSKEETIT!!!!! ! Sadly, that preview may be all we get to hear. As the Hill reports, Harvard has released a statement, claiming that German Chancellor Angela Merkel will actually be the one doing the honors this year: “As previously announced, Angela Merkel will be Harvard’s Commencement 2019 speaker.” Lil Pump will not replace her. The press release from Warner Bros. claims that the Harvard radio station WHRB made the announcement about Lil Pump as commencement speaker. And if you go to the WHRB website, you will see this headline: “Lil Pump is coming to WHRB; See Harvard’s 2019 Commencement Speaker Here.” But it just links to a Harvard Crimson article about Merkel being the speaker. (The article does not mention Lil Pump.) Harvard always has one big-name commencement speaker, but they also have different Class Day speakers. It’s possible that Lil Pump could be one of those speakers? But this is probably just a joke. We have reached out to Warner Bros. for clarification. The best way to solve this issue, clearly, is for Angela Merkel and Lil Pump to give the speech together.<doc-sep>Lil Pump's been cappin' all week after his label issued a press release claiming the Harverd Dropout would be making his way to the Ivy League University to deliver the commencement speech for this year's group of graduates. However, that's not the case as Consequence of Sound confirmed earlier today. Harvard University confirmed that he would appear on their college radio station for an interview but that's the only event Lil Pump's attached to that they're aware of. Jason Koerner/Getty Images “Lil Pump is not speaking at any commencement-related or other official University events. The only thing we are aware of that he is doing a live interview with WHRB Harvard Radio this Thursday and is taking questions from audience/listeners. That, though, is a Harvard Radio student event, not a Harvard University event," read the statement. This comes a few days after Harvard confirmed that Angela Merkel would not be replaced by Lil Pump, although they failed to confirm whether the rapper would have any involvement in commencement-related activities. The rapper released his project, Harverd Dropout last week after numerous push-backs in 2018. Clearly, this was a marketing ploy to keep the conversation going for longer. Lil Pump announced that he'll be hitting the road with Lil Skies, who's dropping new music this Friday, for their joint tour. Peep the dates below. April 19 – Seattle, Wash. @ Wamu Theater April 24 – Anaheim, Calif. @ House of Blues April 26 – San Francisco, Calif. @ The Warfield April 29 – Salt Lake City, Utah @ The Complex May 1 – Denver, Co. @ The Fillmore May 3 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ The Myth May 5 – Detroit, Mich. @ The Fillmore May 7 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ The Met May 8 – Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem May 9 – Boston, Mass. @ House of Blues May 10 – New York, N.Y. @ Terminal 5 May 14 – Atlanta, Ga. @ Coca-Cola Roxy May 16 – Dallas, Tx. @ South Side Ballroom May 17 – Houston, Tx. @ Revention Music Center May 18 – Austin, Tx. @ Stubb’s May 20 – El Paso, Tx. @ El Paso County Coliseum May 22 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ The Shrine Expo Hall<doc-sep>
Say what you will about Lil Pump's general aloofness, but the Harverd Dropout is sticking to his story to the bitter end. While you might not see his name in the annals of the University's record books, Pump is keen on squaring up with an actual Harvard audience on school grounds, in a Balls to the Wall clash of learning styles. I wish I were kidding.. Tabatha Fireman/Getty Images Facebook lists the event as "Lil Pump: Harvard x Harverd Activation," set for the afternoon of the 28th, which so happens to be tomorrow. While Pump's early claims revolved around him giving a commencement speech for Harvard's graduating class, we have since been told, no such plans existed, especially not the expense of the German Chancellor Angela Merkel, as Pump's team initially reported. Instead, "Lil Pump: Harvard x Harverd Activation" figures to be nothing more than a speaking engagement on Harvard college radio, but in order to stick out amidst a frenzied media cycle, Pump and his team decided to partake in a little roleplay-embellishment to enrich the brand. "The only thing we are aware of that he is doing a live interview with WHRB Harvard Radio this Thursday and is taking questions from audience/listeners," a rep for WHRB told the media. "That, though, is a Harvard Radio student event, not a Harvard University event." The Harvard theme has long been associated with the Lil Pump brand mythology, so it's easy to see why they opted to further the narrative, even at the risk of putting the Harvard graduating class in the throes of a panic attack.