Musician Dizzee Rascal has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of East London.

The award-winning rapper, born in Bow and real name Dylan Mills, received the Honorary Doctorate of Arts for his “contribution to the east London community and beyond” at a ceremony at the O2 Arena in North Greenwich last week.

He said: “I have done a lot of crazy things in life, but this is one of the craziest things for me – it’s amazing.

“Early in my career I went to college and dropped out after a few months to really concentrate on my music career, so I didn’t get the chance to go to university.

“The closest I got was performing at universities along the way, so this is amazing.”

Social photographer David Hoffman also received an honorary doctorate, after photographing social unrest in the UK for the past 30 years.