(NNPA)—Rappers Lil Wayne and Nicki Minaj have quite a few music awards under their belts, but their most recent honor may leave a few people scratching their heads.

Better Education Place, a South Florida-based education company, recently named the pair “teachers of the year” in its first teacher awards ceremony.

LIL WAYNE and NICKI MINAJ

Melvin El, CEO of the company, said the hip-hop artists were judged among several other “teachers,” based on several different categories including the ability to capture and maintain attention, the ability to move their audience or create interaction and their ability to inspire.

Week of Dec. 17-23

December 17

1663—Queen Nzingha of Angola dies at the age of 82. Known as the Warrior Princess of Matamba, Queen Nzingha gained legendary fame for her resistance to Portuguese attempts to colonize the interior of Africa. She also battled the Dutch slave trade. Leading a tribal group known as the Jugas, she is generally credited with leading the stiffest resistance to early European colonialism and imperialism.

EDDIE KENDRICKS

1939—Eddie Kendricks is born in Union Springs, Ala. Kendricks was the lead singer for the Temptations during the group’s heyday.

ATLANTA (AP)—When Bishop Eddie Long was accused of sexual misconduct by former church members, his congregation rallied around him and his wife stood by his side. About a year later, the Atlanta megachurch pastor is headed for divorce and stepping away from the pulpit.

BISHOP EDDIE LONG

by Terry Collins

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP)—A 1-year-old boy who was shot in the head during the filming of a rap music video in Oakland was taken off life support Dec. 9.

Hiram Lawrence, who would have turned 2 on Dec. 28, was pronounced dead at 3:05 p.m., Rev. Roosevelt Taylor said.

SHOT IN THE HEAD—In this Dec. 7, photo, Brittany Houston and Hiram Lawrence, holding a photo of his son, talk about their son’s condition at Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif. (AP Photo/The Tribune, Kristopher Skinner)

The boy’s family had held out hope that he would show some brain activity, but doctors at Children’s Hospital Oakland concluded after multiple tests that he was brain dead from the injuries he suffered in the shooting last month.