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Aaron J. Thornton#638682#51B ED/Getty Images2018 has been a landmark year for Michael Bivins of New Edition and Bell Biv Devoe. He turned 50 years old in August, and in June, he received an honorary high school diploma.
Bivins returned to Belmont High School in Belmont, Massachusetts for the ceremony. 33 years ago, in 1985, he left school as a 15-year-old sophomore to become a full time entertainer. He remembers growing up with New Edition member Ronnie DeVoe, and how proud he was to be honored by his school.
“It felt good because my speech was my SAT,” Bivins tells ABC Radio. “It was to inspire the other black kids from the program Ron and I come from, Metco, on what you could be, but don’t do it the way I did because the way I did it, you might not be here. All of my teachers, people I played ball with that became policemen, they were all there,” he continues.
The singer/rapper will never forget reuniting with some of his former classmates.
“When I walked in the gym, I was looking at my man Chris Donahue and he used to play besides me playing ball,” Bivins recalls.
“So it was emotional, not just with the paper, it was just the fact that all of us that touched each other, they were there to take in the moments and my kids were there,” he says. “My daughter spoke, Savanna. She was up there like a big girl. That meant everything to me and my mother was here, living to see it.”
Bivins is now on tour with Bell Biv DeVoe on the RBRM tour featuring Bobby Brown. The tour kicked off September 6 in Ontario, California, and wraps up Sunday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
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