"Pay homage" isn't just a phrase, it's a lifestyle. It's very apparent that University of North Texas alum Mark Phillips lives this lifestyle to the fullest. 

He scrapped the boring traditional graduation picture route, and decided to pay tribute to his musical inspirations in hip-hop culture. 

Phillips' series of photos, featured on his Instagram page, recreates some of his favorite hip-hop album covers, including Kendrick Lamar’s DAMN., J. Cole’s 4 Your Eyez Only, Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book and, of course, The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.

I wanted to be creative with these graduation pictures while also thanking a few of my favorite artists. (S/o to Aff for taking these @cleanuniform)So I recreated their album covers with me graduating on them ????????. These artists kept me focused and inspired to stay on the right path while accomplishing the goals I set for myself through their music and words. Thanks for all the inspiration and creativity (SCROLL to see them all guys!) @realcoleworld @bigsean @brysontiller @logic301 @kendricklamar @champagnepapi @chancetherapper @ms_laurynhill

A post shared by Mark Phillips (@supremedreams_1) on Apr 28, 2017 at 2:12pm PDT

In a statement given to Complex, Phillips confirmed that he wanted to honor the artists whose music helped his studies while also celebrating his own achievement. “Their music really has kept me inspired to keep pushing towards my goals.”

The photo shoot was definitely a good idea, but to make his mama happy, he decided to get traditional graduation photos as well.

“I didn’t tell my mom about these pictures at first,” he said. “I knew she’d be happy, but secretly she would want some regular ones to send to my family. So I took some regular ones for my family and these for my creative side/for the artists.”

Graduating with style, indeed!