50 Cent wants Jay Z, Dr. Dre for new TV show that helps teens graduate

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50 Cent is putting his passion for education into practice in season 2 of his reality series Dream School.

The show, which debuted to critical acclaim last year on SundanceTV, is back with a whole new season set in a new school, with the same purpose: helping high school dropouts graduate.

Celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and rap legend Chuck D join 50 Cent and a host of other celebrities including Olympic medalist Johnny Weir, rights activist Gloria Allred, Emmy award-winning screenwriter and director Cliff Dorfman and more.

In an interview with theGrio’s Chris Witherspoon, 50 Cent talked about the new season of Dream School and how this show is truly a second chance for the students that attend.

“It’s a huge second chance. The kids involved would already be a part of the statistic of 3,000,030 kids that drop out of school a year in America…. Every 26 seconds, a kid drops out,” 50 Cent said. “The schooling system I don’t believe is like one size fits all. The kids have different things going on that create distractions for them.”

Chuck D gives high school students tough love on Dream School

Last month, Dr. Dre topped Forbes list as the highest paid hip-hop artist with $620 million is pre-tax earnings between June 2013 and June 2014, followed by Jay Z and Diddy, who tied with $60 million in earnings. 50 Cent, Swizz Beats, and Lil Jon tied for an estimated $8 million in earnings.

50 Cent wants kids to realize that although hip-hop is a more lucrative business than ever, completing high school is still imperative.  Education is so important to him that he is reaching out for help from some of hip-hops heavyweights for Dream School season 3.

“[Education] It’s really important; this is why I’m encouraging Jay Z and Dr. Dre to be on my season 3 … to get them to be able to talk to kids,” 50 Cent revealed. They need to actually have the kids see them and feel them be a part of the reality of who they are and not just the persona.”

Dream School celebrities give advice to their younger selves

The Grammy winner also opened up about one of the biggest ills plaguing high schools across the U.S. today: bullying. 50 Cent discussed his own experiences with cyber bullying and said at one point he had to shut off social media.

“I’ve had to develop a defense mechanism to people saying things that I don’t agree with about my personality,” 50 Cent said. “When you’re a public figure, you’re public property for them to say these things to you. The new social networking allows them to say things to you that they wouldn’t say to your face. There’s so many areas that you can look at now that would be considered bullying.”

Dream School premieres tonight at 10/9c on SundanceTV.

Follow ‘Dream School’ on Twitter @DreamSchool.

Follow theGrio.com’s Entertainment Editor Chris Witherspoon on Twitter @WitherspoonC.