J. Cole mixes gold and blue, gets green

Grammy-nominated artist J. Cole will be performing at the West Virginia University Coliseum stage this Friday along with Tyga and Big K.R.I.T.

Born Jermaine Cole, J. Cole was the first artist signed to Jay-Z’s new Roc Nation label. Rolling Stone calls him a "technically superb rapper," who packs his album with "sleek, snappy, mostly self-produced tracks with dozens of great punch lines."

Cole made himself notable through a scholarly approach to the game.

Boasting similar success, Tyga recently signed with Lil Wayne’s label Young Money Entertainment. An acronym for "Thank You God Always," Tyga began his rise after impressing Gym Class Heroes’ Travie McCoy and joining the band on tour.

Tyga’s latest release, "Rack City," is currently on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Joining J. Cole and Tyga, Big K.R.I.T. got his break when an Atlanta disc jockey placed his song "They Gone Hate" on a mixtape without request. His street album "Wuz Here" earned him the respect of many labels, including Def Jam Recordings.

In addition to the musical acts, this J. Cole performance is also part of the Spring 2012 Campus Consciousness Tour.

The Campus Consciousness Tour aims to inspire students in an electric atmosphere while leaving a positive impact on each community the tour visits.

Along with educating and mobilizing students, the tour includes many greening elements and is run to have a minimal environmental footprint.

Concertgoers can visit the Brita FilterForGood Music Project tent at the Coliseum on Friday to play games and win Brita prizes.

In addition, attendees can do their part to reduce bottled water waste by filling up a reusable Nalgene bottle with free Brita filtered water.

So far, the Brita FilterForGood movement has saved more than 360 million plastic bottles from potentially ending up in landfills.

Through Brita’s partnership with the Preserve Gimme 5 program, concertgoers are also invited to recycle their used Brita filters at the Music Project tent in exchange for a new Brita filter. Preserve’s Gimme 5 program transforms the plastic from the water filters into new, 100 percent recycled Preserve products, like toothbrushes and razors.

Tickets are available at the Creative Arts Center box offices. Tickets are also available at 304-293-SHOW and online at www.ticketmaster.com.

WVU students are eligible for a $10 discount with a valid WVU ID. Ticket prices range from $28-48 depending on seating.

For more information on J. Cole and the Campus Consciousness Tour, you can visit their website at www.reverb.org/project/CCT/2012_Spring.