J. Cole to perform with special guests at WVU Coliseum

Grammy-nominated rapper J. Cole will perform with special guests Tyga and Big K.R.I.T. Friday night at The West Virginia University Coliseum.

"Cole World: The Sideline Story," J. Cole’s debut album, quickly achieved gold status and remains in the Billboard top 100.

J. Cole, born Jermaine Cole, was influenced by rappers like Tupac Shakur and Canibus whose raps tell stories as opposed to simply repeating catchy lines.

As a North Carolina native, he began writing story-based lyrics when he was 15 years old. Rolling Stone praised J. Cole as a "technically superb rapper," whose album features "sleek, snappy, mostly self-produced tracks with dozens of great punch lines."

Since J. Cole’s appearance on Jay-Z’s 2009 album, "The Blueprint," he has achieved moderate fame and was the first artist to be signed under Jay-Z’s New Nation Label.

His scholarly style can be accredited to his education; he graduated Sigma Cum Laude from St. John’s University on an academic scholarship.

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," was on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 on the Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.

Big K.R.I.T. has been chasing his dreams of being a rap star since age 12 and was producing his own music at age 14.

Through his persistence and underground success, Big K.R.I.T. is beginning to make his mark in the rap game.

His career found momentum in 2005 when an Atlanta DJ placed his song "We Gon’ Hate" on a mixtape.

Big K.R.I.T.’s debut studio album, "Live From the Underground," will be released this year and features collaboration with legendary bluesman B.B. King.

The concert is a part of the Spring 2012 Campus Conciousness Tour, which aims to inspire students to be more aware of the impact they have on the environment.

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

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

In addition, reusable Nalgene bottles filled with free Brita filtered water will be available to those who attend.

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 will be available until show time at the Mountainlair and CAC box offices and on www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at 304-293-SHOW and 800-745-3000.

Tickets range from $28 to $48. WVU students receive a $10 discount with their valid WVU I.D., one discount per student.