Lil Wayne to perform at WVU on April 7

MORGANTOWN — At the 59th annual Grammy Awards held Sunday at Los Angeles’ Staple Center, Lil Wayne added to his Grammy Award repertoire when “No Problem” — his collaboration with Chance the Rapper and 2 Chainz — won best rap performance. Now the New Orleans-born hip-hop recording artist and former member of The B.G.’z (with Lil’ Doogie) and Hot Boys is coming to the West Virginia University Coliseum. Showtime is set for 8:30 p.m. April 7 and tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday.

“Our students have been requesting Lil Wayne for a while now,” said Kristie Stewart-Gale of WVU Arts & Entertainment. “He’s an icon in the hip hop world having earned five Grammy Awards himself and being the CEO of his own label, he is a huge influence on new artists in the genre.”

Rap, in general, is a huge draw on the WVU campus. That, combined with the energy always present in the WVU Coliseum should make for a great concert, Stewart-Gale said.

“We expect a highly-anticipated show like this one to be a high-energy atmosphere,” she said. “We all know that there is no place like the Coliseum, whether the entertainment be the Mountaineer Men’s Basketball team or a million-selling artist.”

Born Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr., Lil Wayne began his rap career at age 11. After playing with the B.G.’z and The Hot Boys, he launched his solo career in 1999 with the release of “Tha Block is Hot.” Hits to follow have included: “Lollipop,” “A Milli,” “She Will” and “6 Foot 7 Foot.”

“Everyone who listens to hip-hop knows Lil Wayne and knows his music,” Stewart-Gale said.

In addition to Sunday’s Grammy win, the artist — through the years — has won Best Rap Solo Performance (“A Milli”), Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group (“Swagga Like Us” with TI, Kanye West and Jay-Z), Best Rap Song (“Lollipop”) and Best Rap Album (“Tha Carter III”).

Just this month, Lil Wayne surpassed Drake for the most Billboard Hot 100 appearances with his 133rd appearance on Wale’s “Running Back.

His upcoming appearance at WVU is a first-time event.

“He has not played here before, so being part of his latest string of college concerts is very exciting for us,” Stewart-Gale said.

The show is suitable for all ages, but being a college town, it is expected the audience will be primarily university students, she said. WVU student discounted tickets range from $29 to $44 and are limited to one ticket per valid WVU Student ID at the campus box offices or one discounted ticket per valid offer code on Ticketmaster.com.

General public tickets range from $29 for 200 Level tickets to $64 for general admission floor tickets. Tickets go on sale 10 a.m. Friday at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 800-745-3000 and 304-293-SHOW (7469). The event is produced by WVU Arts & Entertainment