Students are invited to take a break from all the hard work college brings and join Wilkes University Programming Board for a night of fun featuring the musical styling of T-Pain. On Sunday, April 15, T-Pain will perform for the Wilkes-Barre community at the F.M. Kirby Center.

Faheem Najm, otherwise known as his stage name, T-Pain, is an R&B, hip-hop, rap singer from Tallahassee, Florida. The 32-year-old started his career in a group called the “Nappy Headz.” When T-Pain left this group to go solo, he created a personal take on one of Akon’s songs. Akon is a R&B vocalist, songwriter and producer. When he heard T-Pain’s rendition of his song he signed the artist to his Jive/Zomba-supported Konvict Muzik label.

T-Pain is well-known for his auto-tone styled songs. It creates a signature ripple through the music that has became synonymous with voice modulation.

“Keep in mind, you can use Auto-Tune and you can know how to work it perfectly, but you still have to know how to write a good song,” said T-Pain, according to the Brainy Quote website.

T-Pain has won many awards throughout his career, including Black Entertainment Television (BET), Black Entertainment Television (BET) Hip-Hop and Broadcast Media Incorporated (BMI) Urban awards, to name a few. His most notable awards that he has won was his, not one but two, Grammy’s. T-Pain won Best Rap Song for “Good Life (with Kanye West)” and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for “Blame it (with Jamie Foxx).”

Every year, the Wilkes University Programming Board hosts a concert to offer students time away from their studies. Kya Lewis, Wilkes University Programming Board President, said a poll was sent out through social media to see what artist the Wilkes University student body preferred. Students had the option of choosing between four artists.

After working out the logistics, Lewis said “[T-Pain] was the best pick.”

“I think T-Pain being able to perform for students is amazing. He is a piece of everyone’s childhood and it’ll be such a throwback experience,” Lewis said.

T-Pain is back with a refreshing new perspective on music. Known for his “I AM T-PAIN” tour, that has circled the globe from the United States, Australia, Europe and beyond, he is bringing his high-energy enthusiasm to Wilkes-Barre.

“I think it’s going to be a great throwback concert for everyone to enjoy,” Gabrielle Butler, junior psychology major said.

“When I first found out that T-Pain was performing for our spring concert, I was excited because some of his new songs are really good in addition to his old hits that everyone grew up loving. I am super excited to go to the concert with my friends and have a great girls night,” Kayla Broscious, sophomore pharmacy major said.

Long-time  fan  Jacee Yorks was also excited to hear that T-Pain  will  be performing locally.

“I am most looking forward to the concert on April 15 because I love T-Pain. I was thrilled when I found out he was the Spring concert sponsored by Programming Board,” Yorks, junior business management major said.

She has enjoyed listening and dancing to his music since she was a young girl.

“I always try to attend the Wilkes University Programming Board concerts. I absolutely love them. A lot of work goes into planning the shows and bringing the artists to Wilkes, so I am super thankful to all the members of Programming Board for their hard work,” Yorks said.

Tickets are available for students through Wilkes University. Students can purchase tickets at a discounted price of $10 in the Student Union Building until Friday.

For more information on selling dates and times, follow @wilkesupb on Twitter. The general public can purchase tickets at the F.M. Kirby Center box office located at 71 Public Square, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701.

Tickets are also available online at www.kirbycenter.org or you can charge by phone at 570-826-1100. The cost is $30 per ticket for the public. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show begins at 7 p.m.