John Legend recalled ‘hustling’ as a student while previously attending the University of Pennsylvania. The 47-year-old Grammy winner, who is married to model Chrissy Teigen, also announced a generous donation for 50 college kids to assist with off-campus housing while partnering with platform Bilt. The All Of Me hitmaker, who is the son of a factory worker and seamstress, previously attended the prestigious Philadelphia college before graduating in 1999 with a Bachelor’s in English. During his partnership discussion, Legend said that he lived on campus grounds his first year at the private Ivy League school and the remaining three years the singer resided off campus. ‘So, I was paying my own rent. You know, I had a work-study job,’ he said, before explaining he would drive ‘a couple hours’ outside of the city for a church job. ‘I would drive up every weekend. So, I was hustling. And I was doing it so I could pay my rent. And so, I know what it feels like to be in that position.’ John Legend, 47, recalled ‘hustling’ as a student while attending private Ivy League University of Pennsylvania; seen earlier this month in NYC ‘I would drive up every weekend. So, I was hustling. And I was doing it so I could pay my rent. And so, I know what it feels like to be in that position,’ Legend saidYears following his own graduation, Legend shared that he will aid 50 students across four universities with housing for October Rent Day. ‘All these students that we will help are at risk of eviction and they need our help,’ the music artist said. ‘We are going to cover a month of off-campus housing costs.’ The schools that Legend will help students at include University of Pennsylvania, Morehouse, Central State and Wilberforce. Daily Mail has reached out to reps of Legend for comment, but has yet to hear back. Legend previously opened up about how his college days led him to his introduction to the professional music industry and his debut album Get Lifted (2004). ‘It started in college, while I was at Penn,’ he told Time Magazine. ‘I had moved there from small-town Ohio, and I was looking for a church gig to pay the bills. ‘I was introduced to the pastor at this AME church in Scranton, a couple hours north of Philly. And so I started going there every weekend.’ Through the church gig, Legend was eventually introduced to singer Lauryn Hill. He was later hired to play the piano on her track Everything Is Everything. ‘All these students that we will help are at risk of eviction and they need our help,’ the music artist said. ‘We are going to cover a month of off-campus housing costs’ The schools that Legend will help students at include University of Pennsylvania, Morehouse, Central State and Wilberforce; seen with Bilt founder and CEO Ankur Jain Legend previously opened up about how his college days led him to his introduction to the professional music industry and his debut album Get Lifted (2004); seen earlier this month in NYCThe star has been keeping busy and is preparing for the release of his forthcoming album titled Muse. His 12th studio album is set to release next month on October 23, and was notably produced by Pharrell Williams. The LP was announced earlier this month, and is the first project that Legend and Williams have worked on together. The tracks are described as ‘a cinematic, lush body of work that weaves together the strands of Black music, from gospel and the standards to doo-wop, classic soul, Afrobeat and hip-hop,’ per People. Some of their inspirations for the new music include Nat King Cole and Nina Simone.’I think my repertoire has always been very diverse, but the piano-driven ballads have gotten the most traction throughout my career,’ Legend stated in a press release. ‘I wanted to shake up the formula and do something fresh and new.’ The star has been keeping busy and is preparing for the release of his forthcoming album titled Muse; seen in 2025 in NYCAnd on September 11, Legend dropped the music video for the single Daylight. He followed up with another music video for the track Fireflies which was released on Friday. ‘A lot of this album is very transporting,’ Legend said during an interview with CBS Mornings. ‘A lot of it kind of feels cinematic like it could be in a movie.’ The singer also revealed how both he and Williams ended up working on the album together. His 12th studio album is set to release next month on October 23, and was notably produced by Pharrell Williams; seen earlier this month in L.A. Legend recalled that Williams ‘just randomly called me up. It was around Christmas time 2024. And he was asking like, “Hey do you want to come out to Paris and make some music?”‘; seen in 2025 Legend recalled that Williams ‘just randomly called me up. It was around Christmas time 2024. And he was asking like, “Hey do you want to come out to Paris and make some music?”‘ When it comes to creating music, Legend expressed that they both ‘challenge each other.”He really is a producer,’ the singer said of Williams. ‘The right kinds of producers are the ones that help the artist bring out the best in themselves. ‘He really does give great feedback for me, and I learned from him even though I’ve been doing it for a long time.’