John Legend and Bilt to Cover Rent for 50 Students

John Legend and Bilt are teaming up to help some ordinary people ... by paying the rent for 50 students across 4 universities.

The colleges include historically Black institutions Morehouse College, Central State University, and Wilberforce University ... and John's alma mater, the University of Pennsylvania.

The cause is near and dear to John's heart because he knows first-hand the struggle of getting your rent paid on time ... especially as a college student.

Describing his time living off-campus at UPenn, he said ... "I was paying my own rent, you know, I had a work-study job. I had a job at a church outside of Philly, a couple hours north of Philly. I would drive up every weekend. So, I was hustling, and I was doing it so I could pay my rent, you know, and so I know what it feels like to be in that position."

On top of the university support, Bilt members can also score free rent for themselves by playing "Rent Free" -- a monthly game show Bilt hosts, with John serving as October's guest player.

In addition to having their rent taken care of ... they can also get access to John's limited-edition "Muse" vinyl with custom artwork, available for pre-order starting today.