Jerome Hunt, a Madison-raised rapper, musician and producer who performs as Romey, is launching his first nonprofit event this weekend with a free youth basketball clinic featuring former NBA player and Madison native Vander Blue.
Hunt is founder and CEO of Get Rich Community Foundation, a new nonprofit built around two programs. The Get Rich Academy offers youth basketball skill development — including strength and conditioning, weight training and “basketball IQ” — alongside music instruction in rapping, singing, engineering and producing. The Get Rich Initiative, aimed at adults, focuses on credit repair, tax preparation and helping people from the urban community become first-time homebuyers, building on credit-repair work Hunt said he has done for more than a decade.
“Everything to empower financial empowerment,” Hunt said of the programs’ goal.
Blue, who starred at the former Madison Memorial High School before playing at Marquette and going on to a professional career that included stints with the Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers, has known Hunt since childhood. Hunt mentored Blue starting when Blue was in sixth grade at Soundcheck Studio on West Beltline Highway.
“That brotherhood, that partnership has never wavered,” Hunt said. “I know what it takes, how many hours you need to put in the gym, how many hours you need to put into strength and conditioning, how much it costs to get him to the NBA, because I paid that price.”
Blue went on to win a state championship at Memorial, reach the Elite Eight at Marquette, and share an NBA roster with Kobe Bryant during his rookie stint with the Lakers. He was later named MVP of the G League.
Hunt himself has cut his teeth in the coaching ranks, guiding Get Rich Academy teams to first and second place finishes at a number of AAU tournaments.
The clinic runs Saturday and Sunday and is split by age group: younger campers, from elementary through middle school, take part from 9 to 11 a.m., followed by an afternoon session for older kids from noon to 2 p.m. covering similar but more advanced material. Each session includes eight stations focused on dribbling, shooting form, passing, offensive moves and defensive positioning, along with a station addressing mental health and self-confidence. C
“The motivational aspects of it is just as important and will affect how you go out there and perform on that court,” Hunt said.
Hunt will coach alongside Roy Boone, with whom he co-founded the Get Rich Academy, and his mentor Craig Hodges, a three-time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls and three-time NBA All-Star Weekend three-point contest champion. Blue is also expected both days.
“The level of basketball that the kids are doing in Milwaukee, Chicago is totally different than what we’re doing here,” he said. “I’m coming back to the neighborhood to change that narrative.”
Registration for young athletes is full, but the foundation is still seeking donations to cover trainer compensation and supplies. Those interested in sponsoring or donating can call 608-707-2109 or email [email protected].
Hunt said he plans to hold Get Rich Academy tryouts this winter, and a masquerade gala in October celebrating his mother, longtime Madison nonprofit leader Jackie Hunt, as she prepares to step back from her own nonprofit work.
“She’s leaving the nonprofit space, and her oldest firstborn is actually entering,” Hunt said. “It’s a lot of symbolism and a lot of meaning for sure, and us being able to have that event in October.”
