Gerard ‘Hip Hop Gamer’ Williams gives presentation about character to students in multiple schools throughout Mount Vernon

Students from Mount Vernon High School, Denzel Washington School of the Arts, STEAM Academy, Rebecca Turner Academy, Mount Vernon Leadership Academy, and Grimes school gathered with anticipation for an assembly about their character from Gerard ‘Hip Hop Gamer’ Williams and other special guests on Thursday, February 29, 2024.  

“My program is called Playmakers and the tagline is ‘character is your currency’,”  said ‘Hip Hop Gamer’. “The concept around that is who you are is the value, not the pair of Jordans you have on. I wanted to break that stereotype so everybody can love one another and that is where your value and currency lies.” 

The assembly started off with AndreaThomas, Principal of DWSA, addressing the audience and introducing DJ Sparkx. DJ Sparkx played some hits to get the audience eager and excited for the presentation. He then proceeded to introduce ‘Hip Hop Gamer’ to the stage.  

Once ‘Hip Hop Gamer’ came to the stage, he invited two students to play a one-on-one game of NBA 2K to teach the audience a lesson about character development. The winner of the game was awarded $200 and had the opportunity to split the money with the student who played against him. Although many in the audience told the winning student to not share, he did anyway. Since he decided to share his winnings, the student was now rewarded with $400 because of his kindness and generosity.  

After teaching the students a lesson about character and kindness, he invited Matt Arden, Vice President of Content and Media for the NBA 2K League to the stage. Students asked questions about creating content, making connections in the industry, and building confidence in themselves.  

“With this particular program, we teach a lot of the kids that you can be the smartest in the room, but if you have a bad attitude and you don’t know how to represent yourself and respect others, you’re not going to make it far,” said ‘Hip Hop Gamer’. “Make sure you put your character, your love, and your respect first, and everything else will come and you’ll find your victory that way.”