51视频

One night after helping the 51视频 men鈥檚 basketball team to an early-season win at home over Saint Peter鈥檚 University, graduate student 鈥�24 found himself on stage at the Strand Ballroom & Theatre in Providence, Rhode Island, opening for multiplatinum rapper Polo G.

Performing under his rap name, Ant Blunt, he wore a light gray T-shirt with a matching knit cap. 鈥淏lunTIC,鈥� the name of his family鈥檚 budding clothing line, was on the front of his shirt. On the back was an alien-looking cartoon character that Blunt once sketched called a 鈥淭IC,鈥� which now serves as the brand logo.

Standing before a constellation of camera phone lights, Blunt experienced the ultimate distillation of his passions for music, art and fashion.聽

鈥淲hen I get on stage, I鈥檓 excited to showcase what I can do,鈥� says Blunt, who began focusing on music when a knee injury forced him to miss his junior year of basketball with the River Hawks.聽

Blunt鈥檚 first big musical break came in January 2023 when he opened for Trippie Redd at the Tsongas Center. In September 2024, he opened for one of his favorite rappers, Sheff G, at Roadrunner in Boston. As fans swarmed Blunt for selfies after the show, he wore a black tracksuit that had just dropped on bluntic.com.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 crazy to think about the shows that I鈥檝e done in this short amount of time. People I've met have been doing music their entire life, and they look at me and I鈥檓 doing the most extravagant stuff,鈥� he says.

Blunt has been painting and drawing since he was 鈥渨ee small鈥� in Glenn Dale, Maryland. He chose to major in digital media at UML, where he joined his older brother, Allin Blount 鈥�23, on the men鈥檚 basketball team. Blunt earned his spot (and eventual scholarship) as a walk-on and was named to the America East all-rookie team.聽

Meanwhile, Blunt started customizing shoes with paint and sharing his creations on social media. When the likes and shares started to pile up, he realized he could help his father, Alvin, promote the family fashion business that he鈥檇 launched in 2015. He started by sketching the TIC, which was Allin鈥檚 family nickname as a child.聽

鈥淲e always knew that he could succeed in whatever he decided to do,鈥� says Alvin, who personally embroiders the BlunTIC logo on all of their garments.

As an MBA student in the Manning School of Business, Blunt tries to connect everything that he鈥檚 learning in the classroom to the brand.聽

鈥淲hen I鈥檓 learning a concept, I鈥檒l think about how it can influence what we have going on,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 think my MBA is going to help this grow.鈥澛犅�

And of course, being able to model BlunTIC on stage, in his music videos and on social media has been a boon.聽

鈥淚t鈥檚 cool seeing people wear it, or even just friends of mine having it in their wardrobe,鈥� he says.