30 Mar 2010
New York Hustle
If you live in NYC, you have it — right? That’ s always how I’ve thought the axiom goes, from E.B. White’s Here is New York til now. Even if you’re not a famous writer/singer or a TV character.
I’ve been thinking about this attitude due to the New York cover story on the genesis of Lady Gaga and HBO’s How to Make It in America, both of which I’m warming to.
The Gaga story has a great quote, rightly plucked for the front page and placed next to the scowl/smirk of a young Stefani Germanotta from the Upper West Side: “I’m from New York. I will kill to get what I need.”
Meanwhile, How to Make It in America (or Entourage: New York, if you prefer), follows two dudes from Brooklyn trying to get their new clothing line off the ground. They do everything from scalping tickets to hitting up rich (read: lame) finance guys to fund their dream. The theme song is, of course, called “I Need a Dollar.”
From what I feel myself and can tell, New York Hustle real. I’ve seen it in my friends who’ve come here from college and built their careers, and many more people see it in some of the great startups based here. I’ve seen it in a friend’s brother’s band, which keeps churning out great songs. I don’t think it’s manufactured in magazines and on TV, just expressed there — because so many aspsire to a piece of it.
Have you seen it?
