Harlem Hustle

By Janet McDonald

Hustle's personal Harlem was sorely in need of a renaissance. For him, it was the place where a scared kid named Eric Samson had been ditched by druggy parents and dismissed by frustrated teachers.

Abandoned to the streets to raise himself, Eric Samson knows life won't be easy, beginning with the choices he must make. The fast cash of the streets still tempts him, but the threat of getting locked up – again – is daunting. Maybe Eric's way out is as Harlem Hustle, the rapper he dreams of being. At his side is Manley "Ride" Freeman, surrogate brother and best friend. And Jeannette Simpson, the college-bound "round-the-way" girl he hopes will be more than a friend. But does Eric have the strength to leave the familiar street life behind and the courage to reach for his dream?

In her companion to Brother Hood, Janet McDonald once again captures the rhythms of Harlem in this fast, funny story of a restless teenager who uses the power of words to rise above it all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Macmillan Publishers
• Release date: Oct 3, 2006
• ISBN: 9781466803183

Janet McDonald

Janet McDonald is Associate Professor (Theatre Studies), and is currently the School Coordinator of Creative Arts at the University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba, Australia. Robert Mason is Lecturer (Migration and Security Studies) at Griffith University, Brisbane, Australia.

Reviews for Harlem Hustle

[salsabrarian · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Like many young aspiring rappers, Hustle dreams of making it big in the music industry. In the meantime, he gets by with his "retail business" (selling stolen clothing). There is a pathos to Hustle's impassioned determination especially when he is unwittingly gamed twice by music execs. But his dicey ways take a turn for the more productive when his girlfriend's mother gives him a book of black poetry and he returns to school at an alternative setting. McDonald is clearly down with the 'hood, authentically portraying its voices and culture. There is humor here, too, in Hustle and Ride's friendship, and the clash of social classes.