Originally filed Thursday, July 19, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
In January, 2004, NBC introduced Donald Trump as the ultimate real estate mogul on a new reality show called "The Apprentice." Less than 13 years later, he became the leader of the free world.
Tonight, Atlanta business mogul, actor and hip-hop star T.I. will be seeking to hire his own "apprentice" of sorts on a similarly designed show with an urban flair called "The Grand Hustle" on BET at 10 p.m.
Will this lead T.I. down a political path? We can check back in 2032.
The show, as noted, breaks no new ground in the genre. Diddy did something similar for two seasons on VH1 from 2008 to 2010 though in that case, it was being an “assistant” to him.
The contestants get to stay in a fancy mansion in Atlanta. T.I. told my colleague Melissa Ruggieri recently that the winner would get a six-figure job for the Grand Hustle empire so it's clearly a higher-level post than merely an assistant.
“This was a phenomenal experience on so many levels,” he told her. “I got a chance to work alongside so many talented individuals who are on their way, beginning to figure out their path to success. All of them have incredible skills. To sift through the pool of talent put before me and find the one who was perfect for what I needed them for, that was an awesome experience.”
Here are some notable observations based on the first episode I screened in advance:
- The contestants are a mix of business savvy young folks in various hustle modes. And there is a Trump reference! Brandon upfront describes himself as a Republican who has met with “prime ministers and presidents” and “pimps and hustlers” and will “always win and I’m not Donald Trump.”
-T.I. dresses to a tee on the show. He opens the show in an impressively sharp fitted red suit. “If you do not seize this moment, “he said, “you will regret it.” Pause. “No pressure.” He is low key but intense during presentations and eliminations.
- Reality show cliche line of the day is from George: “I’m not here to make friends.” And believe me, he doesn’t. Things don’t get any better for him the second episode as he calls another dude a “girl,” like he’s in eighth grade in 1984. “You’re a punk!” Yonathan yells at George at one point. Nobody likes him.
- The first hustle: four teams of four are given a bottle of water. They go on the streets of downtown Atlanta around Woodruff Park and Centennial Olympic Park and try to convince random people to “trade up.” Whoever ends up with the most valuable item wins. You instantly see some interesting strategic dynamics and trades. One team chose a strategy more based on knowledge and sentiment than dollar amount. Will T.I. be impressed or not?
- The second hustle in the second episode is selling T.I. merchandise at pop-up stores in Little Five Points and East Atlanta. It’s not a fair competition between the two teams. Little Five Points generally has more foot traffic than East Atlanta - especially for retail. Honestly, I’m not sure there would have been any other neighborhood to match Little Five Points for an Akoo store except perhaps right by Georgia State University downtown. The producers might have been constrained by where they could actually place a pop-up store.
- T.I. asks similar questions that Trump used to do on “The Apprentice,” focusing on asking contestants who the “weakest link” is on their teams in hopes of sussing out disagreements and turmoil.
TV PREVIEW
“The Grand Hustle,” 10 p.m. Thursdays, starting July 19, BET
