Karlie Hustle Interview: Talks Hot 97 Departure, Next Steps on ‘Stoop Sessions with S.B.’ (Video)

Karlie Hustle recently resigned as Music Director at NY’s Hot 97. Now, she opens up about her radio past, and entrepreneurial future.

In her high powered, sometimes controversial position as music director at iconic New York rap radio station Hot 97, Karlie Hustle often found herself having to defend the actions of the station, and the playlist that she helped curate, during waves of dissatisfaction by citizens of the city the station serves.

It was probably something of a no-win situation. The job is inherently difficult, perhaps impossible, if the goal is to balance the requirements of a corporate driven, terrestrial radio station and the varied perspectives of a audience with a long standing, unique history of, involvement in and passion for the culture that the music comes from.

In Karlie Hustle’s defense, she helped orchestrate a regular concert event series that highlighted upcoming local artists, even if those artists never found themselves broadcast over the station’s airwaves. She was also instrumental in enlisting New York-area talent for appearances at the station’s famed Summer Jam concert series. In the interview, she contends that not being a native New Yorker wasn’t a big stumbling block.

“Not really. I knew that I was somebody that was going to do the work that needed to be done to ‘belong’ in New York,” she says. “When you do radio in different cities, you learn how to assess the lay of the land, you do your research, check the history, be in the streets with the people… I think there’s a lot of people that are from New York that don’t pay attention to what’s happening here. It really depends on the person’s work ethic and hustle and real interest in the culture, and if you have that, you can come from anywhere and make a difference.”

Karlie Hustle did recognize that the station hasn’t always been able to stay completely focused on appeasing its traditional New York hip hop audience. “I don’t disagree that Hot 97 has likely changed,” she stated, but explained that a lot of it is due to the changing nature of the radio business at large, including ratings systems and the “homogenization” of radio due to corporatization of the industry.

RELATED: Hot 97, Chuck D, The FCC and Me: An Update on the Filed FCC Petition to Take Hot 97 Off The Air

Despite whatever difficulties or criticism she might have faced, Karlie Hustle was able to forge a name for herself in the nation’s most competitive radio market. Yet, as part of a wave of recent changes at the station, she decided it was time to move on, and recently resigned as music director to “take a break,” as well as branch off and pursue other opportunities, including various entrepreneurial ventures.

Karlie Hustle, who has been in the radio business for many years in cities such as Phoenix and San Diego, now seeks to truly personify the “HUSTLE” bow tie that she proudly wears, a creation she helped bring to life. The combination of her experiences, coupled with her desire to create something new, should position Karlie Hustle well in her new endeavors.

While many interested in the hip hop radio landscape are closely watching Hot 97’s next steps, it will be equally interesting to see where life after Hot brings Karlie Hustle.

To explain where she’s been, where she’s at and where she’s going, Karlie Hustle sat down for an in-depth conversation with Sue Biello (@SB_not_BS) for an episode of Stoop Sessions with SB. Check it out below, courtesy of NoMercyTV.com.

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