We had the good fortune of connecting with G.R.I.T.S. and the City and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi G.R.I.T.S., what was your thought process behind starting your own business?

When G.R.I.T.S. and the City Podcast was originally conceived, our thought process was two fold. The brainchild of the premise and cohost, Andrea Hill aka Drea G, —the goal was to bring a group of dynamic southern belles together and tap into an underserved market of transplants living and thriving in New York City.

As we’ve lived in NYC for close to 10 years (Drea G over ten and The Black Rogue almost ten), we understand the type of “grit” it takes to survive in the city and chart our own course. As such, we felt compelled to create a platform where we could share with listeners our unique perspectives, and coming of age stories as southern women who spent the whole of our adulthood in the big apple.

“G.R.I.T.S”. was created by us both to cultivate a funny, raw, and wildly entertaining space for fellow girls and guys raised down South. As well as provide useful tips to those considering relocating, debunking myths and stereotypes when it come to East Coast versus the Third Coast, and discussions around a slew of provocative topics ranging from career, sex, culture and more.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?

We’re most proud of the fact that both of us have stayed in New York City on our own terms. After living in NYC for years, we’ve seen people come and go. Some stay for years…while some stay for a few months. It’s empowering to realize you can make it on your own. As both of us are single, don’t have children, and are self sufficient, we have had more time to focus on ourselves, ambitions and what feeds us. We’re both very creative in our own ways, sharing similar paths.

With Andrea (Drea G) garnering a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from Texas Tech University, and Tasha (The Black Rogue) with a Bachelor’s Degree from Florida A&M University in Public Relations and Master’s Degree from Florida State University in Integrated Marketing communications and Management, we both had the unique desire to be storytellers. This led to us both going down a myriad of paths and ultimately embarking on our own path to be podcasters.

Tasha aka The Black Rogue landed her first job in the Big Apple in Entertainment at MTV then later developed a career within Beauty and Advertising and myself (Drea G) working in Sales, Marketing and later getting into Entertainment as a Writer/Blogger for the legendary DJ Funk Flex. Hot 97 definitely helped stoke the fire and interest to explore radio/ podcasting. In some sense, we both always wanted to be personalities, but running a show on our own takes a lot of savvy and it’s still very much a learning curve as the market continues to change and our audience continues to grow and evolve with us. Whether we’re talking editing, show production, branding, marketing etc., handling the creative as well as the business aspect takes a lot of grit. Which we both have in spades, and has allowed us to keep going.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

The Fall and Summer hands down are the best times and seasons to visit NYC. Whether its free concerts featuring your favorite artists like Burna Boy. Or shopping in Soho or down Fifth Avenue….or more cultural activities such as the Puerto Rican Day parade, West Indian Day parade or the African Street Festival.

The city is a beautiful melting pot with an unmatched frenetic energy. Whether we’re brunching with friends down at Peaches in Bedford-Stuyvesant (Bedstuy) for some Southern comfort food…. or checking out the breathtaking city views at the Brooklyn 1 hotel rooftop…or even shooting down to Williamsburg to visit the trendy Kokomo NYC restaurant, for Caribbean fusion dishes, we love that each borough has a unique style and vibe of its own. There’s truly no place like NYC. From hitting hot spots in Meatpacking like Tao and The Standard….or LES’ Sons of Essex, or headed Uptown to hang out at The Shrine in Harlem…..Or City Island in the Bronx for seafood. NYC is where it’s at in terms of culture, entertainment and fun.

From New York Fashion Week in the fall, to experiencing Halloween in the city…or the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade, or even the Fourth of July Fireworks display…..there’s always a certain electricity in the city, but especially in these seasons.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?

We credit all the successful G.R.I.T.S. and business men and women living and thriving in the city. From Solange Knowles, Erykah Badu, Brandice Daniels (Creator of Harlem Fashion Row) Karleen Roy (owner of The Vanity Group), Womenswear designer Christopher John Rogers, we are inspired by all the success stories of southerners doing it big in the city of dreams.. Which proves the point, it doesn’t matter where you come from. If you can make it in NYC, you can make it anywhere.

We love how the south is continuously shifting and pushing the culture and conversation forward. Shout out to all the incredible talent like Beyonce, Megan Thee Stallion, Travis Scott, OutKast, Lil Wayne, UGK, Master P and more that have helped put the South on the map.

We’re just happy to be apart of that conversation, helping to put on for our perspective cities…. Dallas and Houston.

Website: http://www.gritsandthecitypodcast.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gritsandthecitypodcast/?hl=en

Twitter: https://twitter.com/gritscity?lang=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=grits%20and%20the%20city%20podcast

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC308SEYQ3Lvvy2MsXq3zoPg

Other: https://gritsandthecitypodcast.podbean.com https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/g-r-i-t-s-and-the-city-podcast/id1443940859

Image Credits
Jeremy “Rich” Morris of Let’s Shoot TV

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