As you may or may not know, the HBO tv show "How To Make It In America" was cancelled recently. The creator of the show, Ian Edelman, spoke to Grantland on Kid Cudi & Pusha T's acting while discussing the show's cancellation.
On The Show:
The show was about the high-low culture of New York City. You’d be following Rachel’s story line [at a baking magazine], and then you cut to Rene’s and he was shaking someone down that owes him money. There was something for everybody, and maybe that was the problem with finding an audience. You know, it was a little bit gangster, a little bit fashion, a little bit coming of age. I’m really proud of that. I don’t know any other show, especially in a half-hour, that does it. The Wire was genius: they did the city of Baltimore in a way that I’m still coming to understand. And we didn’t do that for New York. But we tried to stick our feet into a big chunk of it.
On Kid Cudi:
I do, man. I thought he lit it up. When he was cast, he wasn’t a famous rapper. He had a mixtape out, and I saw him on YouTube and I thought, this is a great example of how this character moves in the city. And then I bumped him into the club, and he came in and read, and he got better and better.
On Pusha T:
I knew him from his music, but I saw that he was coming in with no real prior acting experience and did a phenomenal job. He brought an awareness to the show [for rap fans]. And his character, you realize he’s an aspiring rapper, and that everyone’s on their grind. And we were always looking to cast that double threat, the music and the acting.