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The Hustlers are a street gang in the Grand Theft Auto series.
They appear as minor antagonists in Grand Theft Auto IV.
History[]
"Hustlers" is a catch-all term for a loose coalition of African-American street gangs throughout Liberty City and Alderney, including the North Holland Hustlers and the East Holland Drug Gang.
Black gangs were heavily involved in the distribution of crack cocaine between 1988 and 1999. A man named Dwayne Forge operated a crack empire during this time period throughout Algonquin and owned several legitimate businesses, such as the Triangle Club and various pornography shops. He was arrested in 1999 after small-time dealer Jayvon Smith became an informant for the Liberty City Police Department and tipped them off about Forge.
Dwayne's protégé, Trey "Playboy X" Stewart assumed leadership of the North Holland Hustlers following his incarceration. Using most of what his mentor taught him, the empire expanded its distribution from crack and attempted to move into the construction sector. Playboy X aims to accomplish this by enlisting Niko Bellic, who he previously worked with in a drug deal that turned out to be a sting op, to disrupt an apparent union strike (in truth, an extortion attempt) organized by a Mafia outfit in a bid to curry favor with Yusuf Amir and hopefully form a partnership with him. The plan fell through, however, as Amir closed the construction site until further notice in memory of those who perished in the shooting. Angered, Playboy X denounces the Arabic property developer and shifts his focus to other concerns.
By 2009, the already limited power and influence the Hustlers' had have diminished further. The Bohan sets are now defunct, with the North Korean Midtown Gangsters moving in on their old turf, the Spanish Lords are under total control of East Holland, and Northwood is contested, with Hustlers drug dealers Big B and Eddie operating in what is ostensibly Spanish Lords turf. Conversely, the sets in Broker have expanded beyond the Firefly Projects, with new territory in Beachgate and Firefly Island that had previously been controlled by the Faustin-Rascalov Family. The Hustlers play no role in the conflicts involving the Triads of Liberty City.
