Angie Martinez sat down with Earn Your Leisure’s Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings for a wide ranging conversation that moved from jittery markets to jet lag, from credit tips to curriculum, from New York classrooms to Nairobi skylines. Below are the biggest takeaways, plus the moments that had the room reacting.
The vibe in the market, nervous but learning:
Rashad and Troy say the number one DM right now is about stocks, Bitcoin, and the fear that a crash is lurking even while indices look strong. People feel the economy wobbling, the market keeps running, anxiety spikes. The flip side, curiosity is way up. Young audiences especially want practical, step by step education that helps them invest without getting smoked.
A bigger map, nine countries in and counting:
EYL just covered Ghana, Rwanda, Kenya, Benin, plus more stops across the continent. Their goals, change the narrative, highlight real business, infrastructure, and yes, luxury travel. They stress a data point everyone should memorize, roughly 75 percent of Africa’s population is under 30, which means talent, consumer bases, and future builders. They show beaches in Côte d’Ivoire, safaris in Kenya, clean streets in Kigali, and ports and projects that do not fit outdated headlines.
Media is a lever, use it responsibly:
The trio gets into how media shapes what people believe. EYL argues for positive propaganda, not in a fake way, in a purposeful way that counters the doom scroll. They push back on divisive content, celebrity beefs, diaspora arguments, and algorithm bait that drains attention. If you have a platform, use it to inform, not inflame.
Classroom moves, from the Bronx to citywide:
EYL has a financial literacy curriculum running in 20 Bronx high schools, with a plan to take it citywide. A scheduled press conference last September stalled amid City Hall turmoil, so expansion paused, not canceled. The mission stands, make financial education mandatory in public schools, measure it, and protect time for it.
Credit tips for day one:
Rashad and Troy drop simple rules anyone can start today:
- Keep card usage at 10 to 30 percent of your limit, lower is better.
- Put predictable small costs on the card, coffee, gas, transit, then pay in full.
- Know the terms, APR, minimum payment, utilization, and credit age.
- Build habits early, or you will pay for mistakes for years.
- They even share stories of digging out of debt, consolidating, rebuilding scores, and using authorized user history wisely.
Short, sharp lessons, Foundation Forward on Hulu:
EYL’s series “Foundation Forward” serves bite size episodes, about eight to ten minutes, designed for the TikTok generation’s attention patterns. Topics include credit, home buying basics, and common money mistakes. You can finish season one in about an hour, then hand it to a cousin who needs guardrails.
Culture talk, competition without chaos:
The crew jokes about fan tribalism, Drake versus Kendrick, how debates used to live in lunchrooms and now flood timelines. The point, keep it on the music, do not drag families, fertility, or cheap shots into the discourse. In a polarized era, choose standards, not scorched earth.
Call to action, policy and people power:
EYL urges listeners to advocate with elected officials for mandatory financial literacy. They suggest a leader with both school and legislative experience could unlock progress, they name Jamaal Bowman as an example of someone who understands classrooms and Congress. Whoever the next administration is, push them, show up, and make curriculum decisions part of the platform.
Why this matters now:
Markets can rise while households feel squeezed, anxiety grows, and bad information spreads fast. Education is the antidote. A bigger map expands where we imagine opportunity lives. Media can divide or build, choose build. And if you only remember two numbers, 10 to 30 percent utilization for credit, and 75 percent of Africa under age 30, both shape the next decade.
Quick clip lines you can pull:
- “When people see us, they think business and opportunity, so we show them exactly where it is.”
- “Positive propaganda, use your platform to make people smarter.”
- “Learn credit early, or you will pay for it late.”
- “Financial literacy in every public school, that is the standard.”
Wrap up, this was classic Angie, smart questions and human moments, plus EYL in teacher mode, global tour mode, and neighborhood big brother mode, all at once.