Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens is pushing back against criticism from the hosts of the popular business podcast “Earn Your Leisure,” using a public event to defend the city’s record of supporting Black businesses while announcing a $50,000 investment in organizations serving young creatives.
The exchange began after “Earn Your Leisure” co-founders Rashad Bilal and Troy Millings appeared on “The Breakfast Club,” where they discussed building their nationally recognized financial media company in Atlanta and questioned why they believe the city has done little to support their work.
Earn Your Leisure is a Black-owned financial education platform that has grown into one of the country’s most recognizable business brands. Through its podcast, live events and interviews with entrepreneurs, entertainers and investors, the company focuses on wealth-building, investing and financial literacy while drawing thousands to its annual Invest Fest conference in Atlanta.
Earn Your Leisure Calls Out Lack of Aid
During the interview, Millings said Atlanta has been the company’s home for the past six years but acknowledged the team has considered relocating because of what he described as a lack of local support.
“Its home has been Atlanta for obviously for the six years,” Millings said. “We flirted with the idea just because, you know, the lack of support that we’ve gotten from the city of Atlanta has been something that had been puzzling.”
When DJ Envy asked what the city had failed to provide, Bilal offered a more detailed explanation, saying his team wasn’t looking for handouts but the same level of assistance often extended to larger organizations.
“Atlanta’s done nothing for us,” Bilal said, adding that cities can assist by helping with marketing, hotel accommodations, public safety coordination, event logistics and other resources that make large-scale events easier to produce. He argued that Black entrepreneurs often face pressure to succeed without receiving the same support that more established companies receive.
“It’s one of these things I think a lot of times when you’re a Black entrepreneur a lot of things are just expected. They’re like oh you got it like, you good, or you know and it’s like if somebody else will come like a Forbes or somebody like that and they roll out the red carpet.”
Mayor Andre Dickens Responds
Dickens appeared to answer those remarks while speaking during a celebration of the city’s third annual Ciara Day. The Grammy-winning singer, entrepreneur and Atlanta native Ciara partnered with the mayor to invest $50,000 in organizations that mentor and support young people pursuing careers in music, film, fashion, technology, sports, dance, education and leadership.
The funding will provide scholarships, equipment, training, and other resources to aspiring creatives through 10 organizations.
Without mentioning Earn Your Leisure by name, Dickens referenced comments made “on the radio in New York” before defending Atlanta’s commitment to Black leadership and businesses.
“Somebody said something on the radio in New York about Atlanta,” Dickens said. “Somebody was talking about support.” He pointed to the event venue, noting it was managed by a Black woman, before announcing the city’s $50,000 investment in the Stewart Foundation.
Dickens added that Atlanta remains “substantial,” “important” and “consequential,” saying the city’s record speaks for itself.
Ciara echoed that message, saying Atlanta helped shape both her career and personal growth.
“Atlanta has always been home to me and played such an important role in shaping who I am both as an artist and as a person,” she said. “The city’s incredible entertainment community poured into me and gave me opportunities to dream big.”
The Breakfast Club Hosts Shocked By Mayor’s Response
The mayor’s remarks eventually made their way back to “The Breakfast Club,” where the hosts questioned his response.
Charlamagne Tha God reminded listeners that more than 130 radio stations nationwide air the show and that Atlanta listeners hear it every morning.
Co-host Loren LoRosa said Dickens’ comments surprised her because discussions between Earn Your Leisure and the mayor’s office had reportedly been moving in a positive direction.
“I was a little taken aback because the last I spoke to ‘Earn Your Leisure’ they were in conversations with the city and with the mayor’s office, because there were people from the mayor’s office in the comments of our social media,” she explained.
“I talked to the guys, and they said that it’s unfortunate. He took this approach after we spoke to his team about creating solutions together going forward, but all good,” LoRosa said.
DJ Envy also criticized the mayor’s handling of the situation, arguing that the podcast’s founders were simply asking for the same type of partnership often extended to larger organizations.
“I think what the mayor of Atlanta did was whack,” Envy said. He praised “Earn Your Leisure” for bringing tens of thousands of people together through its events and said the hosts were only asking for “a little help” comparable to what other corporations receive.
“And this is the reason why I think it’s whack: these brothers put on something that’s great for the community, right? And they get tens of thousands of people, 20,000 people. And they continue to do it. And all they asked for was just a little help. Like a lot of these other corporations get.”
