GNY EP.202 | Youth Empowerment Through Hip-Hop Entrepreneurship — feat. Hasan Stephens
In this episode of Good News York, Matt Masur sits down with Hasan Stephens, founder and CEO of the Good Life Youth Foundation, a Syracuse-based nonprofit using hip-hop culture as a vehicle to teach entrepreneurship and life skills to the region’s highest-risk youth. Hasan shares his journey from radio and TV personality to community leader, growing up in the Bronx’s Edenwald Projects, and how mentorship inspired him to "pay it forward."
Hasan walks through the Good Life Youth Foundation’s model — helping students build on their "innate and learned qualities" to thrive for life, not just start businesses. The organization operates a full-service music production studio, content creation studio, photography studio, and promotional print company out of their space on 101 Wyoming Street, exposing kids to career paths from clothing brands to lawn care to vending machines. Now 13 years old, the foundation has served hundreds of youth across seven schools in two districts, partnering with major names like Micron, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, New York State OCFS, and Impel.
The conversation also covers Hasan’s own entrepreneurial ventures — his media/marketing company, That Good Media, and his clothing brand Hippoh Nation, which built one of the first NFC-microchip-enabled hoodies connecting consumers directly to artists. Hasan and Matt discuss the foundation’s $3.2 million capital campaign to purchase and transform their space into the first hip-hop center for youth entrepreneurship, plus upcoming fundraisers: the October 3rd gala at The Mitzvah, the August 12th golf tournament with Impel, and the August 27th Love Handles fundraiser.
Chapters:
0:00 – Intro: teaching youth to thrive
0:21 – Welcome to the show, Hasan Stephens
0:59 – Hasan’s background and journey
2:05 – What is the Good Life Youth Foundation?
3:33 – Exposing kids to career opportunities beyond the spotlight
4:19 – Inside the 101 Wyoming Street studio space
5:07 – How long the foundation has been running
5:28 – How many youth they serve each year
6:24 – Every industry has an entry point
6:59 – Hasan’s radio and TV career story
7:46 – How people can support and fundraisers
9:00 – Corporate partners and sponsors
10:12 – Impel’s local success story
10:52 – How families can get involved
12:10 – Focusing on prevention over intervention
12:15 – The economic boom and youth access gap
13:27 – Similar organizations and national recognition
14:25 – The $3.2M capital campaign for a hip-hop entrepreneurship center
15:35 – Hasan’s other ventures: That Good Media & Hippoh Nation
16:38 – The NFC-chip hoodie technology
17:47 – Where to find Hippoh Nation hoodies
18:16 – Closing plugs and upcoming events
18:56 – Outro and Good News York sponsorship info
Links & Info:
🔗 www.goodnewsyork.com
This episode is brought to you by Ads on the Go — helping local businesses get their message moving, literally. Check them out at www.getadsonthego.com
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