Meet Yul Spencer
An interview with Canvas Rebel
A couple of months ago, my actor and rapper friend, Darrell Silver Hughes, asked Canvas Rebel, an online magazine, to reach out to me. Silver and I were in the movie Two Can Play That Game. It’s where we became the best of friends. Silver loves how I spit game about the stock market and wanted Canvas Rebel to interview me about it. I’m like the Adam Smith of this generation.
Here’s the interview.
Enjoy!
Meet Yul Spencer
APRIL 25, 2024
Share This Article
We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Yul Spencer a.k.a. “Spencer”. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Yul below.
Hi Yul, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?
Yeah sure, well, you know I am an actor and a stand-up comic with modest success, the most meaningful project I’ve worked on in my career, other than my one man show, “Ya’ Gotta Go Higher,” is when I turned my attention to writing a book series for the everyday person to understand the stock market and put an end to being broke. I was inspired, believe me, because I’m the most unlikely person to advocate for anything that has to do with finance, but here I am, doing exactly that.
There are many ups and downs as a working professional in the entertainment industry and no one really teaches you how to navigate those waters financially. When I learned how a regular person like me could stay afloat financially, I had to share that with others. Spit game, you might say. And not just people in the industry, but everyday Americans.
After having 7 1/2 weeks on a radiation table, I began to ponder. So, imagine with me… I made it to heaven and there’s a God there and God tells me I can go back to my life to share something with my daughters and grandchildren that I hadn’t had the chance to share with them before he/she pulled me out. What would that be? I would share the Wall Street-Smarts series. I would make sure they were financially literate before leaving earth. That way I could make sure they would avoid all the financial hardships I did along the way.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
At a very young age, I would hear my mom listening to Richard Pryor and George Carlin’s comedy albums. Those albums would make her laugh so hard and I wanted to have the ability to do the same. Turns out that I did have that ability. I’ve always been part of the arts. Even when I was locked up in juvenile detention by the time I was 10 years old and then in a group home, I learned to play 13 instruments and would perform in the plays that the institution would put on. After the group home, I got a scholarship to San Jose State University and met my future ex-wife. After two years there, I went to Laney College in Oakland, CA and continued my acting studies and performed in local theaters. While in college, I began performing stand-up. I received my first booking for stand-up in Pasadena’s Ice House. From there my stand-up career took off and I became a regular at The World Famous Comedy Store, The Improv, and the Laugh Factory on Sunset Blvd in Hollywood Ca.. At the peak of my stand-up career, I toured nationally. I’ve also made television appearances on HBO, Comedy Central, BET ComicView. For ComicView, I was not only a stand-up, but a talent coordinator and gave many stand-ups such as Katt Williams, their first shot on ComicView.
My acting career includes but not limited to many commercials (one won TBS’s TV’s Funniest Commercials), various TV shows and films, including Malcolm & Eddie, Two Can Play That Game, and The Shield. I’ve produced my one man show, “Ya’ Gotta Go Higher” and a short film, “The Grind.” I also still appear in various stage plays, “Friends and Lovers” and “Safe” to name a few.
While stand-up and acting are still my main passion, I’ve slightly pivoted to financial advocacy and authored the Wall Street-Smarts series to help end the financial crisis that many Americans endure. Most American’s don’t have an extra $400 to take care of a financial emergency and with my book series, I hope to help them combat that issue. The goal is to change the standard for all citizens, Americans and abroad to benefit from the stock market and trade… to put an end to being broke.
It is interesting, though, how life takes you down many paths because I now find that my background as a stand-up comic and performer, were perfect to be able to speak and engage with live audiences and be booked to talk about financial literacy. I am “edutaining” these days. Believe me. The stock market has never been this funny.
Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?
If I had known then, what I know now about the things that I’ve written about in the Wall Street-Smarts series, my journey, and my life as an actor, stand-up comic would have been so much easier. I would never have had to take a gig/booking just for the money.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
Well. When I heard that several of my industry colleagues could not afford their own funerals and half of America didn’t have an extra $400 for anything extra in their lives, setting a new standard for all citizens to benefit from financial literacy and the stock markets became the mission… first for my family, friends, and relationships and then the world… If they’ll listen or read. LOL
Contact Info:
Website: www.wallstsmarts.com
Instagram: @wallstsmarts
Facebook: facebook.com/wallstreetsmarts
Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/wallstsmarts
Twitter: @thewallstgame
Youtube: youtube.com/@wallstsmarts
Other: www.yulspencer.com tiktok @wallstreetsmarts www.imdb.com/name/nm1043120/ Amazon Store: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Yul-Spencer/author/B08D7ZZ6W3
Suggest a Story: CanvasRebel is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.