Charlemagne that God will never hit Democrats: “They’re as stupid for punishment as I am”

Lenard McKelvey, better known as Charlamagne the God, is often called shocking, a title he has earned over the course of his two-decade career with interviews with rappers, multiple guest appearances and audience responses that range from anger. But he prefers to be known as a media mogul, and not without reason. The 43-year-old firefighter created Power 105.1 FM’s breakfast club New York’s most culturally relevant morning radio show for over ten years, with the addition of television projects (Comedy Central’s The pure truth of God), podcast (brilliant idiots), many best sellers, copies of comics, screenplays and even video series hollywood reporter (emerging hollywood) Your load in the snow. “Audio is my world,” he told Zoom in early May. “But I want a little help with everything.”

Still, the married father of four, who lives in southern New Jersey, and proudly calls himself a “man of the house” has a knack for delivering lengthy viral interviews, with everyone from hip-hop stars to presidential candidates. . Your secret? Don’t do it live. McCelvey, a student of Oprah Winfrey, Howard Stern, Larry King, and Barbara Walters, always writes her story continuously for an hour or two.

What is your strategy for getting the interviewee out of the shell if he is stubborn?

Many people come to me with a preconceived idea. Some people think I’m asking hard questions or whatever. That’s why I always want to start the conversation with simple words: “How are you? What energy do you have? Especially after a pandemic. It made many of us sit down and actually see each other for the first time. I think you will often be surprised at how disarming this is. I just want people to feel comfortable.

What have you learned about yourself in the last two years?

I learned that if I hadn’t made the decision to go into therapy for COVID, I probably wouldn’t have survived the pandemic. I started therapy four or five years ago and I was already working hard. When it was time to sit quietly, I looked at myself in the mirror and saw what I didn’t like about myself, what I wanted to correct. It strengthened me that I had to do things constantly. Now I have so many artists, entertainers, comedians, influencers, rappers, athletes telling me, “Man, I’m ready to finally talk to anyone.”

Do you think it was helpful to your audience that you’re so open to therapy?

To remove the stigma around mental health, each of us must tell our story. I see people on the street, they come to me and say, “I started therapy because of you.” For me, that’s it. Just as hip-hop and pop culture influenced people to do a lot of bad things, we can also influence people to do a lot of good things.

What’s the biggest adjustment since you switched to more TV?

I want people to know that television is my sequel and it’s nothing new to me. I’ve been doing television since 2012 on MTV2. And people who are used to being in one of their mediums, whether it’s radio or podcast, think that television is selling or giving things away. But I’m no different! I literally speak both on television and on the radio. So taking people seriously as a TV presenter was probably the most important thing.

Tell me about your relationship with Stephen Colbert, who is an executive producer. The pure truth of God.

Stephen is a good person to talk to because he has to leave her alone. Colbert report The character when he left late show. I keep discarding the character of God Charlemagne and giving it to Leonard McLaughlin. He knows how it is.

What are your grades?

The people who give the best grades are the ones who don’t go crazy. He’s not crazy, especially when it comes to parts of the field, because that’s his world. I didn’t know it can take months to build a good field. I thought I could do this nonsense in a week. How difficult can it be? Send someone down the street and do X, Y and Z. I was watching, I thought it was wonderful. “No, it’s too bad,” Steven likes. I can’t help but respect that.

You’re a press stop for Democrats – Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren – but you don’t let them go easily. Why are they coming back?

They’re probably punishing idiots like me. And they know I’m not lying. I tell you what some people feel. From now on, I’m not lying when I tell them, ‘I think they’re going to kill me at some point.’ I was saying that Democrats have a messaging problem. They have a political problem because they didn’t deliver on their pre-election promises. No one seems to be following the January 6 coup attempt in this country. Now you’re telling me that I should vote, since democracy depends on it? You don’t rule the way democracy depends on it. So what am I supposed to do? This is not a sister.

I won’t pick a favorite interview topic for years, but who stands out?

What comes to my mind is a bunch of people we sat with that are no longer with us: Larry King, Nips Hasley, Mack Miller, Dick Gregory. And, of course, all political. Joe Biden, who is now president, and the whole “You ain’t black” comment. [about Black Americans voting for Trump]? He will live forever.

Clip of Zive pressuring him about his harsh treatment of black women The breakfast club It recently went viral. What did you think of the interview and the prosecution?

I love Ziva. I knew what I was doing. What I like about his show is what he did to me. That’s why I can sit there in an interview and say, “Don’t freeze this and the bottom third, ‘I hate black women’.” And that’s exactly what he did. It’s a comedy, it’s a satire. I like a lot. I was upstairs on a Saturday night, watching Paramount+ and laughing. So when the clips come out and people freak out, I’m not too worried about the narratives. Stories are just stories. I think Ziwe will finish hosting late show When James Corden leaves. He’s so personalized.

What do you think about how often people can comment on the past?

We haven’t had a discussion about the Overton window in our culture. Some things that were acceptable 10, 15, 20 years ago are not there now. It looks like the speed limit has been lowered over time as there have been a lot of accidents on the road but they are sending out speeding tickets to get it to 80. [miles per hour] 20 years ago when you drive 55 today. But this is the age in which we live.

You worked with Wendy Williams. How do you think his show ended so unceremoniously?

To me this is just unfortunate. Wendy Williams is a legend and an icon in our business. Nobody is what they did on the radio. Go on TV and host a successful talk show? We all know how difficult it is. There’s still a part of me that hopes that no matter what the problem is, she’ll vest it so she can be cocky the way she wants to be cocky.

Who is your big white whale in terms of interviews?

Judy Bloom. She played such an important role in my childhood. My mother, who was an English teacher, told me to read what I didn’t play. Nothing opposed me more than those books about those white girls. when i read it God are you there? i am daisy, which I bought for the title, I just liked it. I started reading all the Judy Bloom stuff. Shout out to Book It too. For every four books you read, you get free pizza.

The interview is edited for length and clarity.

The story first appeared in the May 17 issue of The Hollywood Reporter. Click here to subscribe.