Television personality, author, and one of the co-hosts of Power 105.1’s nationally syndicated morning show The Breakfast Club Charlamagne Tha God is never one to hold back or bite his tongue. The best-selling author is known to speak his mind and has caught a lot of flack for some of his viewpoints, but has also received a lot of praise, and has begun to make a name for himself as a celebrity.
The “Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It” author garnered much popularity when he became the second mic to host Wendy Williams on her then radio show on WBLS in New York City. After being laid off in 2008, Charlamagne would begin to host The Breakfast Club alongside DJ Envy and Angela Yee. He went on to give himself the title “Prime Minister of Pissing People Off, the Architect of Aggravation, and the Ruler of Rubbing People the Wrong Way.”
Charlamagne has also been known to make controversial statements on the radio show, resulting in altercations both on and off-air. From criticizing rapper Lil’ Mama on the show until she was brought to tears, to the famous instance when Birdman walked out of the studio after just two minutes of an interview when he claimed the hosts, specifically Charlamagne, were not “putting respect on his name”.
Since the show’s inception it has gone on to become a popular staple in the culture, as they discuss not only entertainment news and gossip, but they also commonly discuss various topics surrounding sex, dating, progressive politics, and things within the culture.
Speaking on the show’s success thus far, Charlamagne had this to say in the show’s 7th year of production. “Numbers-wise this is our biggest year ever, we’re averaging like 4 million daily listeners or something crazy like that,” he says. “It’s a testament to the fact that we’ve just been consistent, people know we’re a brand they can trust for just good, quality entertainment.”
The radio personality had a conversation with the magazine HNHH’s “The Plug” interview series, and he revealed to them his favorite interview with rapper 21 Savage and gave his perspective on the current generation of rappers. “He wasn’t like what I thought he was gonna be,” he said of the “Snitches and Rats” rapper. “‘Cause you know, a lot of times, man, you interview those young dudes, especially those young’n dudes from the street, they don’t have no personality, they socially awkward, they don’t know have much to say in interviews. 21 was the exact opposite, and I understood him because I was him at one point in my life. I grew up around guys that were just like him… I knew he had a good heart, and that’s why I love when he’s doing records now, like “Nothing New.” That’s a very socially conscious record.”
When the interview and Charlamagne begin to dive deeper into his views of the new generation of rappers versus the OGs, he gave his opinion that once again, rang a bit controversial. “Y’all would hate Tupac if Tupac was alive right now,” Charlamagne stated. “Like y’all would really think Tupac is just one of these reckless rappers, who talks shit all the time. Because he literally dissed everybody, and he did things now, that we would be calling him stupid for, but he’s a legend, at the end of the day. You just never know who these young guys are gonna be, and I’m just a stern believer in letting the young generation do what they do. Cause if not, you gonna miss out on a lot of good guys. I love G Herbo, I love Vince Staples, I love Rapsody, I love 21 Savage, I like Kodak Black, I may not like Kodak Black personality, but I like his music. So let them kids flourish, man.”
The Breakfast Club was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the category of Outstanding News/Information (Series or Special) and this past August, The Breakfast Club was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. According to Nielson, the show reaches around 8 million listeners a month as of July 2020.
