Charlamagne Tha God Talks Second Season of Comedy Central Late Night Show ‘Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God’

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Charlamagne Tha God has returned to Comedy Central for the second season of his late-night show. After a successful run as Tha God’s Honest Truth, Charlamagne’s show will return in a new presentation under the name Hell of a Week.

In the show’s second season, Charlamagne adds a new executive producer in Josh Lieb to a crew that featured Stephen Colbert, showrunner Rachael Edwards, Aaron McGruder, Karen Kinney, James Dixon, and Norm Aladjem.

The series will have more of a panel, and in the first episode, Charlamagne was joined by Andrew Shulz, Kenan Thompson, Coleman Hughes, and Lis Smith. Ahead of the show’s launch, Charlamagne Tha God spoke with The SOURCE about changes fans will see in the show’s second season.

The SOURCE: We are hitting season two of your late-night show, but we have a name change. What sparked the transition from The God’s Honest Truth to Hell of a Week?

Charlamagne Tha God: Well, you know, the beauty of the business that we’re in is it’s always constant research being done, you know? We found out that The God’s Honest Truth didn’t necessarily read like a talk show. If you didn’t necessarily know who I was and knew to play on the words, you wouldn’t get that. The God’s Honest Truth, you know, that is my truth. And that is how I feel about things. But Hell of a Week, not only does it read like a weekly talk show, but it feels like something everybody can relate to. Cause you, you probably said that last week, “boy, it was a hell of a week.” So it’s just something that I feel like more people can embrace.

Was there a level of attachment with that name change for you? You take projects as your baby, and then for that to be your late-night intro, was there any battling inside your mind, wondering if this is the right move for you to do even though it makes more sense in a data-driven process?

Always. That’s just natural. Especially when you come up with something, you wonder, am I not good? Was that not good enough? So yes, you always do, but you know, you just gotta realize that things are bigger than you, and you gotta take a step back from yourself and realize that’s why they hire the people they hire to do this research. The first season we had success, which is why we’re getting a second season, but I want a hit show, like a hit hit show. An undeniable hit show. I want to show that people are watching. I want to show that it’s getting the right messaging out there. I want to show that people are entertained and educated by the first season, but now we’ve worked out these one or two kinks here and there. I think we will hit the ground running with season two and make more of a splash than in season one.

This title change also comes with a new format. Listening to Brilliant Idiots, I get a small understanding of what to expect in this transition, but what will fans see in this season?

What I tried to do in the first season was a lot of heavy lifting, man. I was communicating these big broad topics like critical race theory. I was delivering them, but it was through the lens of me. I think this new show is about community, which is what I like to do. When you hear me on The Breakfast Club, it’s me, Envy, and Angela. And it’s us with the guests. You hear me on Brilliant Idiots, and it’s me and Andrew Shulz. I feel like that’s where I’m my best, when I’m, sitting around kicking it with people who can elevate whatever conversation that we’re having. Andrew’s actually on the first episode. I told him, “I need you to shoot.” Because of two things, number one, everybody knows how critical Andrew’s been about Comedy Central, and number two, I want Andrew to be Andrew. I don’t want anybody to feel like we’ve all come too far to be feeling restricted by any platform. I know that’s one reason why a lot of people don’t even like to do these kinds of shows anymore. People would rather have their social media, go on their stage, or podcast so they can express themselves unapologetically. I want everybody on the show to feel comfortable enough to let it fly.

Using Andrew as an example, coming into this with someone who may not have the best history with Comedy Central, and that’s your partner. How do you make sure you create the synergy for those shows to be created with possibly two contrasting entities?

I don’t think it’s a conversation to be had because I don’t even know if Comedy Central has heard what Andrew said [laughs]. I know what Andrew has said, but guess what? A lot of the criticism probably was fair. It wasn’t like just OD slander for no reason. It was fair criticism from a comedian’s perspective, and comedians grew up on Comedy Central. We grew up on Comedy Central, with certain things like I watched Chappelle’s Show. I watched Key and Peele here and there. I love The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, but there’s a certain thing we expect from Comedy Central, and I guess a lot of comedians felt like, at some point, that thing wasn’t there. I hope to be a part of the individuals helping to bring that thing back. And I think that thing is just a little old fashion comedy, good old fashion observations of the world. I’m not a comedian per se, but I’m pretty good at making observations of the world.

I’m glad you mentioned that because a lot of comedians have to be able to catch something on the fly, be able to move around, and make a joke out of thin air. You mentioned having to be ready to shoot, but for you coming into this, especially with a new format, how do you like mentally prepare for the show?

I’m mentally preparing by being more loose. I think I put too much pressure on myself in the first season. I put too much pressure on myself like I haven’t been doing this for 20-plus years. I put pressure on myself because even though I’ve had talk shows in Charlamagne and Friends and Uncommon Sense, that did well for MTV2. When I look at those platforms, I was really training for a big opportunity like this, and that’s what literally what it was like. God blessed me with those other two opportunities to put me in a position to have an opportunity like this. When you have your name on the show, I didn’t feel that pressure with uncommon sense. And maybe cause I was just younger and didn’t have as many responsibilities as I have now. It was just fun.

We had Desus and Mero on Uncommon Sense. They had a segment on my show called Classic or Trash. I had somebody like Zuri Hall who is now on American Ninja Warrior. I had Karlous Miller, Chico Beam, and DC Young Fly. I remember Viacom told me nobody understands DC Young Fly, and now they can’t get enough of him. We had Cardi B on that show early on. It felt looser, so I didn’t have the pressure. The first season of this show felt like a lot of pressure because I wanted this to be successful. Still, I’m approaching this season much looser because if it’s one thing, God has consistently shown me everything is going to be okay and everything works out the way it’s supposed to.

Have you ever thought about yourself as the Gucci Mane of finding comedic talent? You know he finds everybody and the names you just named are big.

[Laughs] That’s a Black reference. That’s a reference only Black people from a particular club get. You know, I’ve never thought of that, but no. I know what you mean cause Gucci, I respect him for that. I respect anybody who does that because coming up, man, I always heard these stories of people that were selfish and didn’t want to share the stage. Didn’t wanna share the spotlight, didn’t want to share that platform. The people that I always thought were super dope were the people who had their stars and poured into everybody. My four inspirations in entertainment are Petey Greene; God bless the dead, an amazing radio personality. Arsenio Hall, Jay-Z and Clarence Avant.

Petey was just a servant of the people like he was. If you ever watched the movie Talk to Me with Don Cheadle and Taraji P Henson, Don Cheadle plays Petey Greene. He was just a servant of the people. That was his thing. He opened his platform to the community. He opened his platform to the people so much that when the riots broke out after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., they had to put him on air cause he was the only one who could talk to the community then. Arsenio Hall, if you ever watch his old, late-night talk show, man, there’s nobody that puts more Black creatives on television. The first time you saw the cast of Living Single or Wu-Tang as a collective was there. They weren’t getting those looks on the shows that were on NBC and anybody else at the time.

JAY-Z, I think his track record speaks for itself. Look at all the different people that he had poured into. And Clarence Avant is the godfather. You know, country boy from North Carolina. I’m from South Carolina. But that young man went to Hollywood and did great. If you watch The Black Godfather on Netflix, you see how he’s had his hand in everything from Hollywood to the music industry to politics. I admire people like that. I don’t know if I said this before, but if what I’m doing only serves me, it’s not big enough.

You are bringing together all types of people, professions, and more for this show to find solutions. Why do you think to this point, people have not zoned in on finding solutions, but instead, just discussing the problems?

Because the problems make for better television, Chris Rock had that joke back in the day. I think it was a joke about disease, and he was like, the money’s not in the cure, the money is in the treatment. It’s the same thing with this. It’s like if we get to the solutions, then that takes away from all the time we could spend talking about problems, and the problems cause conflict, and it causes viral moments. But man, I want to get to solutions cause the reality of the situation is there’s no problem that America has that’s going to be solved in 30 minutes on a TV show. So we will never run out of problems to try to solve. Too many questions are being asked on television instead of people making actual statements. Everybody is asking should Donald Trump go to jail for the January 6th Insurrection. I’m like, what do you mean, should he? If you’ve been watching, they already said they got more than enough to charge him. If there’s any question that should be asked, it’s what the hell is the DOJ [Department of Justice] doing? What is the DOJ waiting for in bringing charges? That should be the question.

Hell of a Week with Charlamagne Tha God with Charlamagne Tha God airs Thursdays on Comedy Central at 11:30 EM/PT, Paramount Plus, or on Comedy Central online.

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Today In Hip Hop History: Rob Base And DJ EZ Rock Dropped Their Premiere Single “It Takes Two” 34 Years Ago

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On this date in the summer of 1988, Harlem natives Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock released their monumental single “It Takes Two” on the Profile imprint. Produced by another Harlem native, Teddy Riley, who in unison with the Hip Hop duo created what is arguably the best Hip Hop song ever recorded.

Driven by the Lyn Collins “Think” sample, It Takes Two has appeared in several television shows and movies including Love And Basketball, Iron Man 2, The Proposal and Grand Theft Auto: SanAndreas video game just to name a few.

It Takes Two became a certified platinum hit from Rob Base and EZ Rock’s debut album of the same name which dropped about a week after the single. The video, set on Harlem’s 125th Street, features appearances from the legendary DJ Red Alert and the late Biz Markie.

Salute to Rob Base and EZ Rock(RIP) for this piece of Hip Hop history!

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Today In Hip Hop History: Raekwon’s Infamous ‘Only Built 4 Cuban Linx’ Album AKA “The Purple Tape” Dropped 27 Years Ago

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Twenty-seven years ago today, one of the greatest conceptual albums in the history of Hip Hop was released. Raekwon The Chef released his debut album, Only Built 4 Cuban Linx, guest-starring his right-hand man, Ghostface Killah aka Tony Starks.

Released on the Loud/RCA imprint and produced exclusively by The Abbott himself, Only Built For Cuban Linx was available on cassette, which was manufactured and distributed in a violet casing, thus, spawning its nickname. The album’s influence was tremendous on other landmark LPs of that era including Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt and Nas’ It Was Written, with heavy mafia references, the introduction of Cristal to the hood, and constant usage of the 5% Nation’s language of Supreme Mathematics and Supreme Alphabets in the lyrical content. The album also introduced the other WTC members via their aliases i.e. RZA is Bobby Steele, Ghost as “Tony Starks”, Deck is “Rollie Fingers”, Meth is, of course, “Johnny Blaze”, Masta Killa as “Noodles”, the Genius as “Maximillian” the Chef as “Lou Diamonds” and all together known as the “Wu-Gambinos”, which is the 16th track on the journey.

The Four and a Half Mic Classic’s(writer Nicholas Poluhoff) storyline plays out as a film, using many samples of John Woo’s Killer as an interlude between several tracks. The album contained several classic singles that had lives of their own in others spaces. The platinum-selling album yielded legendary hits such as the radio/female friendly “Ice Cream”, the inspirational “Glaciers Of Ice”, the genre sparking “Criminology”, which gave birth to many “Shark N****s”, which was an ode to biters and commanding them to “be original”. Ghost even shot a dart at the late B.I.G., accusing the slain legend of biting Nas’ pre-adolescent album cover concept. The album concludes with a positive build from the late Popa Wu aka Freedum Allah, which reminisces about the past life of a young, crime Raekwon who evolved into the multi-faceted individual seen today, which ironically is called “North Star(Jewels)”.

This platinum-selling time capsule is a must-have for all real Hip Hop fans, aficionados, critics, and historians. Salute to the entire Wu, especially Rae, Starks, and the RZA for this gem. We will forever be in debt to you guys for the “Purple Tape”.

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Today in Hip Hop History: Bone Thugs-N-Harmony Dropped Their Third LP ‘Art Of War’ 26 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, we celebrate a quarter-century of one of Bone Thugs-n-Harmony’s most popular pieces of work, The Art of War. As a follow-up to the group’s most successful album E. 1999 Eternal, The Art of War did everything but disappoint.  The album kept the group’s momentum up, claiming the top spot on both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop charts. This album even capitalized on the double LP trend of the 90s in a way that was cohesive and unsaturated.

Originally rumored to be titled DNA Level C or “Cleveland” spelled backward, this album took its current title and became a declaration of war against rappers whom Bone Thugs believed to be imitators of the style they created. Some of the groups and artists targeted were Three 6 Mafia, Twista, Crucial Conflict, and Tommy Wright III. Through this project, Bone Thugs looked to cement themselves as the only soulful east coast gangsta rappers in the industry.

Commercially this album was a great success, selling 349,000 copies in its first week on shelves and going on to be certified quadruple platinum only one year after its release. The album’s two singles were also big hits with “If I Could Teach the World” reaching #27 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “Look Into My Eyes” peak at #4 on the same chart.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: EPMD’s ‘Business Never Personal’ LP Turns 30 Years Old!

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Coming after what critics would call their worst album, Business Never Personal served as a proper revival and temporary farewell for one of Hip Hop’s greatest duos to touch the mic.

This album is considered EPMD’s third classic album, even though it was their fourth overall and second on the Def Jam label.. Although underground for the majority of their career, this album saw large commercial and mainstream success, peaking higher than any of its predecessors on the Billboard 200 chart at #14 and selling 500,000 copies in the first few months of its release. The popularity of this album came in large part from the breakthrough lead single, ironically titled “Crossover”. This single itself peaked at #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #1 on the Top Rap singles chart.

Following this project, the duo disbanded only to join forces once again on a fifth LP, Back in Business. The group continued to bounce back and forth between activity and retirement until the release of their final album, We Mean Business in 2008.

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Today In Hip Hop History: The Hot Boys Dropped Their Sophomore Effort ‘Guerrilla Warfare’ 23 Years Ago

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23 years ago today, Turk, Juvenile, BG and Lil Wayne dropped their second collaborative LP together as the Hot Boys entitled Guerrilla Warfare on the Cash Money/ Universal label.

Produced exclusively by Cash Money Records’ production duo “Baby” Williams and Mannie Fresh aka The Big Tymers, this entire album was recorded in Miami, a thousand miles a large contrast from there NOLA roots and recording environment, this LP helped to solidify the term “bling” as a necessity in the culture at the turn of the millennium. The lead singles, “I Need A Hot Girl” and “We On Fire” propelled the album the pole position on Billboard’s Top R&B/Hip Hop albums, selling 142,000 in the first week and reaching platinum status before the end of 1999.

Salute to the Hot Boys and Cash Money Records for making this exclusive piece of Hip Hop history!

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Today In Hip Hop History: Fat Joe Released His Debut Album ‘Represent’ 29 Years Ago

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On this date in 1993, legendary DITC delegate Fat Joe dropped his debut full-length studio album Represent on the Relativity/Violator imprint.

In 2020, Fat Joe is recognized as one of the icons of NYC Hip Hop, however, back in 1993, Joe was knee-deep in the streets and having only appeared on Diggin’ In The Crates founder Diamond D’s Stunts, Blunts And Hip Hop album was fairly a newcomer to the rap game. With assistance from his DITC crew members Diamond, Lord Finesse, and Showbiz behind the boars, Joe formulated one of the most integral audible time capsules of the era. Tracks like the Beatnuts-powered “Shit Iz Real”, “You Must Be Out Of You Fuckin’ Mind” featuring the late Apache of the Flavor Unit and Kool G Rap and the premiere single “Flow Joe” were all foundational examples of the “Fat Joe Da Gangsta” persona that is now respected and celebrated in 2020.

Salute to the late Chris Lighty, Fat Joe, Diamond D, Lord Finesse, Showbiz, and the entire DITC for this timeless piece of Hip Hop history!

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Today In Hip Hop History: Eric B. And Rakim’s Sophomore LP ‘Follow The Leader’ Dropped 34 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history in 1988, one of the culture’s most prolific duo’s Eric B. & Rakim released their sophomore LP Follow the Leader. Coming shortly after their game-changing debut Paid in Full, their second album showed that not only did the two find a formula of success but that they had yet to hit a ceiling. The refinement of both Rakim’s lyrical prowess and Eric B’s beat-making ability is evident in large part on this album. Follow the Leader had everything one could ask of an album from the Golden Era of Hip Hop.

Selling 500,000 within the year of its release, the album received gold certification as well as the #22 spot on the Billboard Pop Albums chart. Two of the four singles from the project, “Follow the Leader” and “Microphone Fiend” also made appearances on multiple Billboard music charts. Critically, this album received praise across the board being praised as more consistent and cohesive than the duo’s debut. Critics from numerous publications noted the growth of Eric B and Rakim as both rappers and pop icons. Although it may not have sold as many copies or made as much noise, Follow the Leader is in more ways than one a more polished project than Paid in Full and is in large part the reason for the duo’s longevity and status.

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Today in Hip-Hop History: Main Source Dropped Their Debut Album ‘Breaking Atoms’ 31 Years Ago

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On this date in Hip Hop history, Main Source, which included DJs Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and rhyming extraordinaire and production master Large Professor, dropped their debut album Breaking Atoms in 1991 on Wild Pitch Records. It was also the final album of the original trio with the two Toronto DJs and the Corona. Queens emcee.

Breaking Atoms was also the first project where then Queensbridge Projects lyrical prodigy Nasir Jones aka Nas, who appeared on the ever-classic “Live At The BBQ”. Other classic cuts from that album include the break-up story “Looking At The Front Door”, the never-ending issue of police brutality on “Just A Friendly Game Of Baseball” and the visually-driven “Just Hangin’ Out”. Originally given a four and a half mic rating, Breaking Atoms received the coveted Five Mics in The Source Magazine‘s commemorative 150th issue.

Salute to Extra P, Pete Rock, K-Cut and Sir Scratch for making this album an undisputed Hip Hop classic!

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Today In Hip Hop History: MC Eiht Dropped His Debut Album ‘We Come Strapped’ 28 Years Ago

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On this day in Hip Hop history, West Coast legend MC Eiht released his debut LP, We Come Strapped. Featuring his group Compton’s Most Wanted, this gangsta rap classic is one of California’s pre-G Funk hits. Riding the popularity that came from his breakthrough single “Straight Up Menace” featured in the film Menace II Society, this album took the rap game by storm creating a new star on the West Coast.

Coming off group success, MC Eiht was no rookie and knew exactly what putting out a good album entailed. We Come Strapped followed a simple yet effective formula resulting in its success. This project is straight and to the point; no drawn out skits, no filler, and no big name features. Aside from a cameo from Spice-1, Redman, and his fellow Compton’s Most Wanted members, the album is entirely MC Eiht spiting cold gangsta rhymes over DJ Slip’s jazzy, keyboard heavy production.

Commercially the project was quite a success, peaking at #5 on the Billboard 200 and #1 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop chart. The album was certified gold shortly after its release and continues to sell copies today. This album serves as MC Eiht’s most successful project to date.

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