Hip-hop commentator Charlamagne Tha God had a lot to say about the death of Memphis rapper Young Dolph on Thursday morning’s episode of The Breakfast Club, where he gave his “Donkey of the Day” award to his shooters.
Over the years, Charlamagne has been an advocate for mental health awareness, especially in the Black community. He has spoken at length about trauma and how unhealed trauma can affect our development, and he used Young Dolph’s murder as an example of how we have a “societal problem” right now.
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“What you saw yesterday was a societal problem,” said Charlamagne on Thursday morning’s episode of his radio show. “This is what happens when people don’t have better things to do, this is what happens when proper investments haven’t been made in certain communities. We can go on and on about how the root causes of crime are inequality, the lack of support for families in neighborhoods, inaccessibility to services — we act like violent crime is a complex issue. It’s not. Lack of education, rupture of family structure, generational poverty… Boom, nine times out of ten, you’re gonna get someone who has zero self-worth when they come from those conditions and zero love for themselves. And if I lack self-worth and love for myself, what the hell I care about you for? You out here shinin’, drivin’ your fancy cars, jewelry on, man, some people will kill you, not just because they’re jealous or envious but they will kill you because of the way other people love you. They don’t wanna hear about what you doin’ in the community.”
Charla continued to say that some people crave the love that rappers (and other celebrities and community leaders) receive, so they go to these lengths to receive notoriety.
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“Hunger makes a thief our killer of any man but sometimes, you not just hungry for money and resources, sometimes these brothers are hungry for love,” he added. “They are hungry for self-worth, they are hungry for healing. And they often get it way too late, they get it after they committed a crime like this and they’re sitting in prison for 100 years. But at that point, it’s pretty much too late. We need you getting that healing while you outside so you could go influence others to heal. And right now, it just feels like I’m repeating myself. It always feels like this when situations like this happen. The players change, scenarios change, but the energy of unhealed trauma remains the same. A Black man can’t go buy cookies? Cookies!?”
Listen to Charlamagne’s full comments below. Long Live Dolph.