Artist: Charlamagne Tha G-d
Interviewer: Matt Harding

For those of you who listen to the Wendy Williams Experience, you've heard Charlamagne Tha G-d. Charlamagne is originally from Moncks Corner, SC and got his start in local radio. He's Deejayed on Z93 in Charleston, Hot 103.9 in Colombia, Sirius Satellite Radio, and currently he's part of the nationally syndicated, Wendy Williams Experience. His personality comes through over the air; there's nothing he won't ask an artist, and nothing he's afraid to say to his listeners. "Tha G-d" has also released several mixtapes, like Concrete Jungle, and Trap Boyz Love Us Vol's 1 & 2, blending exclusive tracks from mainstream MC's with messages from prominent members of the Black community.

Soundslam recently sat down with Charlamagne to talk about Hip Hop's responsibility to the community, his mission as an A&R, and how to turn things around.

Soundslam: So for the people who may not get a chance to hear you on the radio could you tell me a bit where you're from and how you got here?

Charlamagne: I'm from Moncks Corner, SC; born and raised in Charleston, that's where all the slave ships came in at. So technically everybody really is from Charleston, because, all our people came into Charleston and then migrated to other places, especially up north. That's why you hear a lot of people from New York say, "Yeah, I got family in South Carolina...I got such and such in South Carolina"

Soundslam: You've said in the past that there are aspects of Hip Hop culture that are degrading to the Black community, and that Black youth don't value life, what do you think the solution is to change that concept?

Chralamagne: I think we got to take it back to the day when people you looked up to were talking about things with socially redeeming value. I remember when everybody was walking around with the, "By any Means Necessary," t-shirts, and the "X" hats and I remember when people (were) wearing the African medallions, you know, with the red, black and the green. It's like people had a sense of self-pride, and people had a sense of culture. I think nowadays, people don't have a sense of pride for who they are, and they don't have a true sense of culture. I think we have to go back to talking about things with socially redeeming value, instead of walking around with the, "Can't Sell Dope Forever," t-shirts, maybe we need to throw on a t-shirt of one of our great Black icons. So, these young kids can look at that and say, "Who is that?" When they see one of their favorite artists on TV they'll say, "Who was that on their shirt" and then by seeing that person on their shirt that might make that kid go out and (find out) who that person was. I remember being young and my father (would) sit me down to watch the Honorable Minster Louis Farrakhan, and I used to pay attention, but not really, really pay attention. But, when I heard Biggie say "Deep like the mind of Farrakhan," that made me go "Damn, Biggie knows what's up with Farrakhan...Let me see what's going on...let me get into Farrakhan a little bit more since my favorite rapper is talking about Farrakhan." Like I said, I just think artists, and people in general, who have that outlet, need to just start talking about things that have socially redeeming value more. I think that right there in itself will help...change the game.

Soundslam: ...Some kids, especially in the Black community, may not have a parent or anyone else who is a strong role model. Do you think that there is a link missing in the chain, which allows a role model's message to be ignored or not reinforced? And who is responsible, parents, teachers etc.?

Charlamagne: I think it's the older generation's [responsibility] period! Not just parents, but the older generation period. The older generation is not building with the youth the way that they should be. The older generation is not reaching out to the youth and building with the youth, especially with no father figure being in the household. A father doesn't necessarily have to be your dad, it just has to be an older dude, because the word "Father" means to be picked first, so these older dudes just ain't teaching these young guys how to be men, and these older women aren't teaching these young ladies how to be women. I remember back in the day, you used to catch beatings from everybody. It didn't have to be your mother or father, it didn't have to be your aunt or uncle. Everybody took a hand in raising you when you were younger. I think bridging the gap older people got to start caring again; stop washing their hands with the youth, saying "F**k it they're a lost cause" or, they're a lost generation. [The older generations] have to take a hand in the future.Soundslam: I read that you're the president of Never So Deep Records, in that position do you look for artists who share your social philosophy?

Charlamagne: Actually...I've kind of moved away from that situation, they're still my peoples, but I've got my own situation. [I] jumped across to Stupid Dope Moves Inc. Stupid Dope Moves is basically...well I'm young but I'm from the old school, so like I was saying earlier about knowing your history, not just in Hip Hop but as a person. When I say, "I bust stupid dope moves," that's the old school slang term for just doing something positive. Anything that you do that's positive; that benefits you and your family is a stupid dope move. So, when I look for artists to be under that umbrella, I'm just looking for people who make....stupid dope good music. Back in the day people just made good music, it wasn't about how many times you got shot, it wasn't about how much dope you sold, it wasn't about how many girls you f**ked, people just made good music....At the end of the day that's all I'm looking for.

Soundslam: There's a great deal of good Hip Hop, and socially conscious artists out there, but they don't get the backing they need to become successful in the main stream. What do you think needs to change so you can see these artists achieve mainstream success?

Charlamagne: Basically this whole game is a machine, and this whole machine is ran by money. The only way that's going to change is when these socially conscious artists start making money for whatever machines they're a part of.,.It's just that simple. Kanye West, kind of bridged the gap, but not really, I think that's about as far as it will get, but you'll never see a Chuck D type of rapper, or a group like Poor Righteous Teachers, you'll never see a group like that sell a million records in this day and time, for the simple fact that the machine won't let them. The machine's not going to put money behind groups like that. The only way groups like that are going to start having the machine put money behind them is if somebody breaks out and sells a million records. I hate to say it, but it's not going to happen in the matrix.

Soundslam: I read about your 10 Commandments of Hip Hop. What led up to putting that together?

Charlamagne: Yeah, I did that down in the Carolinas. I was honored as one of the top 10 influential people in arts and entertainment, and that's what the editor of the newspaper asked me to write, the 10 Commandments of Hip Hop. It was crazy, because it was something that I never thought about doing, but when he sparked that seed in my brain to really do it that's what came out, those 10 Commandments of Hip Hop. I think if people actually sat around and read those 10 Commandments of Hip Hop, and they would apply those to their everyday life, I think that would change the game also.

Soundslam: I did get a chance to read through them, but they were hard to find. You wrote some tenets that in practice could positively affect people's lives. Where can people find the 10 Commandments of Hip Hop?

Charlamagne: Actually I put out a mixtape, The Millions More Movement Soundtrack, and it had an interview that I did with the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, which you can see on my website cthagod.com, and some more pieces of him talking while he was here in South Carolina. I actually pressed up 5,000 copies and I had a picture of me and Minister Farrakhan on the front and on the back I had the 10 Commandments of Hip Hop. That was one way of me just getting the word out about the 10 Commandments of Hip Hop. You know what though, isn't it crazy how, in this society right now, we have to search for something positive?

Soundslam: Yeah.

Charlamagne: The negative is all in front of you; it's easy to put something negative, don't ask me why because I really don't know. It's easier to find something negative than to find something positive, and that's crazy as hell to me.

Soundslam: I understand that. I DJ, and I get promo records a lot, and it's nothing for me to get another record about killing, drugs, money, or women. But I have to look high and low to find a record about something else.

Charlamagne: Yeah...yeah...try to find a record about G-d, try to find a record about doing something positive with your life. It's hard to find though, you'd be hard pressed to find those.

Soundslam: You're known for your "no holds barred" interview style on the radio, where did you develop that attitude?

Charlamagne: I can only say I developed that from never drinking the Kool-Aid. I don't know if you've ever read this book by Toure, the journalist, called Never Drink the Kool-Aid. But the phrase came from the cult leader Jim Jones, not the rapper, who made everybody drink the cyanide laced Kool-Aid. Basically, that analogy is referenced because, in Hip Hop, a lot of people drink the Kool-Aid. Meaning that we buy into a lot of these dude's brands, and we buy into a lot of these dude's stories, and we buy into a lot of these dude's bulls**t. When you don't drink the Kool-Aid that means that you're looking passed the brand, you're looking passed the image that these rappers are trying to sell us, and you're trying to figure out who these people really are as a person. The funny thing about it is when I interview people man, I just try to keep it as honest as possible, and I try to ask the questions that the general public wants to know. The funny thing about these artists is that they always run from the truth. It's like the truth is like light to a vampire to these dudes. They would much rather you sell their image, and much rather you sell their brand. It's funny to watch the publicist and the managers get all up in arms when I'm interviewing somebody, because they're like, "Don't ask them that," "You're killing their image" or, "You're killing their brand," blahzay blah and this and that. I've actually had managers and publicists tell me that, but I never drank the Kool-Aid so it doesn't bother me.

Soundslam: Some people say Wendy Williams is a "shock jock" and it sounds like you have a similar style. Is that how you became a part of her show?

Charlamagne: Basically, I mean, we're cut from the same cloth, but I don't like the term "shock jock." "Shock jocks" are just people who say things for shock value, there's really no substance behind it."Shock jocks" are people that pull stunts just for shock value but there ain't no substance behind it. I don't think Wendy is a "shock jock," and I don't think that I'm a "shock jock." I think that the shocking thing is that when somebody is so blatantly honest, the way that Wendy Williams has been for the past 20 years in the game of radio, and the way that I am coming up, I think that's the shocking thing about the whole situation. When somebody is just honest, when somebody says something about your favorite artist that you'd never expect to hear, when there's a lot of truth behind the things...like when Wendy was telling y'all 10 years ago, there are gay rappers, people were like "Naw," "Hell no...I don't believe that." That was shocking to hear. But now, 10 years later, you start to see there are a lot of gay rappers out here. You see what I'm saying? I think that's the whole shocking part about the situation is the fact that somebody would be blatantly and brutally honest nowadays in this matrix that they call the industry.

Soundslam: To go back to what you said about the "Kool-Aid" and the "matrix," what do you think you can do as a member of a nationally syndicated radio show to spread knowledge?

Charlamagne: Basically just...that right there makes my brand more visible, and because my brand is more visible it'll make people like you or whoever else want to see what's up with this dude. When they go to my website, and they go to my myspace page, they read about me in interviews, they see that I'm...dropping jewels. That right there alone, I think will have an impact; that'll make more people see what's up with the 10 Commandments of Hip Hop, or that'll make more people read those Farrakhan speeches I put up on my site, or listen to the interview I did with Farrakhan, because I think that's a very important interview for Hip Hop, period. I think it's by that increasing my brand, and making my brand more visible, and making people want to know what's up with me. I think that right there will get a more positive message out, and that's why I always say, "You got to hide the medicine in the candy."