Charlamagne tha God facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlamagne tha God
McKelvey at the 2019 Montclair Film Festival
Born	Lenard Larry McKelvey (1978-06-29) June 29, 1978 (age 46) Charleston, South Carolina, U.S.
Occupation	Radio host, television personality, and comedian
Career
Show	Hell of a Week with Charlamagne tha God The Breakfast Club (co-host)
Station(s)	Power 105.1
Time slot	6–10 a.m.
Country	United States

Lenard Larry McKelvey (born June 29, 1978), known as Charlamagne tha God, is an American radio host and television personality. He is also a comedian. He is famous for co-hosting the radio show The Breakfast Club. This show is heard all over the country.

Charlamagne co-hosts The Breakfast Club with DJ Envy. In 2020, they were both honored for their work on the show. They were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame. Charlamagne also hosted a late-night talk show called Hell of a Week with Charlamagne tha God on Comedy Central.

Before The Breakfast Club, he worked at several radio stations. He was also a co-host on The Wendy Williams Experience with Wendy Williams. Charlamagne started the Black Effect Podcast Network. He was also seen on Guy Code, Guy Court, and Girl Code. He was a VJ for The Week in Jams. In 2015, he began hosting Uncommon Sense on MTV2. He is known for his direct and bold style of interviewing.

Early Life & Education

Lenard Larry McKelvey was born on June 29, 1978. His father was a Muslim, and his mother was an English teacher. He grew up in Moncks Corner, South Carolina.

McKelvey went to night school and finished high school. He graduated from Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner.

Charlamagne's Career Journey

Starting in Radio

McKelvey began his radio career as an intern. He worked at Z93 Jamz in Charleston. He also spent time at WHXT in Columbia. In 2006, he moved from South Carolina. He became a co-host for radio host Wendy Williams.

He created his stage name, "Charlamagne." This name came from his street name, "Charles." He also took inspiration from Charlemagne, a powerful ruler from around 800 A.D. He added "Tha God" because he thought it sounded cool.

His direct questions and interviews with hip hop and R&B artists made him well-known. However, his style sometimes caused disagreements with his guests. His show was taken off the air in 2008, and he lost his job.

In 2008, he started hosting a morning show for 100.3 The Beat in Philadelphia. He was fired in 2009. This happened a few days after he interviewed Beanie Sigel. There was talk that a famous rapper was involved in his firing. He returned to Moncks Corner and lived with his mother for about a year. Then, he was offered a job to co-host The Breakfast Club.

The Breakfast Club & TV Shows

In 2010, McKelvey became a co-host on The Breakfast Club. He joined DJ Envy and Angela Yee on WWPR-FM in New York City. The show was also shown on TV through Revolt. Power 105.1 started the show to compete with other popular hip-hop morning shows. Charlamagne was chosen because of his radio experience. He knew how to be bold without going too far.

In 2011, McKelvey joined the cast of Guy Code. This was a comedy TV show on MTV2 that talked about rules for men. The show ended in 2015. He also starred in the MTV2 show Charlamagne & Friends. He co-hosted MTV New Year's live from Times Square in both 2013 and 2014. In 2015, he reported for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards pre-show.

In 2014, Rolling Stone magazine called him "hip-hop's Howard Stern." The next year, he started hosting Uncommon Sense with Charlamagne tha God on MTV2.

Books, Podcasts, & Hall of Fame

In 2017, Charlamagne published his first book. It was called Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It. He described it as "a self-help guide for the hood." The book was published by Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster. The New York Times gave the book a good review. They called it a "street-smart self-help guide" with direct advice. The book was a best-seller on The New York Times list in May 2017. McKelvey's second book, Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me, came out in 2018.

In 2019, he became the host of Emerging Hollywood. This is a YouTube series from The Hollywood Reporter. On this show, he talks with people in Hollywood about different topics. Guests have included Trevor Noah and Jameela Jamil.

In 2020, McKelvey started the Black Effect Podcast Network. He partnered with iHeartMedia for this project. In August 2020, he and his Breakfast Club co-hosts, Angela Yee and DJ Envy, were inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame.

McKelvey became the host of the late-night talk show Tha God's Honest Truth in 2021. In 2024, he released another book, Get Honest or Die Lying: Why Small Talk Sucks.

Personal Life

Charlamagne is married to his high school sweetheart, Jessica Gadsden. She is a fitness coach and personal trainer. She supported him financially when he was having trouble keeping a job in radio. In 2021, he shared that his wife drove him to his first radio internship application. This was because his driver's license was suspended at the time.

Discography

• South Crack: The Album (2008)

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2011	This Thing of Ours	Shottah	Short
2017	Grow House	Black Jesus
	Bodied	Hunnid Gramz
2018	Canal Street	Himself
	The After Party	Himself
2021	Boogie	Patrick
TBA	King of the South	Marvin Miller	Post-production

Television

Documentary

Music videos