The vibe check
Charlamagne tha God is officially over the messy "verbally abusive relationship" we all have with social media. Speaking at the Variety Experience and Culture Summit, the radio legend dropped some serious wisdom about touching grass. While he admits platforms have their uses, he insists you need to "constantly weed out your garden" to keep your mental peace intact.
Mental health is a right
It’s giving main character energy when it comes to advocacy. Charlamagne, who opened up about his own struggles with anxiety in his book Shook One, is doubling down on his commitment to the Mental Wealth Alliance. He founded the nonprofit in 2019, and every year on World Mental Health Day (Oct. 10), the organization hosts a free event to connect people with professionals. The goal? Making sure Black and brown communities have legit access to care without the price tag. "It’s a free event because I feel those type of resources and that type of information should be free," he said.
Community over clicks
Between co-hosting The Breakfast Club—which was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2020—and running the Black Effect Podcast Network, Charlamagne is all about that IRL energy. He’s noticed that even with the creator boom, nothing beats the community built at live events like his network’s annual Atlanta festival.
He also shared a hot take for the future: don't sleep on the micro-creators. "I guarantee you, there’s a creator online right now that none of us in this room know about. They’re probably only getting 100 views per video, but they’re making something amazing," he noted. His advice? Stop waiting for someone to hit 10 million followers to give them their flowers.
Why it matters
As we head toward the November midterms, Charlamagne predicts voters are going to be feeling the sting of gas and grocery prices, and they aren't here for the lies anymore. His focus on building habits through traditional radio proves he's still a powerhouse, but his real mission is making sure we don't lose our humanity in the digital noise. Real talk: it’s time to curate your feed and prioritize the real ones.
