Black Privilege review

Charlamagne Tha God is a radio personality of a nationally syndicated show called "The Breakfast Club" on Power 105.1. He's not well-liked by most people, especially the people he's interviewed and has disagreements with — this is because he speaks his mind. He doesn't like your latest album? He'll tell you. Are you embroiled in controversy? He'll ask about it. Basically, he asks the questions or says the things many listeners want to ask or are thinking. I count myself as one of his fans.

When Charlamagne mentioned he was writing a book, I knew I had to check it because…who the hell would give this man a book deal (Touchstone Books1, apparently)?

While reading, I found myself nodding in agreement when he arrived at the conclusion of a life lesson or when he realized he had to change his thought process. I also couldn't help noticing similarities in our lives. We loved getting those Pizza Hut coupons for free personal pizzas when we read lots of books in elementary school. Music was a means of both inspiration and escape in our teens. We never finished college. Despite that, we've been able to succeed.

I was reminded that I used to live out my "hood dreams" vicariously through artists like Clipse2. While glamorizing the gangsta life, they also rapped about the obvious downsides. This was at a time when my peers listened to Jay Z3, The Lox4, Dipset5, &c. I was almost exclusively Neptunes6 and Will Smith. Yes, I know. I was clowned for liking Big Willie's music throughout all of middle and high school.

Anyhoo, if you're an aspiring radio host or anyone aspiring to do anything really, I highly recommend this book. The full title is "Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It7". 🕸