Black Privilege

‘there is incredible power in subjects that don’t seem to pertain to you.’ Charlamagne Tha God

In Charlamagne Tha God’s autobiography he looks back to his turbulent journey in becoming the well-known radio presenter he is currently on Power 101.5.  With every chapter of his story he attaches a privilege to teach to reader what they can gain from embracing their own ‘privilege’.

Charlamagne writes his autobiography in the blunt and shocking manner that he speaks in on the radio and seemingly all the time. Not only does this help him to come across as authentic, but it is also great for creating discussions around each of his eight principles. He even anticipates some of the responses to his outlandish statements but still he stands strong on his point of view.

It’s obvious from the start that Charlamagne is a student of Hip Hop with no page being without a reference or influence from the genre, Charlemagne does admit that at times his preferred musical genre has been a bad influence on him, for subjects as such as homosexuality. Through growth and hindsight, he is able to be brutally self-aware and unapologetically display his flaws to the reader as to encourage them to be different to he was.

Throughout the book he gives advice with tough love, the same way it was given to him by mentors such as Dr Evans who told him ‘Fuck your dreams’. This approach his often gotten Charlamagne into trouble with his illustrious guests and their dedicated fan base but that doesn’t seem to discourage him in the slightest.

Despite having  a very eventful life before making it to the point his today, Charlamagne is able to condense it into a relatively short 290 pages. If your someone who wanted a step by step guide as how he got on one of the biggest radio stations in New York and became friends with co-hosts DJ Envy and Angela Yee, you’ll be disappointed as Charlamagne focuses on inspiring readers to ‘design yourself’ and offers them ‘God Jewels’ instead.

For most of the novel the books principles are lost amidst his autobiography and some seem forced into a chapter. I thought that from chapter five, ‘Put the Weed in the Bag!’, the chapter that I most enjoyed and agreed with, where the biography aspect seemingly finishes it would improve but his thoughts still seemed to lack direction with parts within chapters that didn’t seem to go together.

Despite its not being succinct the book is still good for creatives who need a kick to ‘create your own path’, not what’s popular in the moment.

Much like Tha God himself the book is not for the easily offended but would get through to someone who really needs it.