Charlamagne Tha God is following in the footsteps (and billboard space) of Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah on 11th Avenue. The host of The Breakfast Club radio show is launching his new Comedy Central show, Tha God’s Honest Truth, in Hell’s Kitchen this month.
The new weekly 30-minute show will premiere at 10pm on Friday September 17. “Rooted in truth, coated in comedy and unapologetically Black, Lenard ‘Charlamagne’ McKelvey takes on issues and topics permeating politics and culture in this late-night talk variety show,” said Comedy Central. The show is executive produced by Stephen Colbert.
Variety said in July that Charlamagne has made a career out of his contrarian reputation, calling himself at various times the “prince of pissing people off,” the “ruler of rubbing you the wrong way” and the “architect of aggravation.” This week, he made news for his critique of Kanye West’s new 27-track album, Donda. “Upon first listen, it was lackluster for me. Like Kanye West, it can be very exhausting … it’s just a very, very, very long, long project,” he said on his radio program.
Charlamagne is confident about the success of the new show, saying: “My South Carolina brethren Stephen Colbert is the ultimate co-sign in the late-night space and he wouldn’t co-sign no bullshit! We are going to win an Emmy next year for best lighting direction, I can feel it!!!”
Across 11th Avenue, the Irish Arts Center (IAC) — whose new building faces Charlamagne’s studio — was delighted with the news. “With all our amazing cultural neighbors, we’ve always felt Hell’s Kitchen is the place to be — but now that Charlamagne is moving in across the street we know for sure,” said Aidan Connolly, the IAC’s Executive Director.
Last month, we reported that The Daily Show had moved out of Hell’s Kitchen after 25 years — departing the NEP 52 Studio on 11th Avenue. Today, a new billboard appeared on the corner of W52nd Street promoting Tha God’s Honest Truth. In the past, the space has been filled by Jon Stewart and Trevor Noah. Stewart’s advert made a joking reference to the neighboring Hustler Club, saying: “For Larry Flynt’s Hustler Club go one block down and take a right” while Trevor Noah’s alerted drivers that “Traffic’s only bad until you get to the tunnel.”
Earlier this week, we reported that Jon Stewart has returned to Hell’s Kitchen to record his new show, The Problem with Jon Stewart.