He’s on a divine mission.
Radio personality Charlamagne tha God, née Lenard McKelvey, is making the jump to the world of late-night television with a weekly half-hour talk show called “Tha God’s Honest Truth,” which debuts Friday at 10 p.m. on Comedy Central.
“It’s my God’s honest truth about the society we live in,” McKelvey, 43, told The Post.
“We’ll be focusing on one [socially relevant] topic per episode,” he said of the show, which is executive produced by Stephen Colbert. “That topic will be dissected by me, and we’ll be doing some dope sketches and social experiments that will help reinforce its significance.”
McKelvey and his production crew, who he’s nicknamed his “God’s Honest Tribe,” will dedicate each show to trending themes like homophobia, injustices against black women, and the importance of mental health.
Charlamagne tha God is bringing culture, comedy and social consciousness to his new late-night Comedy Central talk show “Tha God’s Honest Truth.”courtesy“These are topics I’m interested in, and that I’m not afraid to address head-on,” said the nationally syndicated radio host.
He’s been dishing out daily doses of his unapologetic slant on hot-button issues on NYC’s morning radio show “The Breakfast Club” — covering everything from the contentious presidential elections to Drake and Kanye West’s ongoing music war — since he was tapped to co-host the Power 105.1 broadcast alongside Angela Yee, 45, and DJ Envy, 44, in 2010.
And now, McKelvey is eager to heat up late-night TV with his unique brand of fire.
“I’m addressing these social and cultural concepts my way,” he said, noting that he’s one of very few black, city-based nighttime television hosts. “[It’s] a way that I know a lot of other hosts can’t.”
In fact, he considers his small-screen production a “weekly letter to America” that’s conveyed through a “very black lens.”
The topic of white supremacy will color the canvas of his first episode.
“We’ll definitely be tackling white supremacy in a real way,” said the Moncks Corner, South Carolina, native.
Charlamagne tha God is tackling homophobia, white supremacy and mental health issues on “Tha God’s Honest Truth.” FilmMagic“And we’re not just presenting the problem,” he continued. “We’re giving America some real solutions.”
“I’m also excited for the episode on mental health and mindfulness,” noted McKelvey, who authored best sellers “Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It” in 2017, and “Shook One: Anxiety Playing Tricks on Me” in 2018.
“I want to encourage my new TV audience to have grace and empathy with others, but more importantly with themselves,” he added.
But before he was able to help viewers confront their demons, McKelvey had to conquer his own.
“I couldn’t have done this show five years ago,” said the 2020 Radio Hall of Fame inductee, who worked on air alongside Wendy Williams, 57, from 2006 to 2008.
Wendy Williams invited McKelvey to co-host her NYC radio show after a brief meeting at a South Carolina radio station in 2005.Getty Images“And I damn sure couldn’t have done it 10 years ago,” he added, noting his past controversial comments about women and the LGBTQ community.
But McKelvey credits his newfound sense of confidence to therapy, his wife of seven years, Jessica Gadsden, 39, and their three young daughters.
“[It’s thanks to] the work I’ve done on myself from a spiritual and psychological perspective,” he added. “Yeah, I’m more than up to the task.”
A key psychological hurdle he cleared was the trauma he sustained after being molested by his cousin’s ex-wife at the age of 8.
“I didn’t realize the impact [being molested] had on me until much later in life,” he said.
“I remember, years later, watching Tyler Perry tell Oprah about a woman who molested him [as a child],” he said of Perry, 52, who discussed his past on Winfrey’s talk show in 2010. “That’s when I realized I’d been molested too, and that I had to begin working through that trauma.”
At the time of his revelation, McKelvey had been arrested several times on drug-related charges, was failing at a career in music under the rap alias “Dizzy Van Winkle” and had been fired from four different radio stations as a broadcaster.
But he was committed to pressing on toward mental health and professional success.
“Despite everything I’ve been through I never gave up on myself because I knew God wouldn’t give up on me,” he said. “None of my pain has been wasted. Every struggle has helped me grow into the man I am today.”
