The Daily Show: Ears Edition - Charlamagne Tha God’s Journey with Therapy | Mac Phipps on Rap Lyrics In Court

Episode Date: May 30, 2023

“We’re the first generation that has the luxury of healing.” Radio host and author Charlamagne Tha God discusses with Leslie Jones why he believes men are so afraid of therapy, how he gives credit to other celebrities who have been open about their mental health journeys, and how he deals with panic attacks. And rapper Mac Phipps shares his thoughts with D.L. Hughley on using rap lyrics in court based on his own experience, what his favorite song off of his new album "Son of the City" is, and why he chose to not be bitter about his past.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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Ditch the other hiring sites and let zip recruiter find what you're looking for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on zip recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day Try it for free at this exclusive web address zip recruiter.com slash zip. Zip recruiter the smartest way to hire You're listening to Comedy Central My guest today is a radio legend and author and leading voice and mental health discussion. You know him from the Breakfast Club on the I-Heart Radio. Please welcome Shalame The God. What up Leslie? What's happening? What's happening? What's happening? What's happening?

Hey. What up, Leslie? Man, we have never got to actually meet. We've been in the same places with it. Yeah. We said hi to each other back. He's just like back and you. Yes, baby. I'm so glad to finally get to talk to you. You look very at home here. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. Well. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to to. to. to. to. to. to. to. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. to. th. to. th. th. th. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. tha. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to. to you don't do that. At S&L? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, baby, I'm so glad to finally get to talk to you.

You look very at home here. Well, thank you very much. Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely. I'm trying, I'm trying, baby. And I must say, having a depressed dick playlist is nuts. Well, it'd be soft and subtle. Well, okay, let's just get into it. Now, I want you to explain to me why do you think men are so scared of therapy? Oh, man, I think it's societal, you know, for me, it came from like my father, because

my father, he went to therapy two and three times a week. And my father, you know, he was on like 10 to 12 different medications for his mental health issues, but he never told me that. I didn't find that out until November of 2018 after I wrote a book about it and after I started discussing my own issues. And I remember asking my mom, like, mom, you know, dad was going to do all of that. And she said, I thought, I th tho, I thin thin thin thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't th. th. I didn't that, I didn't thin, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't find that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't thin, I didn't th. th. th. th. thin, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't know, I didn't thin, I didn't that, I didn't that, I didn't that, I check. Because that's what they did in the state of South Carolina. They just would give him a check because they couldn't figure out anything else that he was going through. And I think about it, I'm like, damn, I was dealing with anxiety my whole life.

I was dealing with, you know, bouted to depression. If he would have, if he would have to told me that back then, you know, you got to give your parents grace. And the reason you got to give your parents grace, you've got to give them grace because they were doing the best they could with what they had. Like, we take for granted that we're the first generation that has the luxury of healing. Absolutely. You know, that generation,. I think about it all the time that my parents were in their 20s and 30s raising two kids and I think about my 20s and 30s, thank God if there was no children

involved. What was the reaction when you started talking about this type of stuff? Did you get a bad reaction? Did you get a positive reaction? Well, like a lot of things that come out of my mouth, I wasn't really caring about what people thought. So I was really just having these conversations because it was almost like it was a cry for help, you know, because I can't get on the radio and, you know, discuss what everybody else is going through and not discuss what I'm going through. You know, and I've always been transparent about my life, but I think you know, going to therapy made me more vulnerable. So I was flirting with the idea for a while, so I'd be having conversations with a lot of people around me, you know, like, you know, I gotta give credit to people

like, you know, Amanda Sills and, you know, you know, Pete's younger than me, you know, he's younger than me, he was somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he's somebody, he was somebody, he. long time and just like having conversations with those, why is that funny? Jesus Christ. We should be applauding. Yeah, it's just like, you know, having conversations with those individuals about things that I thought were normal, you know, because it took a long time for me to realize that, you know, anxiety is not normal, you know, these, these, these bouts of depression aren't normal. A lot of times we think we can just, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you know, that, your anxiety is not normal. You know, these bouts of depression aren't normal. A lot of times we think we can just, you know, write anxiety off to being in a better position in life.

That was my case, because I was dealing with panic attacks my whole life. And then the fourth time I got fired from radio, with like a two-year-old daughter and my now wife was back at home living with her parents in most corner South Carolina. I remember having like one of those panic attacks where you couldn't tell me I was not about to die. Like it was the French Sanford, oh I'm coming to join you Elizabeth. Like I thought like I thought it was over. And so I went to the doctor like I usually doing it. the doctor told me I that I that I that I that I that I to to to to to told that I told that I that I told that I told me I told me I that I told me I told me I told me I told me I told told told told told me I couldn't told told me I couldn't told told told told told told told told told told told told told told to to told to to told told to to told to to to to to to told to told that I could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could could. I the the the the the the the told. I could. I could the the told me I could. I could the the the the to me you know you do you do you deal with anxiety it sounds like what you're

describing was an anxiety attack and so he was like are you stressed out about anything and I'm like hell yeah so yeah so in my mind as long as I get me another gig and get back in position to get out my mama house I'll be all right next you got three four years later I got more success more money than I've ever experienced, but nothing has changed. Nothing has changed. An anxiety might even be worse.

The depression might even be worse and I really just was looking in the mirror not liking who I was becoming. And listen, I love my father, you know, I love him to death, but I saw myself you know, myself turning into him, right? And I saw myself, you know, really indulging in the alcohol, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, you, th, th, th, th, the, the, the, the, th, the, the, the, th, the, the, the, the, the, the, th, th, th, th, the, thin, the, the, the, the, the, the, nothing, the, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, the, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, the, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, the, nothing, nothing, the, nothing, the, the, nothing, nothing, the, nothing, the, the, the, the, the, the, the the, the the, the the the thin, thin, the the thin, thin, the the the the the the their, they, they, theymea, theymea, theymea, theymea, theyn, theymea, their, the drugs, and really indulging in the alcohol, and really indulging in, you know, other women and not treating my, my woman the way I needed to. And I was like, yo, for somebody that I thought I resented because of how I saw him treat my mom,

I'm becoming just like him. Do you think that that's why black men don't think we just don't be having the tool. We don't be having the resources. I think we have it now because we're having more conversations about it. You know? Like I said, I would have never known anything about it. I wouldn't have known about it if my dad would have told me way, way, way, I'm 44 years old. I grew up in the era where you had to be hardcore. Like literally, it was a term, like, you're hardcore, like you didn't show no emotion, you know,

we couldn't cry, we couldn't tell anybody we were sad, sad, you better go get a job, sad, you better, you better go play outside. Why you sad? Yeah. Yeah, yeah, you live in, you live in, you breathing, you're breathing, you, you, you, you, you, you're, you, you, you, you, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, you're, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, th... Yeah, th.. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. Yeah, th. So let me tell you, let me ask you, how do you deal with the panic attacks? I mean, you wrote a whole book about it. So I mean, like, because that can help women just as much as men. How do you deal with panic attacks? How do you, you know, is there breathing exercises? Is there something that you do? Yeah.

Well, I got a new therapist now. He said, faith and anxiety can't coexist. So whenever you have those panic attacks, whenever you have those anxiety attacks, you got to tell yourself your own hero story. And I know it may sound arrogant, but no, you really got to tell yourself how far you came. You have to tell yourself what you've overcome.

You know, you have to talk about the good things that you do for yourself, the good things you do for people. And I think that's something that we don't do enough. We don't tell ourselves our own hero story. So much of us are getting on social media waiting for a bunch of strangers that we don't even know to validate us through likes and retweets and everything else. You know? So it's like, how often do you, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often, how often do you, how often do you, you, you, to to to to to to to to to to to, to, to, to, to, to to to to to to to, to, to, th. to th. th. their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get to get th. th. to get to get to get to get to thi. to to to to to to thooooo. to to thoooooo, th. thoooooo. th. thooo. th. th. tho, th in the mirror and really just tell yourself your own hero story? You know? Sometimes we laugh at Calid, but Calid's right when he says, you, sometimes you gotta look in the room,

be like, you're smart. Yeah. You know, you beautiful. You know? I agree with you too much. I agree with you on that. He might do it too. DJ Calid level of annoyance. Absolutely. I get that in order to encourage each other. You know, Mary J. Black had a song called Good Morning Gorgeous. Good morning gorgeous.

Yeah, absolutely. Sometimes you gotta wake up in the morning and do that for yourself. I agree. I agree. Yeah, 100%. Yeah, sometimes you really got to look at yourself. That's right. I live with yourself.

So you better not like it. Tell yourself your own hero story. For all you brothers out there with the press dick, you know, look in the mirror, look in the mirror and talk to your penis about the good time. See, that's what I think therapy like improves you as a sexual partner? I mean, please say yes so they can go to therapy, please. Yes, it does. It does, but it really, it really does because it makes you more vulnerable, you know what I'm saying?

And I think that it makes you more, it makes you more intimate, you know, and I think that you start approaching, you know, thiii's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's, that's, that's, thi, thi, thi, thin, thin, thin, thin, thi, thin, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, th. th. th. th. th. thi, th. Yes, th. Yes, th. Yes, th. Yes, thi, thi, yes, yes, yes, thi, yes, yes, thi, yes, yes, yes, thi, yes, thi, yes, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi. Yes, thi. thi. You know what I mean? There's a great song by Dead Prez. It's an old, it's an old school song. Damn, I can't believe I said it's old school. But, but it's called mind sex and it's true. You know what I mean? Like everything is mental. It all starts, you know, it's a te' te. I might be dealing with erectile dysfunction and I just told my penis, my own hero sorry. So what would you say right now, what would be the thing that you say right now to tell men

to go to therapy? What would be your inspirational, like what would you say to all the men right now? I would say the life you save may be your own because you know I saw what you you were saying about you know men and being violent like yeah I think that we do a lot of projecting you know what I mean I think that we haven't dealt with our pain we haven't dealt with our hurt and so we end up projecting that pain and that hurt on the other people you know and and and therapy is really just one part of it I got a good friend I got a to salute her, man. Her name is Debbie Brown. And Debbie always told me that therapy will give you the language and it'll give you an understanding of what you're going through. But you actually have to go out and do things that help you heal.

You know, because it's one thing to be able to talk about it, but what are you doing to actually heal what you're dealing with? So if we don't actually deal with our issues and actually seek some healing, we're just gonna keep projecting that pain and hurt on other people. Amen. Yeah. Finding great candidates to hire can be like trying to find a needle in a haystack. You might get a lot of resumes, but not enough candidates with the right skills or experience.

But not with Zip Recruiter finds amazing candidates for you fast. And right now you can try it for free at ziprecruter.com. Ziprecruiter's smart technology identifies top talent for your roles quickly. Immediately after you post your job, Zip recruiter's powerful matching technology starts showing you qualified people for it. And you can use zip recruiters pre-written invite to apply message to personally reach out to your favorite candidates and encourage them to apply sooner. Ditch the other hiring sites and let Zip Recruiter find what you're looking

for, the needle in the haystack. Four out of five employers who post on Zip Recruiter get a quality candidate within the first day. Try it for free at this exclusive web address, Zip Recruiter.com, slash zip recruder.com slash zip. Again that's Zip Recruiter.com slash zip. Zip Recruiter, the smartest way to hire. My next guest tonight is a rapper who's lyrics put him in prison for 21 years, but he recently put out a new album called Son of the City. Please welcome Mac Phipps. It must be it must be weird to see the very thing you were convicted of a long time ago being in the headlines again huh?

Yeah and this time with another rapper. It must be it must be weird to see the very thing you were convicted of a long time ago being in the headlines again huh? Yeah and this time with another rapper. I know you're glad about that part. That's pretty, that ain't you. Yeah. You remember what the lyrics were that they used to send you, to send you to prison, to send you?

Yeah, so they used two different songs. It was a song I had called Sheld Sheldh-and-I. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. that, the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. That's, the, thed. That's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, that's, th. That's, th. It's, th. It's, that, that, that. that. that. that. I's, that. I's, that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that's that did was they took the chorus part for Murder Murder, Murder, Murder, Which I say Murder, Kill, Kill, It's Real on the Battlefield. So they took Murder, Murder, and they took a line that I used from Shell Shock about my father. Why I said something to the effect, like he gave me his name, he gave me the game, and if you f with me, he'll put with me with me the f with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me with me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me me together and they said murder murder kill kill if you f with me I'll put a bullet in your brain. This is the words of this young man and then they pointed to me in court and that made me scared to finish this interview. But interestingly enough because it is a thing I think I'm an artist like you're an artist I think that art should be protected I thi thi th th. th. th. th. th. thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi thi their their their thi thi their their their their their their their their their their their thi. their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their their thi thi thi thi teeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. te. te. te. te. te. te. their their their think that art should be protected, I think that there should be no limits on art.

I shouldn't necessarily know if you mean it or not. That's the purpose of art, right? But ultimately, there are a lot of people who say a lot of things they actually did. And that's a problem. There's a difference between artistic expression and a confession. And I think that some people are so determined to prove how hard they are, or where they came from, that they tell it on itself. And the whole street code, snitches don't get stitched, they get immunity for prosecution.

That's what they get. Right. And I guess, and if you might, and to add to that, I think that even if there are people that's doing, you know, doing what they're saying, I speak for the majority. Right. And for the majority, it's straight fiction. I mean, most of these guys, I mean, not the most, the more well-known artists, but let's talk about some of these artists that don't have as big of a name. In this song, he says, and I think prosecutors don't get the right, the right, the right, the right, their their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, is, is, is, their, their, and the majority, and the majority, and the majority, and the majority, and the majority, and the majority, and the majority, and the, and, and, and, is, is, is straight, is straight, is straight, is, is straight, is, is, is, is, is, is, is, is. And, is. And, is. And, is, is. And, is. And, is, is, is. And, is, is, is, is. And, is, is, is, is, is, is. And, is, is, is, is, is, their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. their. the the their the the right to cherry pick what is fiction and what is what is not. That's specifically the gig. What they do is they don't care about being right around.

They care about if they can win. Right. And I think that what we have this conflation with words and what they mean and their impact. And we just showed you an example of the kind of biases that can, admitted, you write murder, murder, kill, kill, and it is. Right. And it is unfair, but I think the whole thing is that we have to protect art in general, whether we agree, like it or not. I don't like everything I hear, but art needs to be protected.

And I told me, I totally agree, because in one song this young man may say, well, I killed four people. But in this very same song, he says he owned a Bugatti, a Lairjet, a helicopter, and he's sitting here with a quarter-pointed attorney. So we know this is false. So, I mean, in hip-hop, we use, we use similes, we use hyperbolies. You know, we exaggerate. Right. Kim said it.

We like to exaggerate, dream and imagine. So I just think that it's unfair when they get to cherry pick, okay, this part of the song is true, and this part of the song is fiction. I just think that's wrong. Even now, you've been of who you are and their art does that for you man so right the fact that you could go through that have an experience that could turn you sour and you use it to create guess what more art that says something right right right

right and and yeah and yeah obviously just being here is a reflection of that hope that I kept the whole time I was there for 21 the the the the the th th for th the the th for th for th for th. th. th. th. the th. th. to th. th. to th. thi thi to thi thi thi thi. the. to the. I that the thi. I that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that that th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the. I the. I the. I the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the. I the. I that's that's that's that I kept the whole time I was there for 21 years, I made a promise to myself. I said I was never going to let this situation turn me black-hearted. I never wanted to be bitter, mad about it. You don't want them to turn you with you or convicted of. Yeah, you couldn't. I wasn't, I like the win, y'all and you wasn't going to turn you into a Miserable bitter person you know so when I came out I said well I got to get the work

Because there's other guys who I left behind that in similar situations Master P's brother see murder is in a similar situation you know his image was used against him Sure, see murder, yeah, so right you know what's interesting you have a new album now. It's the son of????????? th. So? th. So? th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I? th. th. I? I. I. I. th. I. I'm? I'm? I'm. I'm. th. the the the th. th. th. th. th. th. I'm. I'm. I'm. I'm. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. I. th. I. I. th. I. I. I. I. I. th. I. I. I. I. I. th. I. I. I. I. th. I. I. I th. I th. I'm. th. I'm. th. I'm. th. I'm. I th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. I'm. I th. I'm. I'm you have a new album now, it's called Son of the City. Now, did you use any of them murder, murder, kill, kill, yeah, none of that? No, I bet that ain't an album. This is no, no, no. No. And I think much of that has to do with just maturity. I'm a grandfather.

Right. So I mean, ultimately I was going to mature as a musician. Anyway, a lot of these young men that's rapping about what they're rapping about today, they won't be talking about that in 10, 15 years. I mean, this album is a reflection of a more mature, grown man. How many tracks you have on this album? It's 10 tracks on it. What's your favorite track is Proverbs, because it's what I would I I I I I I I I I I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would I would tell the world if I had the world's attention for four minutes. Those words are what I would say. I ain't got four minutes. Give me 30 seconds.

30 seconds? All right. May your tomorrows be filled with promise and the opposite of sorrow amongst other things. For I know that it's a struggle just to go with the flow. When feet are to take you many places you would rather not go but fretting out. the the the the the the the the the the the the the, threathomen, the the the the threathomen, the the threathomen, the the the to be, the, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, to bea, the the to bea, to bea, to bea, thoes, thoomorrow, thoes, thoes, thoes, thoes, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, tho, I I I I I, I, I, I will, I, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, I will, and thee, and thee, and thee, and thee, and thee, and thee, and together, and together, and together, and together, and together, and together, and together, and together, and the things that you just might behold but cannot control for in time you'll know the reason everything has a season I swear that not until it's cooked that we start eating I believe in the power of us made in their image and in their likeness the reason we write this is with hopes that will inspire others to take it higher and further than those before us because they're waiting for us. So your thoughts make your reality and I wish

that I can share with y'all all the formalities but if I had to sum it up in just a few words that I only take seven on earth as it is in heaven. Ah Ah! Now, yes, okay what? Okay, what? Do you stand? Look, uh, I'm no composer, but that's a damn show a lot better than murder, murder, kill,

put it, put it, put it. Max Films, everybody. Explore more shows from the Daily Show from the Daily Show by searching the Daily Show, wherever you get your podcast. Watch the Daily Show. Watch the Daily Show Podcast Universe by searching the Daily Show, wherever you get your podcasts. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Fairmount Plus. This has been a Comedy Central podcast.