Henson’s response to his claim that he wasn’t an advocate?
“Yes, you are, brother.
Whether you want to be or not, you are.
Eco-Friendly Wardrobe—Sweater and Jeans: Rag and Bone; Sneakers: Veja; Photography: Jai Lennard
So you should embrace it.”
Embrace it, he has.
That sharing has been hugely impactful for many, to say the least.
Eco-Friendly Wardrobe—Hoodie: Theory; Jeans: Rag and Bone; Socks: Nudie; Sneakers: Veja; Photo: Jai Lennard
“It was right there, under your nose the whole time.”
Charlamagne’s practices, though, couldn’t be simpler or more proven to work.
He saysmeditationis key, but it wasn’t an easy road to get into it before quarantine.
Eco-Friendly Wardrobe—Sweater and Jeans: Rag and Bone; Sneakers: Veja; Photo: Jai Lennard
“Meditation was something that I never could do,” Charlamagne says.
It was right there, under your nose the whole time.
Other practices of his are equally viable for most people.
Lastly, Charlamagne espouses the importance ofbeing in physical contact with nature.
He says, “I lovegrounding.
It makes me feel better and it gets me back to a good place.”
The people that make your energy go up, that’s what you really want to embrace.
And they have helped a lot of different people."
And we plan to do that through raising money.
I’m a person who probably can raise money faster than an organization like Black Men Heal.
So when I get it, I give it right to them."
This work, he says, “‘is literally about pointing people in the right direction.
And I feel like I’m just that person to say, ‘Hey, y’all looking for help?
I know where it is.’
Because people come to me all the time.
And I’m like, ‘Man, I’m no expert at anything.
I just have some experiences.
And I’m just the person who decided to share their stories.'”
“And I said that brother’s hurting.
That brother is in real, real, real pain.
Somebody traumatized that guy who killed Nip.
It further underscored the need for mental health to be discussed in order for healing to occur.
His father told him, “‘I was on 10 to 12 different medications throughout my life.
Well, the reason I didn’t was because of you and your older sister.'”
“For me growing up, I literally thought that was normal,” he shares.
“So when it started happening to me, I just thought that that’s the way it was.
But that was the generational trauma of him trying to deal with his issues.”
To break the cycle, copious change is required.
That’s where I’m at right now in my life at 43 years old.
That lack of surety can be a great thing, it turns out.
And all, all of us are just figuring this out on the fly.
And if you’re actually doing life right, then there’s always new things to learn.”
Life does not come with any instruction manual.
And all of us are just figuring this out on the fly.
And if you’re actually doing life right, then there’s always new things to learn.
I love stories of evolution."
I don’t think masculinity is anything now.
He tells us that “vulnerability is just being human.
All humans are vulnerable.
We’re actually more vulnerable than we are anything else.
That’s why we put all of these guards up.”
Vulnerability is just being human.
All humans are vulnerable.
We’re actually more vulnerable than we are anything else.
That’s why we put all of these guards up.
At age 17, Charlamagne got a tattoo of Wolverine.
At the time, tattoos were illegal in South Carolina.
He says, “The reason I always gravitated towards Wolverine was because his superpower is healing.”
He believes that every version of himselffrom eight-year-old Lenard to The Breakfast Club host Charlamagne tha Goddeserves healing.
“I knew that healing was what I always wanted for myself,” he admits.
In our conversation, I found myself surprised repeatedly by how deep, and how no-holds-barred real Charlamagne is.
Of this, Charlamagne explains, “I’m taking people on that journey with me.
But you got to take people on that journey with you.”
I was in a very tender place and I still am in a lot of ways.
But you got to take people on that journey with you.
He’s looking to eradicate the stigma around mental health issues, along with assisting others in getting care.
