BA Exclusive: Charlamagne Opens Up About Glorifying Drug-Use In Music, Applauds ASCAP For New Program To Assist Artists With Mental And Physical Wellness: “I Don’t Want To Just Blame The Music, It’s Deeper Than That”

American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers, widely known as ASCAP, has announced the launch of ASCAP TuneUp. The program was created to support both the mental and physical needs of music creators, and according to The Breakfast Club’s Charlamagne Tha God, it’s “a great idea.”

“I think this is a great idea,” Charlamagne told Baller Alert exclusively. “I applaud ASCAP for using its resources to provide tools for kids to deal with their mental health issues.”⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

ASCAP members will now receive access to discounted services that support mental health, mindfulness, exercise, and nutrition. These services include recovery support through MusiCares, the charitable division of the Recording Academy, that assists in times of need to musicians and others within the music community. The program will also host various wellness events for members in multiple cities.

TuneUp was launched as part of ASCAP’s extensive research effort, which will now be conducted on an annual basis going forward. In “The US Music Creator Wellness Study” 2019 report, it was revealed that while musicians’ health and wellness needs are typically greater than the general population, they do not feel that they have adequate access to proper wellness services. Even more troubling, it was revealed that creators are four times less likely than the general population to feel like they have good access to services that can help with substance abuse and other addictions.⠀⠀⠀

Despite the report, when it comes to drug use in the music industry, many use the opportunity to place the blame of the creator for glorifying addictive behaviors. But, according to Charlamagne, “it’s deeper than that.”

“I don’t want to just blame the music because it’s deeper than that,” the radio host told Baller Alert. “It’s layers to it. These kids are born with mental health issues like anxiety and depression.”

“They have trauma they haven’t dealt with, never been to a therapist, never been to a counselor, so when they finally start to self medicate they have found the escape they have been looking for; which now on top of mental health issues they become addicts, which complicates an already complicated issue,” Charlamagne continued. “So yes, let’s start getting to the root of the trauma, getting these kids mentally healthy early so hopefully they don’t resort to drugs.”