After six months hosting mornings on The Beat (WPHI, 100.3), Charlamagne was shown the door Monday.
And since his termination came two days after he interviewed rapper Beanie Sigel -- who had just released a Jay-Z diss track called "Average Cats" -- hip-hop message boards lit up with rumors that Jay-Z (Sigel's onetime mentor) had Charlamagne riffed.
Both Andy Rosen, who runs the Radio One stations in Philadelphia, and Charlamagne himself deny the link..
Reached by cell in a cab in New York, Charlamagne scoffed, saying: "They [WPHI] wanted to move in a different direction."
Rosen said Charlamagne left "on the best of terms."
Best assessment: Charlamagne's ratings didn't budge, except among men 18-34. But six months is not exactly a long trial.
He is expected to be paid off for the remainder of his two-year contract.
Rosen said the station would continue to play music in the mornings and would entertain the idea of hiring a new morning show.
(If you have 50 minutes to kill, hear Charlamagne's interview with Sigel here.)
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