Charlamagne Tha God Reveals Hilarious Craig Melvin Throwback Story That Leaves ‘Today’ Hosts in Stitches

Craig Melvin may now be one of the familiar faces of Today, but Charlamagne Tha God remembers a very different version of his longtime friend — including one unforgettable night out in South Carolina that had Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones cracking up.

During the Wednesday, August 19, episode of Today With Jenna & Sheinelle, Charlamagne looked back on the pair’s early careers and shared several stories from before either man became nationally known.

Charlamagne Goes Way Back With Craig Melvin

Jones revealed that Melvin’s friendship with Charlamagne has long been a source of playful teasing behind the scenes at Today.

“Around the building, we have been clowning Craig for the last five years or so about the fact that he’s your buddy,” she told Charlamagne, joking that staffers wondered how Melvin became friends with someone “so cool.”

Bush Hager joined in, noting that while the team loves Melvin, he would readily admit he was “a little bit of a nerd.”

Right on cue, viewers were shown a familiar throwback photograph of a young Melvin wearing glasses and playing the violin — an image his colleagues have repeatedly used to lovingly embarrass him on television.

But Charlamagne claimed he has something even better.

An Even More Embarrassing Craig Melvin Photo Exists

Charlamagne recalled the period when both men were building their careers in Columbia, South Carolina. At the time, Charlamagne worked in radio at Hot 103.9, while Melvin was at local television station WIS.

According to Charlamagne, The State newspaper writer Otis Taylor Jr. once featured both of them in a piece highlighting 10 people in South Carolina arts and entertainment who were under 25.

It was Melvin’s accompanying photograph that Charlamagne never forgot.

“Oh, I got a picture worse than that,” he teased.

Charlamagne described Melvin lying in the grass while a golden retriever licked his face.

Unfortunately for Jones and Bush Hager, he didn’t have the picture with him. Jones jokingly offered him $12 to produce it, while Bush Hager doubled the offer to $24 before acknowledging that money probably wasn’t going to persuade him.

The Club Story That Had Jenna and Sheinelle Losing It

Charlamagne then offered another glimpse into Melvin’s personality, first describing him as “one of the most disciplined people” he knows.

His next story appeared to illustrate exactly what he meant.

Years ago, the two spent time at a Columbia club called V12. Charlamagne recalled being in the VIP area, possibly during one of his birthday celebrations, when someone elsewhere in the club began smoking marijuana.

According to Charlamagne, Melvin immediately noticed the smell.

“Is that marijuana? Charlamagne, I gotta go,” he recalled Melvin saying.

Charlamagne joked that his friend promptly “skedaddled out of the club.”

The story sent Jones and Bush Hager into laughter.

Jones eventually pointed out that Melvin’s instincts clearly didn’t hurt his career.

“Well, but he made it,” she said. “Now, he’s hosting the Today show.”

From South Carolina News to the ‘Today’ Desk

Like Charlamagne, Melvin began his professional career in his home state of South Carolina.

He worked for WIS in Columbia before moving to WRC in Washington, D.C. In 2011, he joined NBC News and MSNBC, which is now known as MS Now.

Melvin became part of Today in 2018 and has co-hosted the program’s third hour since that year.

His role expanded again in January 2025, when he became Savannah Guthrie’s co-anchor following Hoda Kotb’s departure from the show.

Years before reaching one of morning television’s most prominent desks, however, Melvin was apparently the young broadcaster who would abandon a nightclub the moment he detected marijuana in the air — and Charlamagne Tha God clearly hasn’t forgotten it.

Today With Jenna & Sheinelle airs weekdays at 10 a.m. on NBC.