W. KAMAU BELL

My Episode of KQED’s SPARK re-airs THIS WEEK!

Monday, February 8th, 2010

My episode of Spark airs again THIS WEEK! Apparently, I’m an artist now. I talk racism, Pumpkin Pie, & you get to meet the elusive White Mike Johnson!

Westerhout, Bell, and Blades

See a preview of this Spark episode.

Play Real Media

Spark follows photographer Katherine Westerhout inside a forgotten West Oakland landmark — the 16th Street Train Station. Once the terminus of the Transcontinental Railroad, this Beaux Arts gem has been off-limits since 1989, but that might be about to change.

Next, comedian W. Kamau Bell shares his wry observations on race and his personal stories about being black in an Obama-era America.

Then, meet Wil Blades, a virtuoso at playing a soulful instrument from a bygone era, the B3 organ.

[Original air date: Wed, Apr 01, 2009]

Upcoming Broadcasts:

Wed, Feb 10, 2010 — 7:30pm email reminder
Thu, Feb 11, 2010 — 1:30am email reminder
Fri, Feb 12, 2010 — 11:30pm email reminder
more airings»

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W. Kamau Bell Curve Clips

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Here are some hot of the presses clips of The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour from last year at The Comedy Central Stage in Los Angeles. Enjoyapate!

If you liked ‘em there’s more over at my YouTube Page.

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Conan can’t even get respect on his way out… YAHOO hompepage

Friday, January 22nd, 2010

This is what appeared on Yahoo’s homepage the evening of Conan’s last show…

I guess we know who's side Yahoo is on.

I guess we know who’s side Yahoo is on.

Tags: conan o'brien, conana, tonight show, Yahoo says go eff yourself coco
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LATM’s Hari Kondabolu on Comedy Central This Friday!

Monday, January 11th, 2010

Get your Tivo’s & DVR’s ready! Laughter Against The Machine’s very own Hari Kondabolu THIS Friday, January 15@ 8pm Pacific & 11pm East Coast on Comedy Central! I’ll be watching.

Tags: Comedy Central, Hari Kondabolu, John Oliver, Laughter Against The Machine, stand-up
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The East Bay Express RAVES about Laughter Against The Machine

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

East Bay Express pic

The East Bay Express declares of Laughter Against The Machine, “Theirs might be the brainiest, most literate comedy tour to hit the Bay Area this January. It’s smart, it’s heady, it gets to the very edge of what’s tolerable for a left-wing, politically correct audience.”

And I got you cheeeeeep tickets, cuz I love you!

See you in Oakland.

Tags: against, bay, east, express, kamau, laughter, machine, new, oakland, parish
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Laughter Against The Machine comes to Oakland Jan 7-9!

Tuesday, January 5th, 2010

If you missed us on New Year’s Eve in San Francisco, then check us out across the Bay in Oakland THIS, Thursday thru Friday, January 7, 8, & 9. Plus I know a dude and he can get you cheeeeeep tickets HERE!

Here’s the Facebook invite if you roll that way.

The venue is called The New Parish and it is the Uptown district’s newest hotspot. Dave Chappelle did the 1st comedy show there a few months ago. We’re #2. In the immortal words of Jim Morrison, “Pretty cool. Pretty neat.”

Tags: against, chappelle, dave, jim, laughter, machine, morrison, new. parish, oakland
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Laughter Against The Machine on New Year’s Eve

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

FROM THE EAST BAY EXPRESS

Seldom do homegrown comedians have as much personal magnetism or shrewd observations as W. Kamau Bell, who is best known for his ever-evolving one-man show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve. Bell and Kevin Avery used to have a weekly radio spot on Live 105 called Siskel and Negro, which they mostly dedicated to film reviews — with some pop-culture miscellany mixed in. At this point, though, Bell has busied himself with an ongoing critique of race politics, integration, sanctimoniousness, silent hypocrisy, and glaring inequity in the so-called Obama Age. Bell constantly recobbles his material to stay on top of the news cycle, so it’s a different show from month to month. This New Year’s Eve he’ll revisit the big stories from 2009, and examine pop culture from a racy angle. Aptly titled “Laughter Against the Machine,” Bell’s night of “guerilla comedy” also features the equally incisive Hari Kondabolu, and local favorite Nato Green.

Buy Tickets HERE!

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A Conversation I Had Last Night Before The Show…

Saturday, December 19th, 2009

Not the actual guy

I’m in the greenroom last night, minutes before the show, and I hear someone say, “Kamau’s in there.” Now since everybody I know is already IN the green room and I know I don’t know anyone in Seattle, I immediately get suspicious of someone wanting to see me before the show. In walks an older white guy with the longest dreadlocks I’ve seen outside of… well pretty much anywhere. Trailing behind him was a black woman.

Older Dreadlocked White Guy: I used to have a friend named Kamau. Did you ever live in Oregon?

Me: No.

ODWG stares at me quizzically : You never lived way out in the country in Oregon?

Me: No.

ODWG: Really?

Me: No.

ODWG: Kamau was big like you.

Me: OK.

(At this point we go back and forth like this at least three more times, before finally…)

ODWG: You sure you never lived in Oregon? Or the big island in Hawaii?

Me: Yes.

ODWG shakes his head wistfully: I thought you were Kamau.

Me: I AM KAMAU!

1) Why couldn’t he wait until after the show when he saw me perform where he could have gathered more information.
2) Why don’t some people… (I really want to say white people, but I’m trying to be better about that.) Why don’t some people have that thing in there head where they go, “Wait… I should probably hang back and collect more information before I make the mistake of ONCE AGAIN implying that all black people look alike.”
3) Why did he make is so difficult for me to justify my existence as a separate Kamau? Can’t there be two “Kamaus?” Actually, there are probably thousands and thousands… just not in this country.
4) This was the dreadlocked, liberal, crunchy granola white guy. He is supposed to be on my side, and not make me feel marginalized or even worse not seen as an individual at all. I’m not suprised but I am exhausted.

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Are YOU or anyone you know from Seattle? If so…

Monday, December 7th, 2009

I’ll be headlining at The Comedy Underground December 17-19. And the best part is that my good friend, Hari Kondabolu will be on the shows, too.

Here’s the press release below in case you want to send this around.

Thanks. Read More…

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A forgotten song from The Blindside Soundtrack

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Watch this. Revel in it. I can’t get enough of it. Send it around. It’s from a woman who writes a blog called The Oreo Experience. I wish I knew her. Actually, I wish I knew her when I was in high school. I’d be a different person now.

Tags: blindside, blindsided, bullock, dangerous, experience, freedom, minds, oreo, sandra, too, writers, you
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My Episode of KQED’s SPARK re-airs THIS WEEK!

Westerhout, Bell, and Blades

Upcoming Broadcasts:

W. Kamau Bell Curve Clips

Conan can’t even get respect on his way out… YAHOO hompepage

LATM’s Hari Kondabolu on Comedy Central This Friday!

The East Bay Express RAVES about Laughter Against The Machine

Laughter Against The Machine comes to Oakland Jan 7-9!

Laughter Against The Machine on New Year’s Eve

A Conversation I Had Last Night Before The Show…

Are YOU or anyone you know from Seattle? If so…

A forgotten song from The Blindside Soundtrack

meet kamau

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