W. Kamau Bell Biography

W. Kamau Bell is a social comedian located in Berkeley, California. Kamau is the Emmy Award-winning host of CNN's United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell. The third season of United Shades of Grey will broadcast on CNN in 2018. Prior to United Shades of America, Kamau was best known for his critically praised "and shamefully short-lived " FX comedy series, Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell. Kamau is also happy to be the ACLU's Ambassador of Racial Justice, but he is disappointed that he did not receive a badge to go with the position. Kamau serves on the boards of Race Forward, a think tank for racial justice, and Hollaback, a non-profit campaign to stop street harassment. The New York Times labeled Kamau "the most exciting new talent in political comedy in recent years," while Salon.com included him on their list of the "Sexiest Men of 2012," describing Totally Biased as "surreptitiously revolutionary in its seamless diversity and compassion." According to the New Yorker, Bell's gimmick is intersectional progressivism, in which he regards racial, LGBT, and women's concerns as intertwined. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "it makes The Daily Show look like something your father would watch." Totally Biased was nominated for both an NAACP Image Award and a GLAAD Award during its limited run. Chris Rock executive produced Totally Biased after attending a performance of Kamau's one-man act, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour. The W. Kamau Bell Curve is still performed at campuses around the country by Kamau. Kamau has released Semi-Prominent Negro, the audio version of his Showtime comedy special of the same name. One Night Only and Face Full of Flour are Kamau's previous standup comedy CDs. The Awkward Thoughts of W. Kamau Bell: Tales of a 6'4" African American, Heterosexual, Cisgender, Left-Leaning, Asthmatic, Black and Proud Blerd, Mama's Boy, Dad, and Stand-Up Comedian was Kamau's debut book, published in 2017. Kamau has been on Comedy Central shows such as @midnight and John Oliver's New York Stand-up Show. He has also appeared on Real Time with Bill Maher, Chelsea, Conan, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, WTF with Marc Maron, The Rachel Maddow Show, The View, Fresh Air with Terry Gross, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Henry Louis Gates Jr's Many Rivers To Cross, Bullseye with Jesse Thorn, The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell, The Nerdist, and This American Life, among other shows. And, sure, if you ask respectfully and have the time, he will do your podcast. His work has appeared in the New York Times, VanityFair.com, Salon, MSNBC.com, Buzzfeed, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other publications. Kamau may be most enthusiastic about his burgeoning podcast empire these days. Kamau is the host of the public radio discussion show Kamau Right Now!, which airs on KALW in San Francisco. Kamau Right Now! is a live "and vibrant" conversation program characterized by Kamau as "a three ring circle of relevance." Kamau is particularly enthusiastic about his political podcast, Politically Re-Active, in which he and his co-host, friend and fellow comedian Hari Kondabolu, attempt to make sense of the madness. Kamau's labor of love is his podcast, Denzel Washington is the Greatest Actor of All Time Period, which he co-hosts with his buddy, comedian Kevin Avery. On the podcast, they evaluate every Denzel Washington film in (largely) alphabetical sequence with the goal of proving well, you guessed it. Guests on the show include included Spike Lee, Ava DuVernay, Ryan Coogler, India Arie, and many more. The podcast has been highlighted multiple times in the AV Club and on Entertainment Weekly's Must List. Kevin and Kamau were included to Fast Company Magazine's list of Innovative Podcasters. DWITGAOATP was named one of the Top Ten Podcasts Every Black Woman Should Hear by Essence Magazine. All three of these broadcasts are available anywhere podcasts are available. Kamau was named San Francisco's top comic by the SF Weekly, the SF Bay Guardian, and 7�7 Magazine, and was praised by Punchline Magazine as "one of our country's most effective racial analysts with a blazing wit." The New Yorker claimed Bell's shtick is intersectional progressivism: he addresses racial, LGBT, and women's concerns as interdependent. Robin Williams dubbed Kamau "ferociously amusing." The SF Weekly described Kamau as "clever, fashionable, and very much in the style of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle," however he was ecstatic when they labeled him "handsome."

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