W. Kamau Bell is an Emmy & Peabody Award-winning host, filmmaker and comedian best known for the CNN docuseries, "United Shades of America," for which he won multiple Emmys. He is returning to the stand-up stage with his new comedy tour, “Who’s With Me?” which kicked off earlier this year at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
The tour continues through the fall with a stop at Carmel’s Sunset Center on September 20th. I recently spoke with Kamau ahead of his performance and he told me what audiences can expect from the new comedy tour.
"I’m talking about the state of the world and also talking about the state of my world. And so you’ll hear my thoughts about the current state of America. I don’t steer clear of politics or big opinions. I’m known for that. And if you don’t know me, now you know me for that. And I also talk a lot about what it is to be a dad and a son. I’ve got three daughters that I’m raising with my wife. So yeah, there’s a little bit of something for everybody."
Click the audio player at the top of this story to listen to the interview or read the highlights below.
Why Kamau returned to stand up comedy after a seven year break:
Have you read the news? There’s a lot going on and I have a lot of opinions. At some point, you’re like, “I thought I was retired,” but I felt the need to share those opinions again…and I didn’t know if I could come back. You know, being a stand-up comic is a little bit like being an athlete. You've got to get your strength back and your wind back. Luckily I was able to go to the Berkeley Rep, which is like the local repertory theater up here, which does a lot of major Broadway shows, but also has a 60-seat theater that they let me use every Saturday and try out my new act. I was able to get myself back together and have been on tour since last year. So yeah, it’s been great.
On his strategy for winning Celebrity Jeopardy earlier this year:
There’s two things you've got to do. One, you have to figure out the button. If you don’t figure out the button, it doesn’t matter how smart you are. And then you also have to not go into a shame spiral if you miss a question or you don't get a right answer for a while. So you really have to control your emotions. I would say it’s a physical game. It’s an athletic game. It’s also a psychological game.
Comedian W. Kamau Bell will be performing at the Sunset Center in Carmel on September 20th as part of his ‘Who's With Me?’ comedy tour…the Sunset Center is one of KAZU’s many underwriters. The concert will be preceded by a presentation from the Black Leaders and Allies Collaborative [B.L.A.A.C.] featuring KAZU's own Lisa Ledin.