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Crosscurrents

Local comic Nato Green makes it big by being "Totally Biased"

http://www.natogreen.com/

Living in the Bay Area, it’s not unlikely that some of your neighbors end up making it big. Our area is known for inspiring and supporting talent in many fields. For instance, local comedians Nato Green and W. Kamau Bell have been cracking up the Bay for years, with a comedy tour called “Laughter Against the Machine.

Recently, their acts caught the attention of producer Chris Rock and landed them a new show, called “Totally Biased,” debuting tonight on the FX network.

Their comedic style is rooted in the Bay area, with topics ranging from the workers at Trader Joe’s, Occupy Wallstreet observations, and personal stories of resistance. Aside from working on a TV show, Green has a new comedy album out and he came by the studio to talk about it with KALW’s Ben Trefny.

NATO GREEN: Chris Rock has a real strong vision. And he's encouraging us to push ourselves to come up with perspectives on things that no-one else is doing in comedy. And take risks that will make people uncomfortable. And if we pull it off having a mostly unknown group of comics from San Francisco ride Chris Rock's coattails to having a series on FX that will be as smart, and hard hitting, and funny as we've been doing all these years, it'll be a miracle, and we'll be an exception that proves the rule, and we'll feel like we've cheated the system.

You can hear the full interview by clicking on the player above.

Nato Green's new stand up CD is called “The Nato Green Party.” He’s writing for the new Chris Rock-produced comedy show starring W. Kamau Bell on FX, which starts tonight. There’s a watching party at 10pm at the Dark Room Theater in San Francisco at 2263 Mission Street. Admission is $5.

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Crosscurrents Politics & Government
I joined KALW in 2004. As Executive News Editor and then News Director, I helped our news department win numerous regional and national awards for long- and short-form journalism. I've also helped create numerous training programs — for teenagers, incarcerated people, and early-career journalists — and have taught hundreds of audio producers. I served as interim Executive Director for nearly two years. My work is currently focused on creating original live events, programming, and building partnerships with like-minded organizations.