American comedian and TV personality Kemah Bob has created and is hosting a brand-new podcast called ‘FOC IT UP with Kemah Bob’, produced by The Guilty Feminist’s team. FOC stands for Femmes of Color, however the podcast celebrates and centres on the perspectives of women, non-binary, gender non-conforming and trans-masculine comedians of color, and will be released weekly from 12th July.

Based on her live show The Femmes of Color Comedy Club (@focitupcomedy), the first season features performances, chat and games where the audience can interact with 36 fierce and fabulous comedians. Recorded in London from 19th June with a live audience, it is a rare opportunity to hear incredible comedy and get to know the folks behind the funny. Her many incredible guests include Taskmaster’s Desiree Burch and Sophie Duker, Japanese comedian Yuriko Kotani, Ninia Benjamin from 3 Non-Blondes and the award-winning Shazia Mirza. FOC IT UP has featured at Underbelly at Southbank, the Edinburgh Fringe and will be at this year’s Latitude festival.

“Since co-hosting the Guilty Feminist years ago, I’ve always been inspired by its ability to raise awareness of amazing comedians that are often overlooked by the mainstream. And more-so its ability to align us with an audience that connects with our perspectives and may not have found us otherwise. Since founding FOC IT UP! one of my greatest joys is bringing relatable talent to an audience that many comedy spaces don’t cater for, and I’m delighted to say that with the help of The House of The Guilty Feminist I’ll be able to invite an even bigger audience to get to know these FOC-ing legends.” KEMAH BOB

As a Texas native new to London’s comedy scene, Kemah noticed blatant tokenism and a general a lack of non-white acts and audience members at mainstream gigs - which she found surprising in Europe’s most multicultural city. At gigs she didn’t have the opportunity to hang out with other women of color backstage, and a lot happens backstage! Performers get to talk about life, gigs and get and give advice.

“The House of The Guilty Feminist is fizzingly proud to present the FOC IT UP! podcast with the shooting star that is Kemah Bob. Her Femmes of Color Comedy Club is the freshest & most important new outfit in the British comedy landscape presenting both the hottest legendary talent and supporting exciting new emerging voices. Come out to the live shows for the IRL buzz or let us bring the big laughs to your headphones through the magic of podcasting. Prepare to be engaged, challenged and highly entertained as Kemah and the glorious comedians she showcases, in stand up and conversation, keep you giddy with laughter.” DEBORAH FRANCES-WHITE – The Guilty Feminist

Kemah (she/they) is a comedian, presenter, writer, actor, drag artist and producer. Her work centres black cultural identity, mental health, sexuality, healing and well-being using entertainment as a tool for enlightenment and empowerment. She takes huge inspiration from Oprah, Beyonce and the sun – aiming to spread love, light and warmth everywhere she goes! In addition to performing stand-up and hosting events around the UK and beyond – she has supported Hannah Gadsby, Nish Kumar, Desiree Burch and Jess Fostekew on tour.

Her TV work includes hosting ‘It’s A Sin – After Hours’ for Ch 4, co-hosting ‘The Island’ with Tom Allen (Dave 2021), Richard Osman’s House of Games, Jonathan Ross’ Comedy Club (ITV), PLS Like (BBC 3), Fully Blown (BBC 3), Guessable (Comedy Central), Mission Accessible (channel 4), Question Team (Dave), Stand Up For Live Comedy (BBC), Don’t Hate The Playaz, Celebrity Karaoke Club: Drag Edition, CelebAbility, Apocalypse Wow! and Stand-Up Sketch Show (all ITV2).

Kemah is a regular co-host on The Guilty Feminist podcast, playing the Palladium and Barbican and joining their UK tours. They also hosted Five Steps to Sexual Confidence, a BBC Sounds podcast on “owning your sexuality”. She can also be heard featuring on... well too many other podcasts including Off Menu, James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds, You’re Dead to Me, Sarah Millican’s Elephant in the Room and Brett Goldstein’s Films To Be Buried With.

LISTINGS INFORMATION:

Location: 21 Soho 3-5 Sutton Row London - W1D 4NR
Time: 6-9pm

Tickets for all shows: https://www.21-soho.com/foc-it-up

JUNE
19th Sophie Duker, Michelle De Swarte, Njambi McGrath, Charlie George, Ola
Labib & Esther Manito
26th Sikisa Bostwick-Barnes, Athena Kugblenu, Ariane Anantaputri, Isabelle
Farah, Katie Green & Shivani Dave
JULY
3rd Desiree Burch, Thanyia Moore, Ninia Benjamin, Erika Ehler, Mary O'Connell & Celya AB
17th Travis Alabanza, Janine Harouni, Yuriko Kotani, Bella Hull, Shazia Mirza & Ria Lina.
31st Maria Shehata, Twayna Mayne, Saima Ferdows, Sharlin Jahan, Suchandrika Chakrabarti, Kate Cheka
AUGUST
7th Priya Hall, Alex Bertulis-Fernandes, Kirshna Istha, Leila Navabi, Su Mi and Fathiya Saleh

LEARN MORE ABOUT FOC IT UP & FIND THE PODCAST:
https://www.focitupcomedy.com/
@focitupcomedy on Instagram and Twitter