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Comedian

Every great comedian has an instantly recognizable onstage persona. D.C. native Earthquake has mastered the art of the surly observer. His wit and honesty have made him one of stand-up comedy's brightest stars, and his memorable cameo in Clerks II was one of the highlights of the film. As he prepares to take the stage at Atlanta's "Larger Than Life Comedy Showdown" with heavyweights Eddie Griffin, Adele Givens and LaVell Crawford, the man born Nathaniel Martin Stroman has a lot to be thankful for. "I always want to collaborate with other [comedians] that are doing things," he says. "You want to give the people something to laugh about, because you've got to laugh or you'll cry today."

As a veteran of the stage, he's seen more than his fair share of comedians come and go. Earthquake's key to staying power has been his originality. "Young cats, the mistake they make is not being original," he believes. "When you get to this higher level, people have heard everything. They're looking for your content to be original. You're up there by yourself and you've got to make strangers laugh." That, he says, makes stand-up comedy the hardest form of performance art. "Rappers got dancers, and they can play their first song again 10 years from now and get the same response [they did] the first time. In comedy, we've gotta continue to refresh and change and we don't have any help." Earthquake has had no problems staying fresh; his takes on politics, family and the world in general are as sharp as ever. "One thing about comedy, it's based in drama and tragedy," explains the funnyman. "[It's] what I'm going through and [what] I have been through. As a black comedian, we've always been right behind the pulpit. We [are] the voice of the community." - todd williams

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