Omar Ramzi ( ar, عمر رمزي; born June 5, 1983) is the first white Sudanese stand-up comedian and one of the first
stand-up comedian
Stand-up comedy is a comedy, comedic performance to a live audience in which the performer addresses the audience directly from the stage. The performer is known as a comedian, a comic or a stand-up.
Stand-up comedy consists of One-line joke ...
s to perform on stage professionally in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and has opened for a number of accomplished stand-up comedians from the
US and the
UK.
Bio and career
Omar Ramzi was born and raised in
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
,
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
. His mother is Irish and his father is Sudanese and he is known in the comedy world as 'The White Sudani' (Sudani is Sudanese in Arabic) His debut as a stand-up comedian was in February, 2009, opening for
Ahmed Ahmed
Ahmed Ahmed ( ar, أحمد أحمد), (; born June 27, 1970) is an Egyptian-American actor and comedian.
Early life
Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His family moved to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Rivers ...
in
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's promi ...
along with a few other local comedians for Smile Productions.
Since then he has been doing shows in all the major cities in
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
:
Jeddah
Jeddah ( ), also spelled Jedda, Jiddah or Jidda ( ; ar, , Jidda, ), is a city in the Hejaz region of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and the country's commercial center. Established in the 6th century BC as a fishing village, Jeddah's pro ...
,
Riyadh
Riyadh (, ar, الرياض, 'ar-Riyāḍ, lit.: 'The Gardens' Najdi pronunciation: ), formerly known as Hajr al-Yamamah, is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the R ...
,
Khobar
Khobar ( ar, ٱلْخُبَر, translit=al-Khobar) is a city and governorate in the Eastern Province of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, situated on the coast of the Persian Gulf. With a population of 457,748 as of 2017, Khobar is part of the 'Triple ...
,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...
and
Alexandria
Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...
He has opened for several other world-renowned stand-up comedians such as
Ahmed Ahmed
Ahmed Ahmed ( ar, أحمد أحمد), (; born June 27, 1970) is an Egyptian-American actor and comedian.
Early life
Ahmed Ahmed was born in Helwan, Egypt. His family moved to the United States when he was one month old and he grew up in Rivers ...
,
Maz Jobrani
Maziyar Jobrani ( fa, مازیار جبرانی; born February 26, 1972) is an American comedian and actor who was part of the "Axis of Evil" comedy group. The group appeared on a comedy special on Comedy Central. Jobrani has also appeared in n ...
,
Angelo Tsarouchas
Angelo Tsarouchas () is a Canadian comedian, actor, and writer living in Los Angeles. He is known for incorporating Greek culture into his stand-up comedy routines, and has been called the "King of Greek Ethnic Comedy." He organized World Dafni D ...
,
Dean Edwards
Dean Edwards (born July 30, 1970) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, singer, writer and musician. His work as a voice actor includes Scottie Pippen and Spike Lee in ''Celebrity Deathmatch'', a robot in ''Robotomy'', and Donkey in ''Scar ...
,
Jeff Mirza
Jeffrey Mirza (born 3 February 1964) is an English stand-up comedian and actor of British-Pakistani descent.
Early life
Mirza was born and brought up in East End of London, England to Pakistani parents. His family are from the Punjab region ...
and Erik Griffin. He has performed at shows hosted by Smile Productions, Luxury Events, Rehman and Friends, Century Events and Al Hezb el Comedy.
Appearances and video footage
He performed and was interviewed on the
Saudi 2 Channel show 'A day in the life of
A day in the life ofand he has acted in the music video 'Never Too Late' by Prince Faisal Al-Sau
Never too lateWhich aired on
MTV Arabia
MTV Middle East, formerly MTV Arabia, was a free-to-air music television channel, and the Middle Eastern incarnation of MTV. As an addition to the MTV network, it was a joint venture between MTV Networks International and Arabian Television Net ...
He has posted a selection of videos of his performances and other comical material on his YouTube Channe
Omar Ramzi - YouTube
He was featured in a story by
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'Egypt's First Comedy Factory' with Al Hezb El Comed
Middle Eastern youth find comic relief through stand-up
More recently he was one of the finalists of the
KitKat
Kit Kat (stylised as KitKat in various countries) is a chocolate-covered wafer bar confection created by Rowntree's of York, United Kingdom, and is now produced globally by Nestlé (which acquired Rowntree's in 1988), except in the United Stat ...
comedy break show. A reality-TV style show that was based in Dubai, UAE
KitKatArabia - YouTube
Other interests
He also has a passion for
Music Production
A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...
and has produced many songs of all different types of genres from
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
to
hiphopbr>
Omar 'Omz' Ramzi
See also
*
List of stand-up comedians in the Arab World
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramzi, Omar
Living people
1983 births
Saudi Arabian male comedians
Saudi Arabian stand-up comedians