Remy Munasifi (born June 16, 1980) is an American

stand-up Stand-up comedy is a 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-liners, stories ...

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting foolish (as in slapstick), or employing prop comedy. A comedian who addresses an audience dir ...

,Sharmila Devi

''The National''. October 30, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2011 parody musician, rapper and video artist, who became an

Internet celebrity An Internet celebrity (also known as a social media influencer, social media personality, internet personality, or simply influencer) is a celebrity who has acquired or developed their fame and notability through the Internet. The rise of socia ...

after his production of comedic sketches based on

Arabs The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

under the name "GoRemy" on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. His videos have gained over 98 million views as of June 2021., GoRemy YouTube Channel Stats.

Personal life

Munasifi was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in

McLean, Virginia McLean ( ) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County in Northern Virginia. McLean is home to many diplomats, military, members of Congress, and high-ranking government officials partially due to its proxi ...

. He has an Iraqi father who is a doctor, and a

Lebanese Lebanese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Lebanese Republic * Lebanese people The Lebanese people ( ar, الشعب اللبناني / ALA-LC: ', ) are the people inhabiting or originating from Lebanon. The term may al ...

mother who is a

Pilates Pilates (; ) is a type of mind–body intervention, mind-body exercise developed in the early 20th century by German physical trainer Joseph Pilates, after whom it was named. Pilates called his method "Contrology". It is practiced worldwide, es ...

instructor. Munasifi graduated from the Honors Program at Wheeling Jesuit University in

Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extendin ...

in 2002. He has been to

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...

numerous times; many of his relatives moved there from Iraq after the

Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...

began in 2003.

Career

Munasifi's comedic alter-ego "Habib Abdul Habib" received much popularity for joking about matters such as U.S. security screening. He is known for a video titled " Arlington: The Rap", which received 300,000 views in less than a day.Kris Coronado
Whatever Happened To ... The comedic rapper who hit it big on YouTube
''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

''. May 9, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2011 In 2009, he signed with the Gersh Agency, and later landed a

Comedy Central Records Comedy Central Records is a record label based in New York and owned by Paramount Global. The label specializes in stand-up comedy albums and is distributed by Alternative Distribution Alliance, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The label has r ...

deal. Munasifi has since been the opening act for rapper

Wale Wale or WALE may refer to: Places *Wale, Devon, a hamlet in England *Wale, Tomaszów Mazowiecki County, a village in Poland People *Wale (surname) *Wale (rapper), stage name of American rapper Olubowale Victor Akintimehin Radio and television ...

, comedian

Brian Posehn Brian Edmund Posehn (; born July 6, 1966) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, voice actor, musician, and writer. After numerous appearances as a television guest star, Posehn acquired his first major recurring role in HBO's '' Mr. Show wit ...

and others. He has performed several times in the New York Arab-American Comedy Festival.Sarah El-Richani
Talking To: US-Lebanese Comedian Remy Munasifi
''Now! Lebananon''. August 31, 2009. Retrieved May 31, 2011 Munasifi's debut EP, titled ''The Falafel Album'', is available on iTunes. ''The Falafel Album'' was highly influenced by Munasifi's Iraqi and Lebanese heritage, especially culture and food. Munasifi's 2011 political spoof video titled "Raise the Debt Ceiling" had over 520,000 hits on YouTube. He was interviewed on several national news programs about the content of the song as well as his views about the debt ceiling. Since 2010, Munasifi has partnered with Reason TV and the

Reason Foundation The Reason Foundation is an American libertarian think tank that was founded in 1978. The foundation publishes the magazine ''Reason''. Based in Los Angeles, California, it is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization. According to its web site, t ...

to create

libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's e ...

parody videos. In 2020, he created a second channel, MTGRemy, which posts parody songs and skits about the popular trading card game, Magic the Gathering.

Discography

Studio albums

EPs

* '' The Falafel Album'' (2010)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Munasifi, Remy 1980 births American comedians of Arab descent American YouTubers American people of Lebanese descent American rappers American stand-up comedians Living people People from Arlington County, Virginia People from Washington, D.C. Video bloggers Wheeling University alumni American people of Iraqi descent YouTube channels launched in 2006 21st-century American comedians