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
Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...
,
[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 social ...
after his production of comedic sketches based on
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Wester ...
under the name "GoRemy" on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, 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 ...
. 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.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
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 proxim ...
. He has an
Iraqi father who is a doctor,
and a
Lebanese mother who is a
Pilates
Pilates (; ) is a type of 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, especially in countries suc ...
instructor.
[ Munasifi graduated from the Honors Program at ]Wheeling Jesuit University
Wheeling University (WU, formerly Wheeling Jesuit University) is a private Roman Catholic university in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was founded as Wheeling College in 1954 by the Society of Jesus (also known as the Jesuits) and was a Jesuit inst ...
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 extending ...
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 the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
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 languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
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 nati ...
''. May 9, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2011
In 2009, he signed with the Gersh Agency
The Gersh Agency (also known as simply Gersh) is a talent and literary agency established in 1949 by Phil Gersh, based in Beverly Hills, California and New York City. The Gersh Agency is the fourth largest talent agency in the United States.
...
, 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, 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 wi ...
[ 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
iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...
.[ ''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
''Reason'' is an American libertarian monthly magazine published by the Reason Foundation. The magazine has a circulation of around 50,000 and was named one of the 50 best magazines in 2003 and 2004 by the ''Chicago Tribune''.
History
''Reas ...
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, the f ...
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.Magic the Gathering
''Magic: The Gathering'' (colloquially known as ''Magic'' or ''MTG'') is a Tabletop game, tabletop and Digital collectible card game, digital Collectible card game, collectable card game created by Richard Garfield. Released in 1993 by Wizards ...
.
Discography
Studio albums
EPs
* ''The Falafel Album
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
'' (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