Ramez
Encyclopedia
Ramzi Khoury also known as RAmez, is a French
Lebanese
rap
artist singing in French
, English
and Arabic
. In 2007 at a time where few people believed French Rap had a place in the Middle East
, Ramez makes it to the NRJ Lebanon
Top 100 by reaching number 24 with his hit song Leich Heik Baladé a song mixing French and Arabic and alongside international artists such as Mika
, Britney Spears
, Shakira
, Timbaland
, Linkin park
and James Blunt
.
In 2008, the song Is it too much asking also from RAmez's second CD was played on Lebanon's Radio One
and the controversial video in relation to that song is widely viewed on Youtube
as a result.
Over the last three years, thanks to the release of RAmez's CD and its success, French Rap has become popular in the region while opportunities for independent artists / producer have increased in the Arab
world.
In 2005 RAmez had been noticed by a French label and a Lebanese
producer. He ended up chosing to have his second CD produced in Lebanon in order to contribute to the development of the independent music scene in his country of origin. The nickname "RAmez" was chosen a little bit after September 11 to stress on the importance of digging in the past to understand the present.
In 2001, RAmez hosted a number of radio shows in the United States
promoting French rap as well as American rap. He also released the same year his first album with an innovative and original concept consisting on mixing the French
and Lebanese
dialect together to put French Rap, Lebanon and the Arab world on the same map (which was not always well perceived in the United States
at the time). In a song called "Le monde est à refaire" and released in 2001 the concept behind Ramez's work is shared within his lyrics "Ramez symbole critiqué de par son phrasé ayant qu'un seul but exister pour éclairer tout les révoltés. Unis prenant le concept de mondialisation, dotés d'une potion provenant direct de la raison, des connaissances amassées que nous venons distribuer, Libanais / Francais nos forces sont à présent décuplées". The strength resulting from this project portraying many different culture and languages allows two tracks extracted of this first multi-cultural project to appear on a compilation exclusively distributed in the United States: Ma Flamme and Y'aura pas de paix (in which RAmez mixes French English and Lebanese rap to express his cultural background and origins). Released just after September 11, 2001 Le monde est à refaire with the talk show Extension 1312 RAmez hosts and produces at that time, created together a certain amount of controversy
adding to the debate at University campuses across America. In 1999, RAmez had already appeared on a compilation untitled My world to express the stereotypes used by western
media to portray a distorted view of Arabs worldwide in a track called Taste of Rage and featuring Armagideon.
In 1989, in France
, Ramzi started actively supporting Lebanon by being selected as one of the "enfants libres" to sing, alongside Guy Beart
, the chorus of the song Liban Libre.
RAmez continued to promote Peace in Lebanon as a radio host on France FM & Radio Nostalgie
and by breaking rules when necessary to get a message of Peace
get across.
At the end of the year 2007, RAmez's first CD was released throughout Lebanon reaching number one in relation to sales at the Virgin Megastore
in Lebanon - an unexpected and unprecedented success for Rap in Lebanon that will lead the music industry to criticize Ramez's work and close in an organized matter many doors on him.
In November 2007 in France, RAmez contributed an unreleased song called, Un monde de fou (A crazy world), to a French Rap Mixtape
that he chose to distribute for free on his website. This song came to the attention of Radio Orient in 2008 who then broadcasted it across France.
Ramez preferred not to renew his contract
in Lebanon in order to produce his own material without external influences with the aim of reaching a more international audience. In 2009 Ramez set up RAMEZ Productions (RAP) through which he intends to manage his music and other projects. Ramez is currently working on his third album after 11 years of International work on Radio and Rap.
, Lebanon to parents of Lebanese origin. When he was nine years old his parents decided to move to Paris
, France
because of the civil war in Lebanon.
His first passion being radio, young he skips all of his classes in order to meet radio hosts and discover in depth this blind medium. This passion will lead him to continue his higher studies in the United States where he gets a bachelor degree in communication with an electronic media
emphasis and is for the 1st time able to realize his dream by hosting radio shows and by performing in front of a large audience. It is while performing alongside real MC's such as Armagideon and Stealth and after September 11, 2001 that Ramzi Khoury came up with the nickname RAmez. RAmez in Arabic means symbol and the symbol chosen is the God sun RA
. RAmez explains his choice by stating that the present can only be understood if we dig into the past at some point. RAmez is currently working on his third album to be released in the coming months.
Compilations:
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
rap
Rapping
Rapping refers to "spoken or chanted rhyming lyrics". The art form can be broken down into different components, as in the book How to Rap where it is separated into “content”, “flow” , and “delivery”...
artist singing in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
and Arabic
Arabic language
Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book...
. In 2007 at a time where few people believed French Rap had a place in the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, Ramez makes it to the NRJ Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
Top 100 by reaching number 24 with his hit song Leich Heik Baladé a song mixing French and Arabic and alongside international artists such as Mika
Mika (singer)
Mika is a British singer-songwriter.After recording his first extended play, Dodgy Holiday EP, Mika released his first full-length studio album, Life in Cartoon Motion, on Island Records in 2007. Life in Cartoon Motion sold more than 5.6 million copies worldwide and helped Mika win a Brit...
, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...
, Shakira
Shakira
Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...
, Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Linkin park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
and James Blunt
James Blunt
James Hillier Blount , better known by his stage name James Blunt, is an English singer-songwriter and musician, and former army officer, whose debut album, Back to Bedlam and single releases, including "You're Beautiful" and "Goodbye My Lover", brought him to fame in 2005...
.
In 2008, the song Is it too much asking also from RAmez's second CD was played on Lebanon's Radio One
Radio One (Lebanon)
Radio One Lebanon is a radio station that serves Lebanon, broadcasting on the FM band at the 105.5 frequency. This station is licenced to broadcast all over Lebanon....
and the controversial video in relation to that song is widely viewed on Youtube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
as a result.
Over the last three years, thanks to the release of RAmez's CD and its success, French Rap has become popular in the region while opportunities for independent artists / producer have increased in the Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
world.
In 2005 RAmez had been noticed by a French label and a Lebanese
Lebanese people
The Lebanese people are a nation and ethnic group of Levantine people originating in what is today the country of Lebanon, including those who had inhabited Mount Lebanon prior to the creation of the modern Lebanese state....
producer. He ended up chosing to have his second CD produced in Lebanon in order to contribute to the development of the independent music scene in his country of origin. The nickname "RAmez" was chosen a little bit after September 11 to stress on the importance of digging in the past to understand the present.
In 2001, RAmez hosted a number of radio shows in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
promoting French rap as well as American rap. He also released the same year his first album with an innovative and original concept consisting on mixing the French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
and Lebanese
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
dialect together to put French Rap, Lebanon and the Arab world on the same map (which was not always well perceived in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
at the time). In a song called "Le monde est à refaire" and released in 2001 the concept behind Ramez's work is shared within his lyrics "Ramez symbole critiqué de par son phrasé ayant qu'un seul but exister pour éclairer tout les révoltés. Unis prenant le concept de mondialisation, dotés d'une potion provenant direct de la raison, des connaissances amassées que nous venons distribuer, Libanais / Francais nos forces sont à présent décuplées". The strength resulting from this project portraying many different culture and languages allows two tracks extracted of this first multi-cultural project to appear on a compilation exclusively distributed in the United States: Ma Flamme and Y'aura pas de paix (in which RAmez mixes French English and Lebanese rap to express his cultural background and origins). Released just after September 11, 2001 Le monde est à refaire with the talk show Extension 1312 RAmez hosts and produces at that time, created together a certain amount of controversy
Controversy
Controversy is a state of prolonged public dispute or debate, usually concerning a matter of opinion. The word was coined from the Latin controversia, as a composite of controversus – "turned in an opposite direction," from contra – "against" – and vertere – to turn, or versus , hence, "to turn...
adding to the debate at University campuses across America. In 1999, RAmez had already appeared on a compilation untitled My world to express the stereotypes used by western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
media to portray a distorted view of Arabs worldwide in a track called Taste of Rage and featuring Armagideon.
In 1989, in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Ramzi started actively supporting Lebanon by being selected as one of the "enfants libres" to sing, alongside Guy Beart
Guy Béart
Guy Béart is a French singer and songwriter.-Biography:He was born Guy Béhart-Hasson in Cairo, Egypt, to a family of Spanish, Swiss, and Russian background. His religious background is unclear, having been referred to as both Jewish and Christian...
, the chorus of the song Liban Libre.
RAmez continued to promote Peace in Lebanon as a radio host on France FM & Radio Nostalgie
Nostalgie
Nostalgie is a very popular French FM radio station principally dedicated to the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and sometimes 1990s songs. From 60 to 80% of the songs are French songs. Nostalgie belongs to the NRJ Group....
and by breaking rules when necessary to get a message of Peace
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
get across.
At the end of the year 2007, RAmez's first CD was released throughout Lebanon reaching number one in relation to sales at the Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastore
Virgin Megastores is an international chain of record shops, founded by Sir Richard Branson on London's Oxford Street in early 1971. Virgin Megastores are best described today as entertainment retailers....
in Lebanon - an unexpected and unprecedented success for Rap in Lebanon that will lead the music industry to criticize Ramez's work and close in an organized matter many doors on him.
In November 2007 in France, RAmez contributed an unreleased song called, Un monde de fou (A crazy world), to a French Rap Mixtape
Mixtape
A Mix Tape or Mixed Tape is a compilation of songs recorded in a specific order, traditionally onto an audio Compact Cassette.A Mix Tape, which usually reflects the musical tastes of its compiler, can range from a casually selected list of favorite songs, to a conceptual mix of songs linked by a...
that he chose to distribute for free on his website. This song came to the attention of Radio Orient in 2008 who then broadcasted it across France.
Ramez preferred not to renew his contract
Contract
A contract is an agreement entered into by two parties or more with the intention of creating a legal obligation, which may have elements in writing. Contracts can be made orally. The remedy for breach of contract can be "damages" or compensation of money. In equity, the remedy can be specific...
in Lebanon in order to produce his own material without external influences with the aim of reaching a more international audience. In 2009 Ramez set up RAMEZ Productions (RAP) through which he intends to manage his music and other projects. Ramez is currently working on his third album after 11 years of International work on Radio and Rap.
History
Ramzi Khoury was born in BeirutBeirut
Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...
, Lebanon to parents of Lebanese origin. When he was nine years old his parents decided to move to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
because of the civil war in Lebanon.
His first passion being radio, young he skips all of his classes in order to meet radio hosts and discover in depth this blind medium. This passion will lead him to continue his higher studies in the United States where he gets a bachelor degree in communication with an electronic media
Electronic media
Electronic media are media that use electronics or electromechanical energy for the end-user to access the content. This is in contrast to static media , which today are most often created electronically, but don't require electronics to be accessed by the end-user in the printed form...
emphasis and is for the 1st time able to realize his dream by hosting radio shows and by performing in front of a large audience. It is while performing alongside real MC's such as Armagideon and Stealth and after September 11, 2001 that Ramzi Khoury came up with the nickname RAmez. RAmez in Arabic means symbol and the symbol chosen is the God sun RA
Ra
Ra is the ancient Egyptian sun god. By the Fifth Dynasty he had become a major deity in ancient Egyptian religion, identified primarily with the mid-day sun...
. RAmez explains his choice by stating that the present can only be understood if we dig into the past at some point. RAmez is currently working on his third album to be released in the coming months.
Discography
Albums:- Le Monde est à refaire2001
- Leich Heik Baladé2007
- Canvas2010
Compilations:
- My world 2001
- Songs from the edge2001
- A trip to Rozz-well2002
- Oto10dakt 2007