Nemr Abou Nassar’s Pop Philosophy

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Lebanese comedian Nemr Abou Nassar’s YouTube channel has seen a serious hike in subscribers in recent weeks, thanks largely to his series of videos offering ‘A Philosophical Interpretation Of’ lyrics from pop songs racking up tens of thousands of views each. Popular examples include Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop” interpreted as a pro-revolution call to arms and his suggestion that “Starship” by Nicki Minaj is not about “multiple penises within multiple orifices,” but rather an exposé of what governments are hiding under the sea.

“APIO is successful because music is universal,” Nassar says. “And hatred of music is also universal. In Arabic, there’s a term ‘Fashetely khelki,’ which means ‘You brought out my anger for me.’ You know? I’m saying what’s on their minds.”

The format sprang from a segment Nassar did on his Mix FM radio show. “And when I was starting to think about doing a weekly video, it seemed like a cool idea; to go into the deep meaning behind songs, using sarcasm to deliver how stupid they are. What we’re doing is tackling a responsible, mature subject in an irresponsibly immature way.”

His co-star, What The F*** Mario (a Nintendo DS holder Nassar bought in London and which he voices in a thick Italian accent), is also proving a hit. “When Mario tells me to shut the f*** up because I’m an idiot, it’s good, because I’m making fun of myself,” Nassar says. “One guy wrote, ‘Dude, you’re not funny. But Mario’s hilarious.’ I took that as a compliment.”

Nassar’s aim, he says, is to reach one million subscribers within two years. And he’s confident the Top 40 will continue to provide him with plenty of material. “For every 10 horrible songs, you get that one goldenly horrible song,” he says. “That’s the one I want for APIO.”

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