YouTube Star Amit Rahum (aka Rahums) dishes on Israeli music, recycling, and what makes a song memorable
The Israeli prince of parodies has kids as young as 3-yearsold singing his lyrics. At age of 24, Rahums has already created an empire using his slick editing skills and knack for hilariously catchy lyrics. At Gamerz, Rahums will be doing a meet-and-greet along with all of Israel’s hottest YouTubers and influencers and, of course. He’ll be playing games, too.
Rahums has created quite a niche for himself; he produced literal music videos riffing off of Israeli artists’ videos that have gone viral. He replaces the lyrics of popular songs or even re-creates entire sets with his own, often accompanied by his sidekick Ben Keysar. The dynamic duo are known for creating magic together. We sat with the mastermind behind the viral videos that re-create songs by Israeli phenomena like Static & Ben El, Eden Ben Zaken, and other hyper-famous local artists.
How did you get started?
I grew up in Herzliya, a city north of Tel Aviv. As a kid, I played around with Photoshop. In the army, I was in a film unit. I like being creative and I am obsessed with funny content on YouTube, so I do these videos to express my feelings. I started it all for fun – but fortunately, now it’s my job!
What was your most popular video?
There are many popular videos, but one of the videos was Static & Ben El’s “Tudo Bom”, which got 7 million views. That one really took off.
In a way, you are making fun of the artists. How do they react?
They actually like it. They see my version of the video and listen to my lyrics. My video usually comes out right after theirs and then people want to go back and look at the original lyrics and read them again. I think it makes the songs even more memorable. It makes people want to hear the story that isn’t told in the video.
How often do you put out content?
Whenever I have a muse; as soon as a new viral video comes out, I have a couple of days to upload the content while there is a buzz around it. I try always to be working on new content.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I browse YouTube 24/7. It’s my passion!
How do you explain Israeli humor?
People are really open here, and they don’t take offense so easily. Things don’t get personal.
What’s important to you?
Recycling is super important to me; I recycle everything.
What is it about Israeli music that is so catchy?
I don’t think Israel has one type of music. It’s a mish-mash of so many things just like the people – they are a mix of so many cultures. That’s how music is here.
What’s one word to describe Israeli people?
Generosity. Israelis seem to always be giving from themselves. People here like to laugh a lot. They take things lightly.
What are your dreams?
I have so many, but one is to teach the future generation about recycling.
What about a video in English?
I have one in English covering Kanye West & Lil Pump’s song “I Love It” and I plan to make more.
With the Gamerz festival coming up, tell me a little about what you like to play? I like Call of Duty and Rocket League.
Why do you always have a hat on?
My beanie is my trademark, and my head is really big. I have to stretch my hats over a course of a few days on a chair to make them fit.
Check out Rahums channel on Youtube