In what has become an annual tradition, Mohamed Ramadan has released a music video in celebration of the new year.
The track, 3ala Wad3na, released on January 1, is another glitzy proposition from the Egyptian star as he sings, raps and dances through gilded palatial settings and sweaty nightclubs.
Like most of his videos, 3ala Wad3na's is silly and zany, and yet hard to look away from.
It also shows Ramadan’s panache for making easily digestible songs and videos that have the potential to go viral on both standard video-streaming platforms and social media apps such as TikTok.
The popularity of his music videos is boosted by the fact that Ramadan always looks like he is actually having fun. Unlike with so many pop stars, there is no chest-clutching or hand wringing, it's mostly just kooky dance moves that you can’t help but, secretly, try yourself at home.
Here are 10 of Ramadan’s most eye-catching music videos, from newest to oldest.
1. Boss (2022)
While Ramadan keeps this one residential, filming it at a home, it is certainly no less lavish than his others.
He showcases the spoils of his success — the luxury cars in his garage and his pool.
Coupled with images of him toasting the good life on a yacht, Boss is the least visually conceptual of the lot.
That said, it does showcase Ramadan's charisma, as he manages to even make walking around with goggles on look cool.
2. Tanteet (2022)
Ramadan is in the casino in this trademark thumping track.
Dressed in a red suit and hat and brandishing a small shotgun, he is a gangster who just wants to have a good time.
With the song's title being colloquial Egyptian Arabic for "jump", Ramadan and other revellers soon transform the illegal gambling den into a nightclub featuring dancers and large disco balls.
It is all kinds of pointless, but lots of fun.
3. Balaleen (2022)
Some people are just full of hot air.
This is the concept behind the energetic and stylish Balaleen, meaning balloons.
A collaboration with Egyptian rapper Shendi, the video has both artists poking fun — and balloons — at those whose words don’t match their stature.
Ramadan shows who is boss with scenes of him strolling the red carpet clad in white and leading a mass dance in an open square.
4. Paris Dubai (2022)
This is one of Ramadan's biggest videos in terms of production.
Shot in Dubai and featuring Algerian star rapper Soolking, this catchy collaboration aims to attract both artists' Mena and Franco-speaking fan base.
Capturing Burj Khalifa and the Dubai skyline, in addition to the neon blue waves of Meydan Bridge, both artists appear in the club and on the city streets as they rap and sing about their global appeal.
"My ancestors consolidated two countries. The furniture in my house are monuments and we have castles on both shores," Ramadan raps.
Soolking delivers the winning chorus and rapturously declares: “In Paris, in Dubai, she listens to Soolking and Mohamed Ramadan.”
5. Alla Allah (2021)
Ramadan ditches the clubs to enjoy desert drives and tent dinners in this Khaleeji-inspired video.
A song about putting your trust in a higher being, Ramadan is having fun as he traverses the open desert in a 4x4 and enjoys the company with his mates.
6. Thabt (2021)
One of Ramadan's best tracks, which is often the opener when he performs live, the video for Thabt is as simple as it is hypnotic.
Set in streets scrawled with graffiti, the song features some simple yet catchy choreography that’s in perfect sync with the percolating riffs, leaving viewers unable to keep their eyes off the action.
7. Versace Baby (2021)
Shot at the Palazzo Versace Dubai, This video has Ramadan, in the opening scene, lying on a bed with wads of money strewn around him.
At other points, he's accompanied by exotic animals such as a tiger and a snake. "Spend money ... Make it rain," he raps. "Work out until we feel the pain. Then we party. We don't care. Every day, re-do the same."
Ramadan is also seen on top of a car driving down Dubai roads in the company of a motorcade of supercars, with landmarks such as Burj Khalifa and Museum of the Future in the background.
While the project may seem like a major plug for the Italian luxury fashion brand, all proceeds from the video are being donated to the Palestine Red Crescent Society, according to a message at the beginning of the clip.
8. Corona Virus (2020)
This is arguably Ramadan's best video. A catchy ode to the pandemic, Corona Virus is as much a public safety message as it is a showcase of the popular Egyptian mahraganat genre.
Directed by Mohamed Sami, the video begins with Ramadan waking up to the sound of an English news report stating the health measures being taken by governments in the wake of the virus spreading worldwide.
Electro synth riffs then kick in and Ramadan springs out of bed to adorn a face mask that matches his gilded spectacles.
Ramadan shows his son how to disinfect his room, as well as practice social distancing when meeting a couple of relatives. In one instance, a loved one gets a little too close for comfort and Ramadan pushes him back after unsheathing a sword from his cane.
9. Mafia (2019)
The track and video confirming Ramadan's serious foray into music is no joke.
The gangster-themed video, set in the 1930s, is as ambitious as it is funny.
With Ramadan leading a gang of well-dressed, gun-toting criminals who break into slick choreographed dance.
Sumptuously shot and designed, the expensive production has been repaid by being Ramadan's most-watched video on YouTube, with more than 242 million streams.
10. Number One (2018)
One of Ramadan’s earliest videos, the pugnacious track featuring his most intense rapping has a chorus that chimes his "number one" nickname.
While not as elaborate and kooky, the video went on to establish some of Ramadan's signature visual aesthetics including glitzy sets, moody lighting and cinematic filming techniques.
