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Raï (/ˈraɪ/; Arabic: راي‎) is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s.

Singers of raï are called cheb (shabab, young) as opposed to sheikh (shaykh, old), the name given to Chaabi singers. The tradition arose in cities like Oran, Relizane, Mostaganem, Chlef and Sidi-Bel-Abbès, primarily among the poor. Traditionally sung by men, at the turn of the 20th century, female singers became common. The lyrics of raï have concerned social issues, such as disease and the policing of European colonies, that affected native populations.^[1]

History[link]

Origins[link]

Raï is a music style that originated in Algeria in the 1930s. It appealed to young people who sought to modernize the traditional Islamic values and attitudes. Regional, secular, and religious drum patterns, melodies, and instruments were blended with Western electric instrumentation.

Oran, a seaport in Western Algeria, was invaded by the Spanish in the 16th century; Spanish troops kept women there to entertain the troops, and the city has retained a reputation for hedonism ever since. In the early 20th century, Oran was divided into Jewish, French, Spanish, and Arab quarters. By independence in 1962, the Jewish quarter (known as the Derb), was home to musicians like Reinette L'Oranaise, Saoud L'Oranais and Larbi Bensari. Sidi el Houari was home to Spanish fishermen and many refugees from Spain who arrived after 1939. These two quarters had active music scenes,^[2] and the French inhabitants of the city went to the Jewish and Spanish areas to examine the music. The Arabs of Oran were known for al-andalous, a classical style of music imported from Southern Spain after 1492. Hawzi classical music was popular during this time, and female singers of the genre included Cheikha Tetma, Fadila D'zirya and Myriam Fekkai. Another common musical genre was bedoui (or gharbi), which originated from Bedouin] chants. Bedoui consisted of Melhun poetry being sung with accompaniment from guellal drums and gaspa Flutes. Bedoui was sung by male singers, known as cheikhs, who were dressed in long, white jellabas and turbans. Lyrics came from the poetry of people such as Mestfa ben Brahim and Zenagui Bouhafs. Performers of bedoui included Cheikh Hamada, Cheikh Mohammed Senoussi, Cheikh Madani, Cheikh Hachemi Bensmir and Cheikh Khaldi. Senoussi was the first to have had recorded the music in 1906.

French colonization of Algeria changed the organization of society, producing a class of poor, uneducated urban men and women. Bedoui singers mostly collaborated with the French colonizers, though one exception from such collaboration was Cheikh Hamada.^[3] The problems of survival in a life of poverty were the domain of street musicians who sang bar-songs called zendanis. A common characteristic of these songs included exclamations of the word "raï!" and variations thereof. The word "rai" implies that an opinion is being expressed.

In the 1920s, the women of Oran were held to strict code of conduct. Many of those that failed became social outcasts and singers and dancers. They sang medh songs in praïse of the prophet Mohammed and performed for female audiences at ceremonies such as weddings and circumcision feasts. These performers included Les Trois Filles de Baghdad, Soubira bent Menad and Kheira Essebsadija. Another group of female social outcasts were called cheikhas, who were known for their alluring dress, hedonistic lyrics, and their display of a form of music that was influenced from meddhahates and zendani singers. These cheikhas, who sang for both men and women, included people such as Cheikha Remitti el Reliziana, Cheikha Grélo, Cheikha Djenia el Mostganmia, Cheikha Bachitta de Mascara, and Cheikha a; Ouachma el Tmouchentia. The 1930s saw the rise of revolutionary organizations, including organizations motivated by Marxism, which mostly despised these early roots raï singers. At the same time, Arab classical music was gaining popularity across North Africa, especially the music of Umm Kulthum.

When first developed, raï was a hybrid blend of rural and cabaret musical genres, invented by and targeted toward distillery workers, peasants who had lost their land to European settlers, and other types of lower class citizens. The geographical location of Oran allowed for the spread of many cultural influences, allowing raï musicians to absorb an assortment of musical styles such as flamenco from Spain, gnawa music, and French cabaret, allowing them to combine with the rhythms typical of Arab nomads. In the early 1930s, social issues afflicting the Arab population in the colony, such as the disease of typhus, harassment and imprisonment by the colonial police, and poverty were prominent themes of raï lyrics. However, other main lyrical themes concerned the likes of wine, love, and the meaning and experiences of leading a marginal life. From its origins, women played a significant role in the music and performance of raï. In contrast to other Algerian music, raï incorporated dancing in addition to music, particularly in a mixed-gender environment.^[4][5]

In the 1930s, Raï, al-andalousm, and the Egyptian classical style influenced the formation of wahrani, a musical style popularized by Blaoui Houari. Musicians like Mohammed Belarbi and Djelloul Bendaoud added these influences to other Oranian styles, as well as Western piano and accordion, resulting in a style called bedoui citadinisé. Revolt began in the mid-1950s, and musicians which included Houari and Ahmed Saber supported the Front de Libération National. After independence in 1962, however, the Marxist government of the Houari Boumédienne regime, along with President Ahmed Ben Bella, did not tolerate criticism from musicians such as Saber, and suppression of Raï and Oranian culture ensued. The amount of public performances by female raï singers decreased^{[clarification needed]}, which led to men playing an increased role in this genre of music. Meanwhile, traditional raï instruments such as the gasba (reed flute), and the derbouka (Maghrebi drums) were replaced with the violin and accordion.^[4]

Post-independence[link]

In the 1960s, Bellamou Messaoud and Belkacem Bouteldja began their career, and they changed the raï sound, eventually gaining mainstream acceptance in Algeria by 1964. In the 1970s, recording technology began growing more advanced, and more imported genres had Algerian interest as well, especially Jamaican reggae with performers like Bob Marley. During the 1970s, raï artists brought in influences from other countries such as Egypt, Europe, and the Americas. Trumpets, the electric guitar, synthesizers, and drum machines were specific instruments that were put into raï music. This marked the beginning of pop raï, which was performed by a later generation of chabs (young men) and chabas (young women).^[6] International success of the genre had begun as early as 1976 with the rise to prominence of producer Rachid Baba Ahmed.

While this form of raï increased cassette sales, its association with mixed dancing, an obscene act according to orthodox Islamic views, led to government-backed suppression. However, this suppression was overturned due to raï's growing popularity in France, where it was strongly demanded by the Maghrebi Arab community. This popularity in France was increased as a result of the upsurge of Franco-Arab struggles against racism. This led to a following of a white audience that was sympathetic to the antiracist struggle.^[4]

After the election of president Chadli Bendjedid in 1979, Raï music had a chance to rebuild because of his lessened moral and economic restraints. Shortly afterwards, Raï started to form into pop-raï, with the use of instruments such as electrical synthesizers, guitars, and drum machines.^[7][8]

In the 1980s, raï began its period of peak popularity. Previously, the Algerian government had opposed raï because of its sexually and culturally risqué topics, such as alcohol and consumerism, two subjects that were taboo to the traditional Islamic culture.

The government eventually attempted to ban raï, banning the importation of blank cassettes and confiscating the passports of raï musicians. This was done to prevent raï from not only spreading throughout the country, but to prevent it from spreading internationally and from coming in or out of Algeria. Though this limited the professional sales of raï, the music increased in popularity through the illicit sale and exchange of tapes. In 1985, Algerian Colonel Snoussi joined with French minister of culture Jack Lang to convince the Algerian state to accept raï.^[9] He succeeded in getting the government to return passports to raï musicians and to allow raï to be recorded and performed in Algeria, with government sponsorship, claiming it as a part of Algerian cultural heritage. This not only allowed the Algerian government to financially gain from producing and releasing raï, but it allowed them to monitor the music and prevent the publication of "unclean" music and dance and still use it to benefit the Algerian State's image in the national world.^[10] In 1986, the first state-sanctioned raï festival was held in Algeria, and a festival was also held in Bobigny, France.

In 1988, Algerian students and youth flooded the streets to protest state-sponsored violence, the high cost of staple foods, and to support the Peoples' Algerian Army.^[11] President Chadli Bendjedid, who held power from 1979 to 1992, and his FLN cronies blamed raï for the massive uprising that left 500 civilians dead in October 1988. Most raï singers denied the allegation, including Cheb Sahraoui, who said there was no connection between raï and the October rebellion. Yet raï's reputation as protest music stuck because the demonstrators adopted Khaled's song "El Harba Wayn" ("To Flee, But Where?") to aid their protesting:

Where has youth gone?
Where are the brave ones?
The rich gorge themselves
The poor work themselves to death
The Islamic charlatans show their true face...
You can always cry or complain
Or escape... but where?^[12]

In the 1990s, restrictions^[specify] were placed on raï, and those who did not submit to censorship faced consequences such as exile. One exiled raï singer, Cheb Hasni, accepted an offer to return to Algeria and perform at a stadium in 1994. Hasni's fame and controversial songs led to him receiving death threats from Islamic fundamentalist extremists. On September 29, 1994, he was the first raï musician to be murdered, outside his parents' home in the Gambetta district of Oran, reportedly because he let girls kiss him on the cheek during a televised concert. His death came amid other violent actions against North African performers. A few days before his death, Kabylian singing star Lounès Matoub was abducted by the GIA. The following year, on February 15, 1995, Raï producer Rachid Baba-Ahmed was assassinated in Oran.

The escalating tension of the Islamist anti-raï campaign caused raï musicians such as Chab Mami and Chaba Fadela to relocate from Algeria to France. Moving to France was a way to sustain the music's existence.^[13] France was where Algerians had moved during the post-colonial era in order to find work, and where musicians had a greater opportunity to oppose the government without censorship.^[14]

Though raï found mainstream acceptance in Algeria, Islamic fundamentalists still protested the genre, saying that it was still too liberal and too contrasting to traditional Islamic values. The fundamentalists claimed that the musical genre still promoted sexuality, alcohol and Western consumer culture, but critics of the fundamentalist viewpoint stated that fundamentalists and raï musicians were ultimately seeking converts from the same population, the youth, who often had to choose where they belonged between the two cultures. Despite the governmental support, a split remained between those citizens belonging to strict Islam and those patronizing the raï scene.^[15]

International success[link]

Cheb Khaled was the first musician with international success, including his 1988 album Kutché, though his popularity did not extend to places such as the United States and Latin America. Other prominent performers of the 1980s included Houari Benchenet, Raïna Raï, Mohamed Sahraoui, Cheb Mami, and Cheb Hamid.

International success grew in the 1990s, with Cheb Khaled's 1992 album Khaled. With Khaled no longer in Algeria, musicians such as Cheb Tahar, Cheb Nasro, and Cheb Hasni began singing lover's raï, a sentimental, pop-ballad form of raï music. Later in the decade, funk, hip hop, and other influences were added to raï, especially by performers like Faudel and Rachid Taha, the latter of whom took raï music and fused it with rock. Taha does not call his creation raï music, but rather describes it as a combination of folk raï and punk.^{[citation needed]} Another mix of cultures in Arabic music of the late 1990s came through Franco-Arabic music released by musicians such as Aldo.

The late 1980s and early 1990s saw a rise in female raï performers. According to authors Gross, McMurray, and Swedenburg in their article "Arab Noise and Ramadan Nights: Raï, Rap, and Franco-Maghrebi Identity," raï musician Chaba Zahouania was forbidden by her family to perform or even appear in public. According to Gross et al., the raï record companies have pushed female artists to become more noticed.^[16]

Censorship of raï music[link]

Throughout the course of raï music's development and commercialization in Algeria and France, there have been many attempts to stifle the genre. From lyrical content to the album cover images, raï has been a controversial music. Religious identity and transnationalism function to define the complexities of Franco-Maghrebi identity in France. This complex identity is expressed through raï music and is often contested and censored in many cultural contexts.

In 1962, as Algeria claimed its national independence, expression of popular culture was stifled by the Puritan nature of Salafi reform.^[17] During this time of drastic restriction of female expression, many men started to become raï singers. By 1979, when president Chadli Bendjedid endorsed more liberal moral and economic standards, raï music became further associated with Algerian youth. The music remained stigmatized amongst the Salafi Islamists and the Algerian government. Termed the "raï generation", the youth found raï as a way to express sexual and cultural freedoms.^[17] An example of this free expression is though the lyrics of Cheb Hasni in his song "El Berraka". Hasni sang: "I had her ... because when you're drunk that's the sort of idea that runs through your head!"^[18] Hasni challenged the fundamentalists of the country and the condemnation of non-religious art forms.

Raï started to circulate on a larger scale, via tape sales, TV exposure, and radio play. However, the government attempted to "clean up" raï to adhere to conservative values.^[17] Audio engineers manipulated the recordings of raï artists in order to submit to such standards. This tactic allowed for the economy to profit from the music by gaining conservative audiences. The conservativeness not only affected the way listeners received raï music, but also the way the artists, especially female artists, presented their own music. For instance, many^{[weasel words]} female raï artists do not appear on their album covers. Such patriarchal standards pressure women to societal privacy.^[17]

Selected list of raï musicians[link]

• Bellemou Messaoud
• Chaba Fadela
• Cheb Bilal
• Cheb Hasni
• Cheb Mami
• Cheb Sahraoui
• Cheikha Rimitti
• Faudel
• Khaled
• Rachid Taha
• Hamid Bouchnak
• Reda Taliani

See also[link]

• Arabic pop music

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Al Taee, Nasser. "Running with the Rebels: Politics, Identity & Sexual Narrative in Algerian Raï". Retrieved on 22 November 2006.
• Schade-Poulsen, Marc. "The Social Significance of Raï: Men and Popular Music in Algeria". copyright 1999 University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-77740-8
• Mazouzi, Bezza. La musique algérienne et la question raï, Richard-Masse, Paris, 1990.
• Morgan, Andy. "Music Under Fire". 2000. In Broughton, Simon and Ellingham, Mark with McConnachie, James and Duane, Orla (Ed.), World Music, Vol. 1: Africa, Europe and the Middle East, pp 413–424. Rough Guides Ltd, Penguin Books. ISBN 1-85828-636-0

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Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed (Arabic: أحمد خليفاتي محمد‎) better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (Arabic: شاب مامي‎), (born in Saïda, Algeria on 1 January 1966) is an Algerian-born raï singer. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic, French and sometimes, as on Layali, in Egyptian Arabic.

As of July 2010, Mami was imprisoned in France, where he was found guilty of drugging and forcing a former romantic partner to undergo a failed abortion. A Parisian court found him guilty at trial and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was released in March 2011 on parole.^[1]

Beginnings[link]

Cheb Mami was born in Graba-el-wed (Arabic: غربة الواد), a populous quarter of Saïda (Arabic: سعيدة), Algeria. Located 170 kilometres south of Oran, the city of Saida is on the high mesas of southwestern Algeria. Cheb Mami grew up to a family of factory workers. He began singing and playing the accordion on Saida streets and by 1980 began performing at local weddings and ceremonies.^[2]

In 1982, the 16-year-old adolescent sang on the Alhan wa Chabab radio show, a singing competition organised by Radio Télevision Algérienne. He sang "El Marsam" (The Sanctuary) a classic of Oranese music from the 1920s. The audience was transfixed by the sheer emotion of his performance and by his concordant vocal intonations which captured perfectly the flavour of the song's title. The judges, who represented the government which refused to admit even the existence of raï, gave the first prize to the contestant that sang a cover version of a hit by the famous Egyptian diva, Umm Kulthum, but were forced to acknowledge the standing ovation Mami received by awarding him second prize.

Cheb Mami was spotted by Boualem, the producer of the Oran label, Disco Maghreb, and the cassette waltz began.^[3]

Career[link]

It was in 1985 that Mami came to Paris and found his musical niche. Raï fused blues, funk, salsa, reggae, hip hop and Algerian rhythms, while integrating touches of his idols Stevie Wonder, Otis Redding and French rapper MC Solaar.

Cheb Mami made his first official public appearance at the First Oran Raï Festival in 1985, which marked the official recognition of the genre by the Algerian authorities.^[3]

He was in military service for two years in Algeria but was an entertainer on army bases. After that, in May 1989, Mami returned to Paris at the Olympia, rejuvenating raï music. He began making recordings and performing in cabarets in the Paris suburb of Barbès. He also toured the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Scandinavia and England.

Mami's music is a blend of Mediterranean and Western influences including Turkish, Flamenco and Greek music as well as Latin music. His voice is tinged with Andalusian accents, and his music is an amalgamation of the traditional and the modern styles of singing and creation of music.

In 1999, Mami topped the French pop charts with a groundbreaking duet with French rapper K-Mel, "Parisien du Nord". The song was an anthem against racism that seamlessly made the transition between hip hop and raï, and introduced throngs of young new audiences to raï. This song explores the racist issues between Arabs and French and the challenges of identity.^[2]

international recognition[link]

When Sting's album Brand New Day was released in 1999, the pair's duet, "Desert Rose", appeared on singles charts around the world, and led to television appearances on Saturday Night Live, the Today Show, Jay Leno, David Letterman, the Grammy Awards telecast and even a live performance at the Super Bowl".^[4]

Soon after his collaboration with Sting, Mami's released perhaps his most successful recording, the album Dellali, produced by former Chic guitarist Nile Rodgers. The album's lead single was "Le Raï C'est Chic", on which Sting returned the favor by providing backing vocals.^[5]

These successes fulfilled Mami's long-held dream of internationalising raï sounds, and has led him to be called the "Prince of Raï".^[5] Although Mami has been able to be recognized by mainstream media in the United States, Americans often equate his raï music genre with rock in the US during the 1950s and 1960s.^[6] Americans believe raï to be "North African punk,^[6]" a genre of music for the purpose of rebelling against the government and resembling the music of ‘young rockers’^[6] in the US, when in reality this music plays a very different role in the life of the North African diasporic community in France.^[6] Although raï does include narratives of the various struggles of this community against "the Algerian state or against the forces of ‘tradition’",^[6] it is also the "music of the racialized Other"^[6] which chronicles struggles with racism and identity of North African people in France.

Arrest, imprisonment and release[link]

Mami was under an international arrest warrant after being indicted in October 2006 for "voluntary violence, sequestration and threats" against an ex-girlfriend, and failing to answer a court summons on May 14, 2007. He was accused of having tried to force Isabelle Simon, his former girlfriend and a magazine photographer, to have an forced abortion.^[7] During a trip to Algeria in the summer of 2005, the victim Isabelle Simon was locked in a house belonging to one of Mami's friends, where an abortive procedure was attempted on her. Back in France, however, she realized the fetus was still alive. Mami had accused his manager Michel Lecorre (a.k.a. Michel Levy) of organizing the abortion plan; Michel Levy was later sentenced to four years for plotting and organizing the assault.^{[8][9][10][11]}

Mami was arrested in France several days before his trial; he was taken into custody by officials at a Paris airport as he arrived into the country from Algeria on June 22, 20010.^[12] The following July, a Paris court found him guilty of drugging and attempted forcible abortion, and sentenced him to five years in prison.^[13]

On 21 September 2010, his lawyers applied for conditional release, a request that was turned down on 12 October 2010.^[14] Upon a second appeal however, the French court agreed for his conditional release on 23 March 2011.^[15]

Selected discography[link]

• Prince of Raï (1989)
  • Tracks: Ana Mazel  • Dertfik Confiance  • Douni El Bladi  • Lella Rani Ensaaf El Mektoub  • Ralia Mahboubit Galbi  • Tayo Tayo Adiani
• Let Me Raï (1991)
  • Tracks: Yo Yo  • Haoulou  • Let Me Cry  • Douha Alia  • Fatma  • Rah Eddani  • Khalihoum  • Maandi  • Manimane  • Alache Alache
• Saida (1994)
  • Tracks: H'babi  • Ma Ma  • Gaulbak K'ssah  • Hay Wadi Hay Galbi  • Bent Bareh  • Baida  • Ghi N'Ti  • Li Fet ghi Mnem  • Zouaji  • Alache Alache  • Trab
• Douni El Bladi (1996)
  • Tracks: Douni el Bladi  • Dertfik Confiance  • Ralia Mahboubit Galbi  • Ana Mazel  • Lella Rai Saaf El Mektoub  • Tayo Tayo Adiani  • Ouach Etsalini  • Idha Enti Bitik  • Chedi Bentek  • Maniche Aadouk  • Ghebnouha  • Sehrane Ouahdi  • Alauni (Instrumental)
• Meli Meli (1999)
  • Tracks: Meli Meli  • Alache Alik  • Bledi  • Rani Maak El Youm  • Fatma  • Hada Ch'h  • Hatachi  • Bekatni  • Cheikh  • Azwaw  • Parisien du Nord  • Marseillais du Nord  • Au Pays des Merveillus  • Azwaw Alternative
• Dellali (2001)
  • Tracks: Raï C'est Chic  • Viens Habibi  • Madanite  • Rim Lachoua  • Yahamami  • Ana Oualache  • Ma Vie 2 fois  • Tzazae  • Zarartou  • Manazureh  • Machi Chaba  • Hoaulou  • Khalouni
• Lazrag Saani (2002)
  • Tracks: Lazrag Saani  • Zazarkhatri  • Rouhi Douri Yalala  • Mani Sabar  • Madiriche Aliya  • Hay Delali  • Delali Mantzaoutchi  • Raikoum Rai Ma  • Salou Maana  • Derti Jauline  • Ana Khatini  • Hoaulou  • Sair Fer
• Du Sud au Nord (2003)
  • Tracks: Des 2 Côtés feat. Mouss et Hakim / Parisien du Nord feat. K.mel / Madanite feat. Ziggy Marley  • Desert Rose feat. Sting  • Cosi Celeste feat. Zucchero  • Nagumo feat. Susheela Raman  • Enfant d'esfrinque feat. Corneille  • Clando feat. 113  • Youm Wara Youm feat. Samira Said  • Fugitif feat. Tonton David  • The Best Times of Our Lives feat. Aswad  • Koum Tara feat. Enrico Macias  • Azwaw 2 feat. Idir
• Live au Grand Rex (2004)
  • Tracks: Azwaw  • Parisien du Nord  • Nagumo feat. Susheela Raman  • Mamzareli  • Mazal Souvenir Aandi  • Desert Rose  • Koum Tara feat. Enrico Macias  • Bledi - Mon pays  • Cosi Celeste feat. Zucchero  • Alache Alik  • Meli Meli  • Des 2 Côtés feat. Mous et Hakim  • Haoulou  • Zarartou
• Layali (2006)
  • Tracks: Halili feat. Zaho  • Gualbi Gualbi  • Inshallah  • Tigi Tigi  • Gaiye bil Salama  • Ahla Layali Omrina  • Ajlissou  • Nos Couleurs feat. K.Maro  • Mama Dabia  • Ellie Beina Intaha  • Amshi Btraring  • Non c'sera non (Omri Omri) feat. Sween

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website (French/English/Arabic)
• Cheb Mami's lyrics English translation on Shawshara.com
• [www.zikooo.com/search/mp3/1/cheb-mami.html Télécharger Cheb Mami Mp3]

Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha
Background information
Born	(1958-09-18) 18 September 1958 (age 53)
Origin	Sig, Algeria
Genres	Rock,[1][2] Raï, Algerian chaabi,[3] Reggae,[2] Rumba-pop,[2] Funk,[4] British New Wave[4] Electronica,[1] Punk rock,[1] Techno,[5] Dance music[5]
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, activist[1][6]
Years active	1980–present
Labels	Knitting Factory Records Island Records Barclay Records
Website	RachidTaha.Artistes.UniversalMusic.Fr/

Rachid Taha (Arabic: رشيد طه) (born September 18, 1958 in Sig, Algeria) is an Algerian singer and activist^[1][6] based in France^[2] who has been described as "sonically adventurous."^[6] His music is influenced by many different styles such as rock, electronic, punk and raï.

Early life[link]

Taha was born in 1958^[1][4] in Sig (Mascara Province), Algeria,^[1] although a second source suggests he was born in the Algerian seacoast city of Oran.^[4] This town was the "birthplace of raï" music, and 1958 was a key year in the Algerian struggle for independence against French authority.^[4] He began listening to Algerian music in the 1960s,^[3] including street-style music called chaabi.^[3] And music from the Maghreb region was part of his upbringing.^[7]

He moved with his parents to France when he was ten years old, settling in an immigrant community around the French city of Lyon^[1] in 1968.^[8] His father was a textile factory worker,^[9] with long hours and low pay, such that his life was compared to that of a "modern slave", according to one account.^[3] When 17, Taha worked during the day at a central heating plant, described as a "menial job",^[4] and hated this work, but at night worked as a club DJ playing Arabic music, rap, salsa, funks and "anything else that took his fancy."^[3] The contrast between menial work during the day and fun during the night may have helped to develop his musical sensibility.^[7] In the late 1970s, Taha founded the nightclub called The Rejects or, in French, Les Refoulés, where he would spin mashups of Arabic pop classics over Led Zeppelin, Bo Diddley and Kraftwerk backbeats.^[10]

Career[link]

Raï roots[link]

Taha grew up in the seaside Algerian city of Oran.

In the 1980s, Algeria's indigenous pop music known as raï began to achieve international attention.^[4] Originally raï music was based on "city slickers adapting music from the sticks" and was described as ribald, but it became more of a medium for political protest when young people in the 1960s and 1970s used it to "express their anger and desires."^[4] Taha has suggested that Algerian musical styles and rock are "closely linked".^[11] Taha was influenced by the North African raï band Nass El Ghiwane which was described as "Morocco's answer to the Beatles or the Stones."^[12]

Carte de Séjour[link]

In 1981, while living in Lyon, Taha met Mohammed and Mokhtar Amini and the three of them, along with Djamel Dif and Eric Vaquer would soon form a band. In 1982, Taha was the lead vocalist for the Arab-language rock group which they named Carte de Sejour, meaning Green Card or Residence Permit depending on the translation.^[4] He sang in both English and Arabic, but usually in Arabic. Taha was inspired by the group The Clash:

Taha met members of the group The Clash in Paris:^[6]

Clash guitarist Joe Strummer.

Taha believes his early recordings helped to inspire The Clash to create the song Rock the Casbah.^[6] A New York Times music reporter wrote:

These were difficult years since record stores often refused to stock their records "because they didn't want Arabs coming in to their shops."^[3] There was little money; the band performed in suburbs of Lyons.^[3] Taha took a standard patriotic French song entitled Sweet France (in French: Douce France) which had originally been recorded by Charles Trenet in the 1940s, kept the lyrics, but sang it with "furious irony" which irritated many French listeners, particularly coming from a "scruffy, bohemian-looking Arabic singer," to the point where Taha's version was banned from French radio.^[3] The "acerbic" song created a "splash", nevertheless, and won Taha some recognition as a serious artist.^[1] The group never achieved much commercial success and, as a result, Taha had to work a series of day jobs in a factory, then as a house painter, a dishwasher, and later as an encyclopedia salesperson.^[3] They recorded their first maxi album Carte De Séjour in 1983. In 1984, with the help of British guitarist Steve Hillage, the group achieved a "sharp, driving sound" which played well on the radio, and the LP was entitled Rhoromanie.^[4] In his songwriting, Taha wrote about living in exile and the cultural strife associated with being an Algerian immigrant in France.^[2] In 1986, his "sneering punk-rock cover of Douce France" was seen as an "unmistakable protest against the nation's treatment of its immigrant underclass," and caused consternation in French political circles.^[6] His song Voilà, Voilà, protested racism.^[6] Taha has had to cope with anti-Arab sentiment and confusion; for example, the New York Times stated in a front-page story that Taha was Egyptian rather than Algerian, but later posted a correction.^[14] Later, in 2007, Taha-as-an-immigrant was mentioned in France's National Center of the History of Immigration.^[15]

Taha performing in Belgium.

When performing live, Taha wore various outfits, including at one point a leather fedora hat, then later a red cowboy hat.^[2][16] Their second and last LP entitled Ramsa (Five) was released in 1986. The band dissolved in 1989.

Solo years[link]

In 1989, Taha moved to Paris to launch his solo career.^[1][3] At one point he was invited to Los Angeles to record with musician Don Was, who had been a producer associated with the Rolling Stones.^[3] Taha mixed a variety of instruments and styles for his sound. With a drum instrument called a doumbek or darbuka, his new group played Arabic-style beats.^[2] It appeared at one point that Taha might become an "overnight success", but after the release of the album Barbes, sales were disappointing in the United States, possibly because Americans were not keen on Arabic-sounding music during the time of the first Gulf War.^[3]

But American music audience were not ready for Arabic pop after the Gulf War, and Taha's 1991 album Barbes failed to sell well.^[3] In 1993, Taha again worked with Hillage who helped produce Taha's second solo album and helped him achieve "the kind of clubland-raï synthesis." ^[4] Hillage worked on three solo Taha albums from 1993 to 2001, helping Taha return to his "north African roots".^[3] In 1995, he released his solo debut album entitled Olé Olé with Taha looking like an "Aryan androgyne" with dyed blond hair and blue contact lenses, to make a point about anti-Arab bigotry and at the "homophobia of North African culture."^[6] In 1997, his song Ya Rayah became a hit.^[2][11] He performed in the Canary Islands.^[5]

In 2001, Taha released Made in Medina, and a music critic commented that he used a "full and varied instrumental palette" along with "a dizzying vocal facility that transcends whatever style he's plugged."^[4] The album was recorded in Paris, New Orleans, and London with input from the American jam band Galactic.^[4] Taha saw parallels between African and American music and said "New Orleans is like Algiers ... They were both French colonies at one time, and there's even an area there called Algiers," and he noted that Louisiana Zydeco drum patterns were similar to raï music.^[3] Made in Medina combined Algerian roots, techno, pop music, and early rock and punk influences with "remarkable consistency" with previous works, according to Hillage.^[3] There were elements of political protest in his music leading a BBC critic to describe him as a "shit-disturbing artist who risks challenging his own culture as undemocratic."^[7] He wanted to record in New Orleans "because I see parallels between African and American music, and between the music of the African slaves who came to New Orleans, and that of the Gnawas, the black desert tribes who became slaves of the Arabs in north Africa. And New Orleans is like Algiers. They were both French colonies at one time, and there's even an area there called Algiers." He was delighted to find that some of the local Louisiana Zydeco drum patterns are remarkably similar to raï.^[3] A report in The Guardian suggested that Taha had achieved a cult status in pop music.^[3]

Taha's breakthrough album as a solo artist was his bestseller^[3] Diwân, featuring remakes of songs from Algerian and Arab traditions. The album featured traditional instruments like the oud but with a "contemporary veneer of programmed percussion and samples added in."^[3] Taha mixed the oud with strings using a contemporary beat along with guitar work, according to one account.^[11] Taha's album Tékitoi, produced by Steve Hillage^[7] and released in 2004, brought acclaim and recognition from other rock musicians. The title track is "street slang" meaning, roughly, Who the Hell Are You? (from the French Tu es qui, toi ? shortened into T'es qui, toi ?) and the music had "echoes of Joe Strummer", according to a review in The Observer.^[17] In 2005 Taha performed with Robert Plant, Patti Smith and Brian Eno.^[7] He covered The Clash song Rock the Casbah which he retitled with the Arabic name of Rock El Casbah. This song appeared in the 2007 film about Clash frontman Joe Strummer entitled The Future Is Unwritten.^[18] The song suggested rock music as "banned but unstoppable."^[2] And, in one concert, Taha performed the song along with The Clash musician Mick Jones.^[13] The Guardian selected Rock El Casbah as one of the top 50 cover songs.^[19]