Carthage (Latin: Carthago or Karthago, Ancient Greek: Καρχηδών Karkhēdōn, Arabic: قرطاج Qarṭāj, Berber: ⴽⴰⵔⵜⴰⵊⴻⵏ Kartajen, Etruscan: *Carθaza, Modern Hebrew: קרתגו Qartágo, from the Phoenician Qart-ḥadašt meaning New City (Aramaic: קרתא חדאתא, Qarta Ḥdatha), implying it was a 'new Tyre', is a major urban centre that has existed for nearly 3,000 years on the Gulf of Tunis, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC. It is currently a suburb of Tunis, Tunisia, with a population of 20,715 (2004 Census).
The first civilization that developed within the city's sphere of influence is referred to as Punic (a form of the word "Phoenician") or Carthaginian. The city of Carthage is located on the eastern side of Lake Tunis across from the centre of Tunis. According to Greek historians it was founded by Canaanite-speaking Phoenician colonists from Tyre (in modern Lebanon) under the leadership of Elissa who was renamed (Queen Dido) in Virgil's Aeneid. It became a large and rich city and thus a major power in the Mediterranean. The resulting rivalry with Syracuse, Numidia, and Rome was accompanied by several wars with respective invasions of each other's homeland.
Pharrell Williams (born April 5, 1973), commonly known simply as Pharrell, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, composer, and fashion designer. Williams and Chad Hugo make up the record production duo The Neptunes, producing hip hop and R&B music. He is also the lead vocalist and drummer of hip-hop band N.E.R.D, which he formed with Hugo and childhood friend Shay Haley. He released his first single "Frontin'" in 2003 and followed up with his first album In My Mind in 2006.
As part of The Neptunes, Williams has produced numerous hit singles for various musicians. The two have earned three Grammy Awards amongst ten nominations. He is also the co-founder of the clothing brands Billionaire Boys Club and Ice Cream Clothing. He is a member of the supergroup V.A. Playaz with Fam-Lay, Clipse, Skillz, Missy Elliott, and Timbaland & Magoo.
Pharrell Williams was born on April 5, 1973, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the eldest of three sons of Carolyn, a teacher, and Pharaoh Williams, a handyman. He met Chad Hugo in a seventh-grade summer band camp where Williams played the keyboards and drums and Hugo played tenor saxophone. They were also both members of a marching band; Williams played the snare drum while Chad was student conductor. With Hugo, Williams attended Princess Anne High School where they played in the school band; there he got the name Skateboard P.
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.
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.
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.