What does Raï Music mean? To a lot of people, it might mean Cheb Khaled’s famous song “Didi”, and to others it might mean an exotic song like “Ya Rayeh” by Rachid Taha (originally a song by Algerian Chaabi singer Dahmane ElHarache), but it really is more than successful works from the Maghreb region. It pisses me off when people refer to Raï as a Moroccan musical genre because simply they know Morocco better as a famous touristic country, when, in fact, Raï Music is an ‘exclusive’ reflection of the Algerian Identity. This post shortly shows you how Raï reflects the indigenous identity in Algeria, how women had larger or smaller roles according to the political changes, how it is a sincere, yet artistic, expression of what people of Algeria went through (colonialism, dictatorship, and Islamic extremism).
Wahran: the roots
This magical genre started less than a century ago in Wahran city (Oran) and it reached its peak when the city was inhabited by Spanish, French, Amazigh, Arab, and Jewish communities. Can you imagine this mix put together in one art? It must be a fantastic explosion. Scholars have always referred to the roots of Raï as an expression of the poor class under the French colonization. Raï, as an Arabic word, means opinion.
In the 1930's political groups fought Raï and supported Egyptian music (as a reflection of the rising idea of Arab Unity, I suppose). Yet, Raï got even more popular for speaking about the very sensitive issues of the Algerian life such as poverty and the way Algerians were mistreated, dehumanized, and discriminated by the French colonizers. Not to forget, the many beautiful love songs mostly performed in bars and weddings.
Wahran in the 1930’s was one of the early cities, if not the first, in the region to witness a musical genre that was able to mix Spanish flamenco, and Algerian street songs, with French dance music (or Cabaret). Raï was also notable for attaching its songs to dancing. In the 1940's and 1950's, Raï started to inject more western instruments, most notably the accordion (which is Cheb Khaled's favorite instrument) and Piano replacing other traditional instruments like drums and flute.
Raï vs. the regime
In the 1960's the regime started to chase Raï singers and suppress them when Raï singer and liberationist Ahmed Saber criticized the regime with his songs. In the 1970's, with a new elected government, Raï female singers came back to the scene. The 80's, however, can be described as the golden age of Raï when people like Cheb Khaled and Cheb Hasni were rising up. Even when students protested in 1988, they were singing Khaled's "Il Harba Wain?" meaning "Where to escape" which is an Arabic-Indian duet. This made the government work harder on fighting Raï and using its themes of love, sex, and wine as excuses.
Raï vs. Islamists
In the 90's, Cheb Hasni came back from his exile in France and was assassinated by Islamists. This forced people like Khaled and Mami to leave the country and live in France. This relocation had its influence on the way those two great singers formed their music and helped making Raï a global music.
Cheb Khaled
He is the best selling Arab singer, EVER! When I read this piece of information, I thought, this is one of the few times when history, world, and numbers are fair to a great artist like Khaled. His songs were sung in different languages by artists from around the world especially his “Didi” and “Aicha”. I have always described Khaled as “the only man that can talk to me perfectly” just the way I find Nina Simone as the woman who talks to me best. Describing Khaled as a genius will sound so cliché, so I need to speak more of my passion towards him.
Back in my teenage years, we went so crazy about Khaled’s famous song “Didi” although we never figured out the lyrics (Unfortunately, it is hard for eastern Arabs to understand dialects of the Maghreb, because there hasn’t been much contact with them until the recent years). To me, it was not only a nice song to dance to but it was the first video clip, alongside his other song “ne m’en voulez pas”, to show me women dancing without having to hide their body features.
My love for Khaled grew up and I started to look for more songs and try to understand the political and artistic contexts found in his albums. Khaled, in his songs, shows you the passionate face of love as presented in the Algerian culture but at the same time he never forget to voice out immigrants and youth. Two of his famous songs are “Detni Essekra” that talks about forced marriages and his Arabic-French duet “Ya Benti” with Melissa, which is a dialogue between a father talking with his daughter about love relationships.
From his generation, and the followings ones, Khaled’s famous Arab counterparts have failed, in my opinion, to address such societal, political, and human issues in their songs. What is more amusing about Khaled, are his early rare recordings that speak about sex. Those songs are available marginally in the Maghreb region and unfortunately Khaled did not perform them in his famous concerts and later years of his career.
In one of his interviews, Khaled describes himself as a citizen of the world and he has been known for his belief in the idea of “Le Grand Maghreb” and his visits to Morocco despite the tension between Algeria and Morocco, which caused him a headache because of what regime-driven Algerian media wrote about him as if he was a traitor.
To me, he is a gypsy and when I heard him saying that accordion is his favorite instrument, it showed me his love for western music and his refusal to be robbed down (since accordion needs to wires, as he explains), so he is simply as artistic and free as a butterfly. I also love it when Khaled sings some Bedouin-inspired songs like “Dellali” because to me it is an anthem for all those who fight the misconception about deserts being the opposite of humanity, culture, beauty and creativity.
1 2 3 soleils
Mostly people disagree with me about this but I generally prefer studio recordings of songs rather than live versions. I look for the best vocal and instrumental performance of a musical work and live improvisations fail to attract me despite my appreciation for its genuine side. With the famous concert/album “1 2 3 soleils” for Khaled, Rachid Taha, and Faudel, I finally found a live concert that I do not only listen to but even admire.
Arab concerts, in general, are limited to the idea of live singing and do not go beyond that to dealing with a concert as an artistic project. What those three great singers did was outstanding because they chose the best of their works and added some Algerian folklore masterpieces without hesitating to reproduce their melodies in a different way. If you watch or listen to the concert, you will love the way the audience gets wild and passionate witnessing a historical meeting between those three contemporary kings of Raï. My favorite of this album is “Daimen”.
Cheb Mami
If Khaled is the king of Raï, then Mami is the prince of Raï, as people agreed on over the past years. Mami has also participated in breaking the ‘body taboo’ for me with his famous video song “Le Raï C’est Chic”. Mami has phenomenal vocal abilities and among his fans and Khaled’s fans, he is believed to have the best drummer while Khaled has the best violinist. They have both started together in Algeria singing in night clubs and weddings until the assassination of their fellow Raï singer Cheb Hacni (who is hugely loved by Algerians) made them escape to France. If you watch videos and documentaries of Khaled’s early years in Algeria and France, you see how he works his songs on the keyboard with African and Algerian artists in a small apartment using humble equipments. This reflects the reality those artists had to live to establish themselves in exile and in a tough market like the French one.
Mami sang with people like Sting and Ziggy Marley, yet he has his amazing works that talk about Algerian immigrants in France. His most notable songs on that issue are “Ana Oualache” and “Parisien du Nord” which is a duet with French rapper K-met, exploring the identity crisis that Arab immigrants face in France. On the other hand, you find an ‘erotic’ love song like “Tzazae”, depicting the Algerian portrayal of the loved woman and how she tells her lover to fear her family; an image of how love is forbidden in our classical societies. Another favorite love song of Mami is “Yahmami”, while his song “Bilady Hia AlJazayaer” can only be described as the unofficial national anthem of Algeria.
I ♥ Raï ..
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