Many music industry insiders wondered if the French public would accept an Algerian singing in Arabic over a rich tapestry of sound and rhythms yet almost instantly Khaled was selling huge numbers of CDs. Khaled moved to France in the 1980s and became the first Algerian to be signed to a major French record label. Khaled and his collaborators added synthesisers and drum machines and the influence of everything from Elvis to flamenco so shaping rai into the future of North African music.Ĭalled Cheb Khaled – Cheb meaning 'young' and the tag given to all aspiring rai singers – his beautiful voice and strong stage presence soon found him the most popular singer in Algeria.
Rai's roots were in the acoustic ghetto music sung by Algeria's raw throated female singer Chieka Remitti and legendary Moroccan chabbi group Nas El Ghiwane. By the age of sixteen he had been expelled from school and released his first single "Trig Lycee". The son of a mechanic he was crazy about music and proved himself a gifted multi-instrumentalist. Hadj-Brahim Khaled was born in 1960 and grew up in the port city of Oran.
As Algeria's heavyweight champion of rai music, Khaled has gone on to enjoy astonishing success across much of continental Europe, Asia and Latin America.
Khaled is a phenomenon and one of the few artists working in the region we call world music that can wear the title 'superstar'. AWARDS FOR WORLD MUSIC 2004: ARTIST PROFILE
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