Алжирлік Раи музыкасы

Music genre originating in Algeria

Raï (/r//aɪ//.//i/, /r//aɪ/; راي, , ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called cheb (Arabic: شاب) (or shabab, i. e. young) as opposed to sheikh (Arabic: شيخ) (shaykh, i. e. old), the name given to Chaabi singers. The tradition arose in the city of Oran, primarily among the poor. Traditionally sung by men, by the end of the 20th century, female singers had become common. The lyrics of Raï have concerned social issues such as disease and the policing of European colonies that affected native populations.

Cheb Khaled was the first musician with international success, including his 1988 duet album with jazz musician Safy Boutella 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, Cheba Zohra 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 did not call his creation raï music, but rather described it as a combination of folk raï and punk. 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. In 2000, raï music had international success thanks to Sting's duet with raï singer Cheb Mami on the song "Desert Rose", released January 17, 2000. Sting was widely credited for introducing raï music to Western music audiences, and as such, the song was a success on many charts, reaching No. 2 in Canada, No. 3 in Switzerland, No. 4 in Italy, No. 15 in the UK, and No. 17 in the US. It also reached number 1 on Billboard’s Adult Alternative and Hot Dance Single Sales charts respectively.

Throughout the course of raï music's development and commercialization in Algeria, 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 Maghrebi identity. 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 conservative nature of the people. 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. An example of this free expression is through 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!" 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. Audio engineers manipulated the recordings of raï artists 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, female raï artists usually do not appear on their album covers. Such patriarchal standards pressure women to societal privacy.