The terms cheb and chebba--young man and young woman--put an informal spin on the older, more dignified musical honorifics cheikh and cheikha. The change of titles reflects the evolution of traditional wahrani in the seaside, partying city of Oran, into Algeria's most popular contemporary music, rai. Khaled, born in Oran, and raised on wahrani, would become a singing star at a young age and rise fast. Though he has made his home in France since the mid-1980s, he remains the undisputed King of Rai, even if he dropped the cheb from his name years ago.
Algeria's bold, 1970's rai singers dispensed with decorum and sang songs that proved shockingly outspoken for Algerians. "Before rai there was poetry," Khaled told Afropop in 1991. "In wahrani, we didn't talk about chicks or drinking alcohol. To describe love, we talked about a pigeon. I say things directly-- I drink alcohol; I love a woman; I am suffering." Born the son of a policeman in Oran around 1960, Khaled Hadj Brahim quickly embraced music, singing as a boy at weddings and recording his first single at just 16. By the early '80s, Cheb Khaled hits like 'Hada Raykoum' ('So That is What You Desire') alarmed Islamic conservatives with erotic, funky trance rhythms and straight-up lyrics like, 'Hey, Mama, your daughter wants me.'
After his knockout performance at Algeria's first rai festival in 1985, Khaled moved to France, where he recorded 'Kutche' with keyboardist Safi Boutella and Paris producer Martin Messonier. The record charted a course for the tasteful, punchy international sound Khaled went on to develop with Los Angeles producer Don Was on subsequent albums, 'Khaled' (1992) and 'N'Ssi N'Ssi' (1993). Working around short, repeating vocal phrases, Khaled blasts out clear, sustained, vibratoless salvos that glide over his beefy dance mixes. The formula advanced rai music far beyond the rather formulaic productions emanating from Algeria, but Khaled remained on top with that audience, while building an ever greater international following.
With the album 'Sahra' in 1996, Khaled broke into the European mainstream, which went mad for his romantic ballad, 'Aa.' At the same time, the album extended Khaled's adventurism and wanderlust, including three tracks recorded in Jamaica with veteran reggae session players and backing vocals by Rita Marley. In 1998, Khaled joined fellow rai stars Faudel and Rachid Taha on stage at Bercy Arena in Paris for the much ballyhooed '1,2,3, Soleil' concert and album, another landmark in rai's rising international popularity. Khaled took some time to regroup before releasing his next studio album, 'Kenza' in 1999, but it too expanded his musical vocabulary, including a Latin number, and an infectious duet with Indian film singer Amar.
Khaled's adventurism paved the way for other international rai artists. Cheb Mami recorded successful crossover albums in L.A., and Rachid Taha broke all the molds with his rock-infused 2000 release, 'Made in Medina.' Crossover rai appeals especially to second and third generation North Africans, living in France and no longer impressed by cheaply produced Algerian cassettes. This audience forms a link between the more isolated Algerian audience and the international world music public. Khaled, having spanned all three, has changed the landscape of possibilities for all rai singers. Long a potential target for Algerian Islamic militants, Khaled lives permanently in France. But he has been venturing back to Algeria more and more of late. In January 2002, he embarked on a major United States tour, alongside Egyptian shaabi singer, Hakim. This tour was the first major North African music presentation in the U.S. following the events of September 11, 2001, which have obviously complicated the international careers of many musicians from North Africa and the Arabic-speaking world.
Contributed by Afropop editor Banning Eyre
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