What musical genre can claim to have gone, in the space of fifty years, from a hidden cabaret in Oran to Super Bowl halftime? Born in Algeria at the end of the Second World War, the raï wave spread from the cabarets of western Algeria to the cassette shops of Barbès in Paris, before sweeping the world at the end of the 1980s. its hybridization, the intoxicating music traveled from Algerian and French weddings to the biggest international stages, before suddenly disappearing from the radar at the dawn of the new millennium. Icons that have disappeared, including Cheikha Remitti and Prince Hasni, to young heirs, passing by the star Khaled, the collector Hadj Sameer trace the tumultuous course of this musical genre, between clandestinity, planetary glory and resistance.
Raï Story is a musical journey in search of the Raï legend, Cheikha Remitti, in Oran, Algeria, where the Raï musical tradition began. In 1923, the first Raï singers performed behind screens during ceremonies to protect their identity. It was only when the music of singer Cheikha Remitti began to gain popularity among the general public that Raï music was made public, in the 1940s. Cheikha Remitti, who lives between Paris and Oran, is nowhere to be found, the filmmakers then decide to meet producers, musicians, singers like Cheba Dalila or Cheba Djenet, for whom Remitti created a wake. The opportunity, through these unique stories, illustrated with archive images, to retrace the important place of women in this musical tradition and the transformation of Raï music from the 1960s to 2000.
IMAX invites you backstage to the Rock n' Roll event of the year. The acts featured won a combined total of 13 Grammy® Awards in 2000. This exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the inner workings of putting on a mega-concert combines candid moments backstage with electrifying larger-than-life musical performances by multi-Grammy® Award-winning rock stars such as Santana, Sting, Sheryl Crow and the Dave Matthews Band on the giant IMAX screen. All Access: Front Row. Backstage. Live! also features legendary artists Al Green, George Clinton, B.B. King, Moby, Rob Thomas (Matchbox Twenty), Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock, Macy Gray, The Roots, Trey Anastasio (Phish) and Cheb Mami.
In the 1980s, Algeria experienced a tumultuous social context which reached its peak during the riots of October 88. This wave of protest, with youth as its figurehead, echoed the texts of raï singers. Thirst for freedom, misery of life and the aspirations of youth are among the main themes of their works which will inspire an entire generation. More than music, raï celebrates the Arabic language and becomes a vector of Algerian culture, thus providing the cultural weapons of emerging Algerian nationalism With Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami and Chaba Fadela as leaders of the movement, raï is also a way of telling and reflecting the essence of Algeria in these difficult times. While the threat weighs on artists in Algeria, their exile allows raï to be exported internationally and thus, to bring the colors of Algeria to life throughout the world.
"Bled Music" is an Algerian musical television program broadcast on ENTV between 1991 and 1992. directed by Aziz Smati and presented by Kamel Dynamite, Farid Rockeur and Samia Benkherroubi. The show, with its irreverent tone, was very popular and had a significant impact on the Algerian music scene, allowing the emergence of many artists including Chaba Fadela, Cheb Sahraoui, Cheb Anouar and Mohamed Lamine. A ranking of music videos by popularity and relied on fans sending their votes by mail. At the end of the 1980s, unrest broke out in Algeria which led the country into a Black Decade. At this time, fundamentalist groups attempted to ban music and most other forms of artistic expression. The show continued to air despite death threats, but on February 14, 1994, Aziz Smati was shot in both legs by a young extremist, which ultimately led to the end of the show .
Mohamed Khelifati (Arabic: محمد خليفاتي, Muḥammad Khalīfātī; born 11 July 1966), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami (Arabic: شاب مامي, shābb māmī), is an Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometimes in French or Eastern Arabic dialects. Internationally, he is known for contributing vocals to the 1999 Sting single "Desert Rose". Cheb Mami was born in Graba-el-wed (Arabic: غربة الواد), a populous quarter of Saïda (Arabic: سعيدة), Algeria. Located 170 kilometers south of Oran, the city is on the high mesas of northwestern Algeria. In 1985, Cheb Mami moved to Paris and discovered Raï music. He later performed military service for two years in Algeria while working as an entertainer on army bases. In May 1989, he returned to Paris. He went on to tour the United States, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Scandinavia, and England. Cheb Mami's music is a blend of Mediterranean and Western influences, including Turkish, Flamenco, and Greek music, as well as Latin music. His voice is tinged with Andalusian accents, and his music is an amalgamation of traditional and modern styles of singing. When Sting's album Brand New Day was released in 1999, the pair's duet, "Desert Rose", appeared on singles charts around the world and led to television appearances on Saturday Night Live, the Today Show, Jay Leno, David Letterman, the Grammy Awards telecast, and even a live performance at the Super Bowl. Cheb Mami was under an international arrest warrant after being indicted in October 2006 for "voluntary violence, sequestration, and threats" against an ex-wife, and failing to answer a court summons on 14 May 2007. He was accused of attempting to force an abortion on his then-girlfriend, magazine photographer Isabelle Simon. During a trip to Algeria in the summer of 2005, Simon was locked in a house belonging to one of Cheb Mami's friends, where an abortive procedure was attempted on her. Afterwards in France, she realized the fetus was still alive, and she later gave birth to a daughter. Cheb Mami had accused his manager Michel Lecorre (a.k.a. Michel Levy) of organizing the abortion plan; Levy was later sentenced to four years for plotting and organizing the assault. Cheb Mami was arrested in France several days before his trial and taken into custody by officials at a Paris airport as he arrived in the country from Algeria on 22 June 2009. In July 2009, a Paris court found him guilty of drugging and attempted forcible abortion, and sentenced him to five years in prison. On 21 September 2010, his lawyers applied for conditional release, a request that was turned down on 12 October 2010. Upon a second appeal however, the French court agreed for his conditional release on 23 March 2011. In July 2015, Cheb Mami had to compensate 200,000 euros to Cheb Rabah (born Rabah Zerradine) for plagiarizing his texts. The songs in question are "Le raï c'est chic", "Madanite", "Ma vie deux fois", and "Gualbi Gualbi". Source: Article "Cheb Mami" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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