Houari Benchenet (Arabic: هواري بنشنات), born in
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
on May 25, 1961, is an Algerian
raï
Raï (, ; ar, راي, Latn, ar, rāʾy, ), 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'' (Ara ...
singer.
Biography
A native of
El Hamri, in
Oran
Oran ( ar, وَهران, Wahrān) is a major coastal city located in the north-west of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria after the capital Algiers, due to its population and commercial, industrial, and cultural ...
. Benchenet is a member of a large family that has no resources other than song.
In 1975 he began to sing with the ''derbuka'' drummer in a group influenced by
Blaoui Houari and
Ahmed Saber. He recorded his first hit in 1977, with Abdelkader Cassidy, titled "Dalali". His became one of the most prolific tenors of Oran song along with Wahby Ahmed,
Blaoui Houari ,
Ahmed Saber or Benzerga.
Benchenet is part of the second generation of modern ''rai'' with
Khaled,
Cheb Sahraoui and Cheb El Hindi, and Cheb Hamid, replacing
Bellemou Messaoud ,
Belkacem Bouteldja and others. They introduced the synthesizer in the 70 and shattered taboos that revolved around the 1985 Rai Oran.
Discography
Albums
*1977: ''Dalali''
*2001: ''Arssam wahran''
*2010: ''Ayetni Trig'' "8 titles".
*2013: ''Wahran El-Bahia'' "10 titles".
Singles
*1977: "Dalali"
*1983: "Telephone h'rem
*1983: "Ya aliya al-hem"
*1983: "Semhili ya ma"
*1983: "Zid ya l'kawini"
*1983: "Li Bini w binek mat"
*1983: "Andi problem"
*1989: "Goulou ha hiya djat"
*1989: "Rani m'dammar"
*1989: "Bakhta"
*2001: "Arssam wahran"
*2010: "N'tiya omri ya l'Algerie"
External links
Houari Benchenet, gentilhomme du raï – ''liberation.fr''Houari Benchenet Biographie et discographie
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benchenet, Houari
Living people
1961 births
Musicians from Oran
Raï musicians
20th-century Algerian male singers
21st-century Algerian male singers