Chaabi () is a

traditional music Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has b ...

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

(

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

), formalized by

El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka El Hadj M'Hamed El Anka (), (May 20, 1907 in Algiers – November 23, 1978 in Algiers) also known as Hadj Muhammed Al Anka, El-Hadj M'Hamed El Anka (and various other combinations), was considered a Grand Master of Andalusian classical music and ...

. Originally from the

Casbah A kasbah (, also ; , , Maghrebi Arabic: ), also spelled qasbah, qasba, qasaba, or casbah, is a fortress, most commonly the citadel or fortified quarter of a city. It is also equivalent to the term in Spanish (), which is derived from the same ...

, the music known as chaabi belongs to a recent tradition. It emerged during the 1930s, and has remained popular to this day. Inspired by vocal traditions of Andalusi music, such as

muwashshah ''Muwashshah'' ( ' ' girdled'; plural '; also ' 'girdling,' pl. ') is a strophic poetic form that developed in al-Andalus in the late 10th and early 11th centuries. The ', embodying the Iberian rhyme revolution, was the major Andalusi inno ...

, using its modes and rhythm. ''Chaabi'' means 'of the people', and it is very definitely the people's music, even in a country where

raï Raï (, ; , , ), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s. Singers of Raï are called () or (), i.e. 'young', as opposed to (, 'shaykh'), i.e. 'old', the name given to Chaabi singers. The tradi ...

rules. A typical song features mournful, Arabic/

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

vocals, set against an orchestral backdrop of a dozen musicians, with violins and mandolins swelling and falling to a piano melody and the clap of percussion beats. Chaabi is part of a deeply conservative tradition and its lyrics often carrying a strong moral message. At first Chaabi remained a scandalous genre, thriving behind closed doors or in specific locations called "Mahchachat" (cannabis dens), where the admirer of this music would go to drink coffee, tea or smoke. By the late 1950s, however, it had become the people's music, played at weddings and religious festivals. Its main exponents included

Oran Oran () is a major coastal city located in the northwest of Algeria. It is considered the second most important city of Algeria, after the capital, Algiers, because of its population and commercial, industrial and cultural importance. It is w ...

-based singer ,

, the father of Chaabi, and

Dahmane El Harrachi Dahmane El Harrachi (real name Abderrahmane Amrani), (July 7, 1926 – August 31, 1980), was an Algerian Chaâbi singer of Chaoui origin. His song Ya Rayah made him one of the best exported and translated Chaabi artist. He moved to France ...

, composer of the classic tale of emigration " Ya Rayah". In 2011, Safinez Bousbia directed a documentary on chaabi music. It took over seven years to make, facilitate and track the reunion of the Jewish and Muslim members of a chaabi group from colonial Algiers known as

El Gusto ''El Gusto'' is a Franco-Irish-Algerian documentary film realised and produced by Safinez Bousbia, released on January 11, 2012 in France, which centers on the reunion of Jewish and Muslim members of an Algerian music group.Everett, S. S., & Crow ...

The best known chaabi singers

The best known chaabi singers are as follows: * Hadj Mrizek * Amer Ezzahi *

El Hachemi Guerouabi El Hachmi Guerouabi (Arabic: الهاشمي القروابي; January 6, 1938 – July 17, 2006) was an Algerian singer and composer of Chaâbi. He was born in El Mouradia and grew up in Bélouizdad. Guerouabi died on July 17, 2006, in Zeralda ...

* Boudjemaa el Ankis *

Kamel Messaoudi Kamel Messaoudi (), (30 January 1961; Bouzaréah, Algeria – 10 December 1998; Algiers) was an Algerian Chaabi music performer, highly regarded as one of the greatest musicians in Algerian history. Biography He was born in a family of Kabyl ...

* Abdelkader Chaou * Dahman El Harachi *

Lounès Matoub Lounès Matoub (; 24 January 1956 – 25 June 1998) was an Algerian Kabylian singer, poet, and thinker who sparked an intellectual revolution, and mandole player who was an advocate of the Berber cause, human rights, and secularism in Alger ...

Features of Chaabi

What distinguishes this Algerian Chaabi are the sounds and poems, which represent sad memories of times gone by, heart-warming and/or romantic emotions, time spent with friends, and other memories, set against a beautiful background of

. It is music that describes the reality of life and even includes tales and stories such as the stories of the prophet Mohamed and the religious. The words create wonderful pictures. Today, hundreds of singers are inspired by Rai music which can be heard all over the world.

References

External links

Ournia.com''Dead Reckoning'' (2011) movie about this music
{{Authority control 20th-century music genres 21st-century music genres Algerian styles of music Berber music