Nabil El Amraoui (), known as Cheb (), is a Moroccan singer-songwriter and comedian from Oulmes,

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria ...

. He has been described as a talented lyricist with a keen interest in traditional Moroccan music.

Biography

He started studying music at 15, at first with the guitar, followed by the after 2 or 3 years from studying guitar, the

oud , image=File:oud2.jpg , image_capt=Syrian oud made by Abdo Nahat in 1921 , background= , classification= *String instruments * Necked bowl lutes , hornbostel_sachs=321.321-6 , hornbostel_sachs_desc=Composite chordophone sounded with a plectrum ...

, the

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

, and the

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a musica ...

and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis ...

. He studied at the in Rabat.

Influences

He is influenced by Zayane

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 (1913–1 ...

folk music, having grown up with the sounds of

Mohamed Rouicha Mohamed Rouicha ( ar, محمد رويشة; 1950 – 17 January 2012) was a Moroccan folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Fo ...

, Azlmat, and

Hadda Ouakki Hadda Ouakki (Berber: ⵃⴰⴷⴷⴰ ⵓⵄⴽⴽⵉ - ar, حادة أوعكي; born 1953 in Ait Ishaq, Khénifra Province) is a Moroccan singer in the genre of Tamawayt. Ouakki sings in Central Atlas Tamazight, and is described as one of t ...

. He is also influenced by the ''chaabi'' songs played at weddings and parties in Rabat's al-Kamra neighborhood, as well as the

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 ...

songs of artists such as

Cheb Hasni Cheb Hasni ( ar, الشاب حسني), born Hasni Chakroun ( ar, حسني شقرون), (1 February 1968 – 29 September 1994), was an Algerian raï singer. He was popular across the Maghreb, having reached the height of his career in the late 1 ...

Cheb Mami Mohamed Khelifati ( ar, محمد خليفاتي, ), better known by his stage name Cheb Mami ( ar, شاب مامي, link=no, , born 11 July 1966), is an Algerian musician and singer-songwriter. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic and sometim ...

, Khaled,

Cheb Nasro Nasereddine Souïdi ( ar, نصر الدين اسويدي, born 30 November 1969), known as Cheb Nasro and after Nasro (Arabic:نصرو) is raï most prolific artist with more than 131 albums to his credit. Nasro has recorded hits including "Ndir ...

Cheb Bilal Cheb Bilal (Arabic: الشاب بلال. born Bilal Mouffok, موفق بلال) is an Algerian raï singer, who was born on 23 July 1966 in Cherchell, Algeria. He produces traditional music that includes instruments like congas and violins. Care ...

, and Cheb Rizki that would play at the billiard halls. Among ''chaabi'' influences, Cheb cites ,

Miloud Lamghari Miloud(ميلود in Arabic) is a masculine Given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that ...

, El Bhiri,

Najat Aatabou Najat Aâtabou ( ar, نجاة اعتابو; born 1960) is an Berber Moroccan singer, songwriter and composer. Her song "Hadi Kedba Bayna" was sampled by the Chemical Brothers in their 2004 song " Galvanize". Early life Najat Aâtabou was ...

, as well as old names of ''aita'' music. Later on, with

satellite dish A satellite dish is a dish-shaped type of parabolic antenna designed to receive or transmit information by radio waves to or from a communication satellite. The term most commonly means a dish which receives direct-broadcast satellite televisi ...

es, he was introduced to ''sharqi'', or Middle Eastern music, and with the internet, rock, metal, and jazz. Cheb has also expressed an appreciation for the music of

Ziad Rahbani Ziad Rahbani ( ar, زياد الرحباني, born 1956) is a Lebanese composer, pianist, playwright, and political commentator. He is the son of Fairouz, one of Lebanon and the Arab world's most famous singers, and Assi Rahbani, one of the fou ...

Music

Cheb is an internet sensation, with cult popularity on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

. His music has been described as "purely Moroccan," making use of authentic ''chaabi'' rhythms.

Lyrics

Cheb writes his songs in "pure"

Darija Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alg ...

, or Moroccan vernacular Arabic. The lyrical content of his music has been described as idiosyncratic, at once mundane and profound. His song ''al-mā'an'' ( "The Dishes") in particular has drawn attention.

Albums

* ''Tkharshish'' (), 2018 *''Akhar as-Sa'alik al-Muhtaramin'' (), 2019 *''Sma’ Balak'' (), 2021

Songs

*''Hammam alzalqin'' (حمّام الزّالِݣين), 2021 *''Doremifasolasi'' (دو ري مي فا صو لا سي), 2021 *''Helahoppa'' (هيلاهوبا), 2021 *''Wslatkom Chi Haja Mn Chamch ?'' (وصلاتكم شي حاجة من شمش؟ )2021 ''Sma’ Balak'' (سمع بالاك), 2021 *''Reklam'' (ريكلام), 2021 *''Fi Tabi'atin Ma'' (في طبيعة ما), 2020 *''Dwaqa Wlla... Ghellaqa?'' (ذواقة ولا غلاقة؟), 2020 *''Scandale'' (سكونضال), 2020 *''Fi Intidhar Sandwich'' (في انتظار السندويش), 2021 *''Doar Al Alam Attaleth'' (دوار العالم الثالث), 2020 *''Hna El Caramel'' (حنا الكراميل), 2020 *''Ajmal Balad Fi Al Alam'' (اجمل بلد فالعالم!), 2020 *''Saifan'' (صيفا), 2020 ''Akhar as-Sa'alik al-Muhtaramin'' (), 2019 *''Bghina Lil Maysalich'' (بغينا الليل ميساليش), 2019 *''Kutukutu'' (كوتوكوتو), 2019 *''Ghabra d Njom'' (غبرة دنجوم), 2019 *''Fin A Smaïn?'' (فين اسماعين؟), 2019 *''Hassan'' (حسن), 2019 *''An Lma'en'' (عن الماعن), 2019 *''Majanin'' (مجانين), 2019 *''Tajine El Hout'' (طجين الحوت), 2019 *''Lloha'' (اللوحة), 2019 *''L'ars'' (العرس), 2019 *''Zin Zin Zin'' (زين زين زين), 2019 ''Tkharshish'' ({{Lang, ar, تخرشيش), 2018 * ''Wakha?'' (واخا؟), 2018 *''Douar Al Alam Al Thaleth'' (دوار العالم الثالت), 2018 *''Sir O Aji'' (سير و اجي), 2018 *''Lahrira'' (الحريرة), 2018 *''Choclatati' (شكلاطتي), 2018'' *''L'ayach' (العياشة), 2018'' *''Lhazqa'' (الحزقة), 2018 *''Lhsab Sabon'' (الحساب صابون), 2018 *''Sgo'ya'' (صكوعية), 2018 *''Comparse'' (كومبارس), 2018 *''Nti Dnya Nti?'' (نتي دنيا نتي؟), 2018 *''260'' (٢٦٠), 2018 *''Sfar o Rose'' (صفر وغوز), 2018

References

Living people 21st-century Moroccan male singers Moroccan songwriters People from Oulmes, Morocco 1990 births