The recent death of French Algerian superstar Rachid Taha brought to mind the musical genre called raï, so I decided to feature it this week by highlighting a few raï artists.… It’s not hard to ...

Cheb Mami’s name may not be on the tip of your tongue, but odds are his music is. Over the past decade, this Algerian native has skyrocketed to the top of the world’s Arabic rai (pronounced “rye”) ...

The French baguette, Algerian Rai music and Tunisia's harissa condiment are among this year's contenders for recognition as intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO, which started deliberations Monday ...

The Sahel in Africa is a vast region with a rich and complex musical legacy. In it, balafon rhythms meet Arab grooves and Bedouin psych melts into modern dance parties, where the heirs of the voices ...

In the 1930s no respectable Algerian woman dared to make music about sexual pleasure, alcohol consumption, poverty, oppression. Cheikha Rimitti sang anyway. The artist, whose pioneering recordings ...

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Born in southern Tunisia in 1977, MC Rai proved so adept in the native chaabi folk music tradition that he was performing on local radio stations before his eighth birthday. Like most teenagers, his ...