Cheb Mami life and biography

Ahmed Khelifati Mohamed, better known by his stage name Cheb Mami is an Algerian-born raï singer. He sings and speaks in Algerian Arabic, French and sometimes, as on Layali, in Egyptian Arabic.

Cheb Mami, the "Little Prince of Rai," first gained worldwide attention in 1999 when he collaborated with Sting on the hit single "Desert Rose," performing with the pop star in a series of concerts, including the Grammy Awards in 2000 and the Super Bowl in 2001. He has long been known to followers of the musical genre known as rai, a style that originated in the singer's native Algeria and spread through European cities with large Arab populations. In the first two decades of his career Mami did more than any other rai performer to broaden the music's scope, retaining its distinctive, native sounds while adding elements from the music of other cultures.

Born Ahmad Khelifati on July 11, 1966, in Saida, Algeria, Mami began his career singing at weddings and circumcision ceremonies. His plaintive voice earned him the nickname "Mami," which means "the mourner." In 1982, at the age of 15, he participated in the Ihan wa chabab contest, a popular radio program based in Oran, the home of rai.

Rai, which means "opinion" or "advice," originated in the western Algeria port city of Oran. Its origins lie in the oral traditions of the Bedouin, and, as these became less relevant in the modern urban environment, were adapted by new generations to suit new realities. Rai is the sound of the country, transplanted to the city, infused with a mélange of different musical traditions: Spanish, French, African American, and Arabic. While often commenting on universal themes such as romantic love, rai has also addressed social issues in a way deemed subversive and scandalous by both political and religious authorities.

The sound first caught on with the restive youth of Algeria in the early 1970s and was first frowned upon by Algerian authorities for its rebellious nature. The Rough Guide: World Music says that "[t]he shock value of modern rai is not so much its content, but a refusal to 'contain' potentially explosive material. By bringing the unspeakable out into the street, rai threatens the social order. The younger generation finally abandoned the double standards, and the rai phenomenon reflects a complete breakdown of the old order."

As Algeria was torn by civil strife during much of the late 1980s and 1990s, rai was caught in the crossfire, and several of its leading local practitioners were killed. This resulted in an exodus of performers to the relative safety of European cities, where the musical form found a receptive audience among the immigrants and beurs (Algerians born in Europe). This exodus spread the music's popularity beyond the borders of the Arab neighborhoods into the community at large.

When Mami placed second in the Ihan wa chabab contest, he attracted the attention of a local recording label. He would, in the next few years, release a number of cassettes (the standard form of distribution for rai releases), which sold in the hundreds of thousands. Yet, given the organization of the industry in Algeria, Mami saw little profit from his efforts. In 1985 he made his first appearance at the Premier Festival of Rai of Oran; later that same year he toured Paris, performing in a number of Arab clubs, and he also appeared at the Rai Festivals of Villette and Bobigny. There he found a manager, Michele Levy. The following year he returned, performing at the legendary Olympia Theater in Paris. By the end of the decade, Mami had been crowned "The Prince of Rai" (his elder, Khaled, being the "King of Rai").

As the political situation continued to unravel in Algeria, the ruling party squared off against Islamic fundamentalists, setting off the violence that would plague the country throughout the 1990s. Mami, like many rai singers, relocated to France after completing his military service. There he began to cultivate and expand his audience among the immigrants and beurs.

In 1989 Mami released Le prince du rai (Prince of Rai), his first recording to receive international distribution, on the French Sonodisc label. The following year he released Let Me Rai, which showed a considerable evolution from his debut, demonstrating his openness to outside musical influences. The album incorporated rock and dance elements, accentuating sinuous Arabic rhythms with funk- and reggae-influenced bass lines.

Mami's next album, released in 1995, was entitled Saida, taking its name from the singer's native village. This album continued Mami's penchant for innovation, combining rap and rai. He was quoted by Banning Eyre on the Afropop Worldwide website saying, "young people in France listened to a little rai, and a lot of rap. Saidawas the first time rai and rap were mixed. Now there are young rap singers in France who try to imitate us, the rai singers, and that is very encouraging."

With the release of Meli Meli in 1999 Mami pressed forward, appropriating new musical forms and applying them to his own distinctive brand of rai. French rapper K-Mel of Alliance Ethnique guested on the track "Parisien du nord," and the album included a remix of the title track by Gordon Cyrus (Neneh Cherry, Massive Attack) and Simon Law (Soul II Soul). The sophisticated fusion of rap, reggae, flamenco, and funk with Arabic pop grabbed the attention of British pop superstar Sting, resulting in what would be for Mami a career-altering collaboration.

Sting invited the Algerian singer to collaborate on the song, "Desert Rose," which went on to become a smash hit. In 2000 the two did a series of performances that included the Grammy Awards, a free concert in New York's Central Park, the David Letterman Show, and, in 2001, the Super Bowl. Basking in his newfound success and high profile in the United States, Mami expressed his belief that rai was ready to expand its horizons to include the Western world. He was quoted by Bob Young of the Boston Herald as saying, "The reason I think people are grooving on rai music is that the rhythms and melodies are very infectious.... It's like Bob Marley. (People) didn't understand what Bob Marley was saying in Europe or in the Middle East but his rhythms were infectious."

In 2001 Mami released Dellali, which expressed this confidence in the tune, "Le rai c'est chic." The album includes Mami's trademark eclecticism, utilizing Chic mastermind Nile Rodgers and Anglo-Indian producer Nitin Sawheny as producers. The instruments used include tablas, oud, accordion, and synthesizers, along with the more conventional bass, drum, and guitar. The album included guest spots by the late country legend Chet Atkins, Omar Hakim, Sting, and the London Community Gospel Choir. Dellali was the culmination of all of Mami's previous work and reflected a resounding confidence in the viability of his music. As he told Billboard's Jim Bessman, "the sound of rai is becoming more international, and with globalization and communication tools like the Internet and cable TV, there's an opening of American and Western ears to the different tonalities, modes, and instruments of Arabic music."

Mami's daring innovations pushed rai to new levels of artistic sophistication, assuring its place as a vital component of world music. There are encouraging signs that the form is finding a new acceptance in the country of its origin and no longer considered suspect. In 1999, after an eight-year absence during which the country was riven by political and religious strife, Cheb Mami returned home to perform at an open-air concert in Algiers. The concert was a triumph, attracting an audience of 100,000. Speaking of this experience, Mami was quoted by Dan Rosenberg in the Metro Times as saying, "I have hope for Algeria's future.... This concert was to raise morale and to turn the page after all that has happened in Algeria. I hope, above all, that this concert will lead other singers to return home after me."

As well as recording many straight raï songs, Cheb Mami has achieved crossover success with the hip-hop remix of his track "Parisien du Nord" on his album Meli Meli and also with the backing vocals on Sting's hit "Desert Rose" and Youm Wara Youm the title track of which is a duet with Samira Said.

As of July 2010, Mami was imprisoned in France, where he was found guilty of drugging and forcing a former romantic partner to undergo a failed abortion. A Parisian court found him guilty at trial and sentenced him to five years in prison. He was released in March 2011 on parole.

Selected discography:
-Prince of Rai , Shanachie, 1989.
-Let me Rai , Virgin, 1990.
-Saida , Virgin, 1994.
-Douni el Bladi , BSI & Virgin, 1996.
-(With Khaled)100% Arabica (soundtrack), 1997.
-Meli Meli , Ark21, 1999.
-Dellali , Ark21, 2001.

Read more