Singer Profile: Khaled Sings a Message of Peace and Tolerance

2004-12-15

Khaled is considered one of the world's premier rai musicians. Born in the 1960s in Oran's Sidi Al Houri district, Khaled modernized the rai genre when he burst onto the scene in the 1980s. First known as Cheb Khaled, he dropped the prefix in the early 1990s.

(Afropop Worldwide - 31/01/02; La Musique Rai; www.lyricsbox.com; "Men and Popular Music in Algeria: The Social Significance of Raï" - Marc Schade-Poulsen)

Khaled entertains audiences around the world [AFP]

Although his named changed, his ability to produce music did not. Khaled spearheaded the popularization of rai, which means 'opinion' in Arabic. Rai is a traditional form of folk music that originated in Oran, a cultural and educational centre of Algeria. Over time, the music fused French, Spanish and other Western styles. Rai was once considered subversive music by the Algerian government, but this changed after a series of reforms were instituted.

After performing at an Oran music festival in 1985, Khaled earned the title "King of Rai." In 1986, he moved to France and in 1992, released his self-titled album, "Khaled," which established his fame by selling over 100,000 copies in France. The 1993 follow-up album "N'ssi N'ssi" was the soundtrack for the film "1-2-3 Soleil" and earned him the Caesar Prize for best motion picture soundtrack in France.

Khaled’s musical influences include Egyptian singer Umm Kulthoum and French artists such as Edith Piaff and Charles Aznavour. The singer blends Arabic music, modern pop and occasionally jazz with his sometimes controversial lyrics. Living in Paris, he continues to be one of the most successful North African singers in Europe and the world.

The lyrics of his "Wahran" (Arabic for Oran) may best exemplify his spirit:

Wahran, wahran rohti kh’sara

Hejro mennek nas shtara…

Gadou fel ghourba hyara

Wel ghourba s’ibaw ghaddara

"Wahran, Wahran, what a loss. All the bright ones have left you for a treacherous and difficult exile. There, they roam helplessly and with confusion."

In a 2000 interview with web-based radio show Afropop Worldwide, Khaled said he left Algeria because of increasing militarization and fundamentalism in the country, as his lyrics made him the target of repeated threats.

"My culture, my music has always been locked up in the countries of the third world…You couldn't breathe; you couldn't have a cultural exchange of beautiful things, because to me, a world without culture is not a world," Khaled said during the Afropop interview. "To meet other people and exchange with them -- that I couldn't do. I wanted to go outside…I wanted to meet other people and see how they live."

Shortly after the 11 September attacks, Khaled travelled to New York to launch his US tour.

"What I want to tell Americans is that the word Islam means peace," he told Afropop. "Islam…has nothing to do with killing. The good lord did not put us here to kill one another. It's written in all religions -- Islam, Christianity, Buddhism -- it's forbidden to kill. We are in solidarity with the United States."

Khaled stayed true to his peaceful and multi-cultural ideals in New York by performing versions of American classics such as Frank Sinatra's "My Way" and John Lennon's "Imagine" using the Arabic oud as the lead instrument.

"Since my beginning in music, I always played the oud. That was my first instrument. Now, thirty years later, I am returning to the oud in my music…I find that the oud brings something fabulous, something magnificent -- especially in Western music."