Music That Put Him in Danger: Khaled and "Harai Harai"

Today's random tune is brought to you by Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, also known by his performing names of Khaled and Cheb Khaled. Khaled is an Algerian raï singer and songwriter who started recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled and since has become a superstar and the most well-known Algerian performer in the world - he is usually labeled "The King of Raï." Khaled helped introduce raï to Western audiences, largely through adding flourishes in the 80s to traditional raï such as drum machines, synthesizers and electric guitars as well as melding the genre with other types of music such as reggae, rock and roll, and Egyptian and Moroccan pop. Later songs of Khaled introduced pedal steel guitar and Asian stringed instruments. Because his songs espoused the freedom of youth, pleasure and sex, he ran afoul of Islamic extremists who issued a fatwa against him and the style of music and caused him to move away from Algeria to France, where he continued to maintain his popularity among Algerians while simultaneously increasing his exposure to Western audiences. This song, Harai Harai, can be found on his 1994 album Khaled.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_(musician); https://www.britannica.com/biography/Khaled

Bad Blood: Khaled and "Mauvais Sang"

Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, also known by his performing names of Khaled and Cheb Khaled, brings us our random song of the day. Khaled is an Algerian raï singer and songwriter who started recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled and since has become a superstar and the most well-known Algerian performer in the world - he is usually labeled "The King of Raï." This song, Mauvais Sang, can be found on his 1994 album Khaled and on the various artists compilation Putumayo Presents: Arabic Groove (2001).

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Long Suffering: Khaled and "Sbabi"

Our random song of the day, called Sbabi, is by Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, an Algerian raï singer and songwriter known by his stage name Khaled and also Cheb Khaled. He started recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled and since has become a superstar and the most well-known Algerian performer in the world - he is usually labeled "The King of Raï." Sbabi can be found on his 1994 album Khaled. This video is a live performance from 2007. The song is one of the suffering that goes with the longing for the one that one loves.

Listen to songs like this and more on the KUNM Global Music Show every Monday night from 10 pm - 1 am Mountain Standard Time. Live streaming, program information and the two-week digital archive can be found at http://www.kunm.org.

Royalty with Royalties: Khaled and "Aray Haray"

Today's random song is by by Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, an Algerian raï singer and songwriter known by his stage name Khaled. He started recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled and since has become a superstar and the most well-known Algerian performer in the world - he is usually labeled "The King of Raï." This song, Aray Haray, can be found on his 2013 greatest hits album Le King du Raï.

Arab Identity: Khaled and "El Arbi"

Today's random song is by by Khaled Hadj Ibrahim, an Algerian raï singer and songwriter known by his stage name Khaled. He started recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled and since has become a superstar and the most well-known Algerian performer in the world - he is usually labeled "The King of Raï." This song, El Arbi, can be found on his 1994 album Khaled. The song is in the first person and is an Arab proclaiming his identity as son of forests and pheasant, son of the camel, son of desert and sand. He goes on to say that the woman he loved left him, leaving only the company of the moonlight for his solace.