Cheikha Rimitti
Encyclopedia
Cheikha Rimitti (born سعدية الغيزانية Saadia El Ghizania, (8 May 1923, Tessala
, Algeria – d. 15 May 2006, Paris, France) was a popular Algerian raï
female singer.
and began writing her own songs. Her songs described the tough life endured by the Algerian poor, focusing on everyday struggle of living, pleasures of sex, love, alcohol and friendship and the realities of war.
Traditionally, songs of lust had been sung privately by Algerian women at rural wedding celebrations but were considered crude and unfit to be heard in polite society. Rimitti was one of the first to sing them in public and did so in the earthy language of the street, using a rich blend of slang and patois
. She eventually composed more than 200 songs but remained illiterate all her life.
where she made her first radio broadcasts. Soon after, she adopted the name Cheikha Rimitti.
She made her first record in 1952, a three-track on Pathé Records
under the name Cheikha Remettez Reliziana, which included the famous Er-Raï Er-Raï. This was not to be the record that launched her career, however. That came two years later when Rimitti caused a sensation with the release of Charrak Gattà a daring hit record, which encouraged young women to lose their virginity and which scandalised Muslim orthodoxy. Her outlook and songs did not endear her to the nationalist forces fighting for freedom from French rule during the Algerian War of Independence
who denounced her for singing folklore perverted by colonialism.
When Algeria won its independence in 1962, the Government banned her from radio and television for playing on them under French control during the independence struggle. Her songs remained hugely popular with the working-class poor and she continued to sing privately at weddings and feasts.
Four years later she went on a hadj to Mecca
, after which her lifestyle (though not her songs or subject matter) changed. She stopped smoking and drinking, but continued her singing and dancing, and by the mid-80s, when Rai was becoming established as the rousing dance music of angry young Algerians, Rimitti was being hailed as la mamie du Rai, the grandmother of the style.
In the 1980s, Cheikha Rimitti moved to Paris, loosening her ties with the Algerian authorities but never cutting herself off from the Algerian people, her first fans.
and Flea
from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
on the "Sidi Mansour" LP in 1994, inaugurating a new electric form of raï.
Her back catalogue was rediscovered by a new generation raï successors including Khaled
who has covered "The Camel". Many singers of the new generation venerated her as "The Mother Of The Genre" and Rachid Taha
dedicated a song to her, "Rimitti".
Her most recent album N’ta Goudami, released in 2006, was a lustful combination of traditional Algerian and modern rock sounds sung in a deep voice of booming energy that belied her 83 years and garnered enthusiastic reviews http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1767603,00.html. For someone who had been officially banned in Algeria, Rimitti marked rai history by taking the defiant step of recording her last album at the Boussif Studios in Oran
, the city where rai music was born over a century ago.
She continued performing until the end – two days before she died she was rapturously received by an audience of 4,500 at the Zénith
in Paris.
She died in Paris from a heart attack on 15 May 2006, aged 83.
Tessala
Tessala is a town and commune in Sidi Bel Abbès Province in northwestern Algeria.-References:...
, Algeria – d. 15 May 2006, Paris, France) was a popular Algerian raï
Raï
Raï is a form of folk music that originated in Oran, Algeria from Bedouin shepherds, mixed with Spanish, French, African and Arabic musical forms, which dates back to the 1930s....
female singer.
Early life
Cheikha Rimitti was born in Tessala, a small village in western Algeria in 1923, and named Saadia, meaning joyful. This name did not match the reality of her early life, however as she had been orphaned as a child and began to live rough, earning a few francs working in the fields and doing other menial jobs.Early musical career
At 15 she joined a troupe of traditional Algerian musicians and learnt to sing and dance. In 1943 she moved to the rural town of RelizaneRelizane
Relizane is a capital town of Relizane Province, Algeria....
and began writing her own songs. Her songs described the tough life endured by the Algerian poor, focusing on everyday struggle of living, pleasures of sex, love, alcohol and friendship and the realities of war.
Traditionally, songs of lust had been sung privately by Algerian women at rural wedding celebrations but were considered crude and unfit to be heard in polite society. Rimitti was one of the first to sing them in public and did so in the earthy language of the street, using a rich blend of slang and patois
Patois
Patois is any language that is considered nonstandard, although the term is not formally defined in linguistics. It can refer to pidgins, creoles, dialects, and other forms of native or local speech, but not commonly to jargon or slang, which are vocabulary-based forms of cant...
. She eventually composed more than 200 songs but remained illiterate all her life.
Recognition across Algeria
Her fame spread by word of mouth across Algeria during the Second World War until she was taken under the patronage of a well-known Algerian musician of the time, Cheikh Mohammed Ould Ennems, who took her to AlgiersAlgiers
' is the capital and largest city of Algeria. According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630. In 2009, the population was about 3,500,000...
where she made her first radio broadcasts. Soon after, she adopted the name Cheikha Rimitti.
She made her first record in 1952, a three-track on Pathé Records
Pathé Records
Pathé Records was a France-based international record label and producer of phonographs, active from the 1890s through the 1930s.- Early years :...
under the name Cheikha Remettez Reliziana, which included the famous Er-Raï Er-Raï. This was not to be the record that launched her career, however. That came two years later when Rimitti caused a sensation with the release of Charrak Gattà a daring hit record, which encouraged young women to lose their virginity and which scandalised Muslim orthodoxy. Her outlook and songs did not endear her to the nationalist forces fighting for freedom from French rule during the Algerian War of Independence
Algerian War of Independence
The Algerian War was a conflict between France and Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962, which led to Algeria's gaining its independence from France...
who denounced her for singing folklore perverted by colonialism.
When Algeria won its independence in 1962, the Government banned her from radio and television for playing on them under French control during the independence struggle. Her songs remained hugely popular with the working-class poor and she continued to sing privately at weddings and feasts.
Recognition outside Algeria and by other artists
By the 1970s she was performing mostly for the Algerian immigrant community in France. Briefly returning to Algeria in 1971, she was badly hurt in a car crash (being in a coma for three weeks) in which three of her musicians were killed.Four years later she went on a hadj to Mecca
Mecca
Mecca is a city in the Hijaz and the capital of Makkah province in Saudi Arabia. The city is located inland from Jeddah in a narrow valley at a height of above sea level...
, after which her lifestyle (though not her songs or subject matter) changed. She stopped smoking and drinking, but continued her singing and dancing, and by the mid-80s, when Rai was becoming established as the rousing dance music of angry young Algerians, Rimitti was being hailed as la mamie du Rai, the grandmother of the style.
In the 1980s, Cheikha Rimitti moved to Paris, loosening her ties with the Algerian authorities but never cutting herself off from the Algerian people, her first fans.
Later life & death
Her music crossed over to the West and she undertook prestigious concerts in big cities and worldwide capitals as well as collaborating with Robert FrippRobert Fripp
Robert Fripp is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" and #47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time". Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique...
and Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
from the Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
on the "Sidi Mansour" LP in 1994, inaugurating a new electric form of raï.
Her back catalogue was rediscovered by a new generation raï successors including Khaled
Khaled (musician)
Khaled Hadj Ibrahim , better known as Khaled, is a raï singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Sidi El Houari in Oran Province of Algeria...
who has covered "The Camel". Many singers of the new generation venerated her as "The Mother Of The Genre" and Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha
Rachid Taha is an Algerian singer and activist based in France who has been described as "sonically adventurous." His music is influenced by many different styles such as rock, electronic, punk and raï.-Early life:Taha was born in 1958 in Sig , Algeria, although a second source suggests he was...
dedicated a song to her, "Rimitti".
Her most recent album N’ta Goudami, released in 2006, was a lustful combination of traditional Algerian and modern rock sounds sung in a deep voice of booming energy that belied her 83 years and garnered enthusiastic reviews http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1767603,00.html. For someone who had been officially banned in Algeria, Rimitti marked rai history by taking the defiant step of recording her last album at the Boussif Studios in Oran
Oran
Oran is a major city on the northwestern Mediterranean coast of Algeria, and the second largest city of the country.It is the capital of the Oran Province . The city has a population of 759,645 , while the metropolitan area has a population of approximately 1,500,000, making it the second largest...
, the city where rai music was born over a century ago.
She continued performing until the end – two days before she died she was rapturously received by an audience of 4,500 at the Zénith
Zenith
The zenith is an imaginary point directly "above" a particular location, on the imaginary celestial sphere. "Above" means in the vertical direction opposite to the apparent gravitational force at that location. The opposite direction, i.e...
in Paris.
She died in Paris from a heart attack on 15 May 2006, aged 83.
Selected discography
Over a 50 year period she recorded over 400 cassettes, 300 singles, 50-something 78rpms and the handful of CDs. A selected CD discography can be found below:- Ghir al Baroud (1996)
- Cheika (1996)
- Trab Music (2000)
- Nouar (2000)
- L'etoile du Rai (2001)
- Live European Tour 2000 (2001)
- Salam Maghreb (2001)
- N'ta Goudami (2006)
External links
- Read an album review of N'ta Goudami by Cheikha Rimitti at Fly
- Interview with Cheikha Rimitti when she first performed in New York in the summer of 2001.
- Article about Cheikha Rimitti at Afropop.org
- Morocco Times Obituary
- Cheikha Rimitti in IMA, 1994
- find cheikha rimitti lyrics in english