cheikha

music

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July 19, 2026

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The term "cheikha" refers to female singers who were pioneers of raï, a style of Algerian popular music that emerged in the 1920s in Oran. These singers rejected traditional, classical Algerian music, instead singing about urban life in a raw, controversial language that appealed to the disadvantaged. They performed for both men and women, departing from tradition.12

Raï music itself is an amalgam of local Algerian and Western popular music styles. Initially accompanied by pottery drums and flutes, it later incorporated instruments like trumpets, saxophones, and accordions, blending in elements of rock, flamenco, and jazz. In the 1980s, synthesizers and electric guitars were added, and performers adopted the title "Cheb" (young man) or "Chaba" (young woman). Raï gained international recognition as a major world-music genre, with artists like Cheb Khaled becoming prominent figures.12

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raï
…of female Muslim singers called cheikhas, who rejected the refined, classical poetry of traditional Algerian music. Instead, to the accompaniment of pottery drums and end-blown flutes, they sang about the adversity of urban life in a raw, gritty, sometimes vulgar, and inevitably controversial language that appealed especially to the socially…
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…of female Muslim singers called cheikhas, who rejected the refined, classical poetry of traditional Algerian music. Instead, to the accompaniment of pottery drums and end-blown flutes, they sang about the adversity of urban life in a raw, gritty, sometimes vulgar, and inevitably controversial language that appealed especially to the socially…
Read More