Editing Raï (section)

===Origins===
Raï is a type of Algerian popular music that arose in the 1920s<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/art/rai-musical-style |title=Raï |publisher=Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. |date=October 26, 2009 |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]] |access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thoughtco.com/rai-music-basics-3553100 |title=An Introduction to Rai Music |publisher=ThoughtCo. |date=May 2, 2017 |website=ThoughtCo |access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> in the port city of [[Oran]], and that self-consciously ran counter to accepted artistic and social mores. It appealed to young people who sought to modernize the traditional Islamic values and attitudes. Regional, secular, and religious drum patterns, melodies, and instruments were blended with Western electric instrumentation. Raï emerged as a major world-music genre in the late 1980s.

In the years just following [[World War I]], the Algerian city of Oran—known as "little Paris"—was a melting pot of various cultures, full of [[nightclubs]] and [[cabarets]]; it was the place to go for a bawdy good time. Out of this milieu arose a group of male and female Muslim singers called chioukhs and cheikhates, 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 and economically disadvantaged. The cheikhates further departed from tradition in that they performed not only for women but also and especially for men.

The music performed was called raï. It drew its name from the Algerian Arabic word {{lang|arq-Latn|raï}} ('opinion' or 'advice'), which was typically inserted—and repeated—by singers to fill time as they formulated a new phrase of improvised lyrics. By the early 1940s [[Cheikha Rimitti]] el Reliziana had emerged locally as a musical and linguistic luminary in the raï tradition, and she continued to be among the music's most prominent performers into the 21st century.
[[File:Cheikh_Hamada.jpg|left|thumb|250x250px|[[Cheikh Hamada]]]]
In the early 20th century, Oran was divided into Jewish, French, Spanish, and Native Algerian quarters. By independence in 1962, the Jewish quarter (known as the Derb), was home to musicians like [[Reinette L'Oranaise]], [[Saoud l'Oranais]] and [[Larbi Bensari]]. Sidi el Houari (the old quarter where [[Sidi El Houari]] has his shrine) was home to Spanish fishermen and many refugees from Spain who arrived after 1939. These two areas had active music scenes,<ref>Morgan, pp 413–424</ref> and the French inhabitants of the city went to the Jewish and Spanish areas to examine the music. The Arabs of Oran were known for [[Andalusian classical music|al-Andalous]], a classical style of music imported from Southern Spain after 1492. Hawzi classical music was popular during this time, and female singers of the genre included [[Cheikha Tetma]], [[Fadila D'zirya]] and [[Myriam Fekkai]]. Another common musical genre was {{lang|ar-Latn|Bedoui}} ('Bedouin') or {{lang|ar-Latn|gharbi}} ('Western'), which originated from [[Bedouin]] [[chanting|chants]]. Bedoui consisted of Malhun poetry being sung with accompaniment from [[guellal]] drums and [[gaspa]] Flutes. Bedoui was sung by male singers, known as {{lang|ar-Latn|cheikh}}s, who were dressed in long, white [[jellaba]]s and [[turban]]s. Lyrics came from the poetry of people such as [[Mestfa ben Brahim]] and [[Zenagui Bouhafs]]. Performers of bedoui included Cheikh Hamada, Cheikh Mohammed Senoussi, Cheikh Madani, Cheikh Hachemi Bensmir and Cheikh Khaldi. Senoussi was the first to have had recorded the music in 1906.

French colonization of Algeria changed the organization of society, producing a class of poor, uneducated urban men and women. Bedoui singers mostly collaborated with the French colonizers, though one exception from such collaboration was Cheikh Hamada.<ref>{{Cite document |title=World Music, The Rough Guide |place=London |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |year=1994 |page=126 }}</ref> The problems of survival in a life of poverty were the domain of street musicians who sang bar-songs called [[zendani]]s. A common characteristic of these songs included exclamations of the word {{lang|ar-Latn|raï!}} and variations thereof. The word {{lang|ar-Latn|rai}} implies that an opinion is being expressed.

In the 1920s, the women of Oran were held to strict code of conduct. Many of those that failed became social outcasts and singers and dancers. They sang [[medh]] songs in praise of the prophet [[Mohammad]] and performed for female audiences at ceremonies such as weddings and [[circumcision]] feasts. These performers included [[Les Trois Filles de Baghdad]], [[Soubira bent Menad]] and [[Kheira Essebsadija]]. Another group of female social outcasts were called {{lang|ar-Latn|cheikhas}}, who were known for their alluring dress, hedonistic lyrics, and their display of a form of music that was influenced from meddhahates and zendani singers. These cheikhas, who sang for both men and women, included people such as [[Cheikha Remitti el Reliziana]], Cheikha Grélo, Cheikha Djenia el Mostganmia, Cheikha Bachitta de Mascara, and Cheikha Ouachma el Tmouchentia. The 1930s saw the rise of revolutionary organizations, including organizations motivated by [[Marxism]], which mostly despised the earlier generation of raï singers. At the same time, Arabic classical music was gaining huge popularity across the [[Maghreb]], especially the music of Egypt's [[Umm Kulthum]].
[[File:Cheikha_Remitti_(1923-2006).jpg|left|thumb|[[Cheikha Remitti]] (1923–2006)]]
When first developed, raï was a hybrid blend of rural and [[cabaret]] musical genres, invented by and targeted toward distillery workers and peasants who had lost their land to European settlers, and other types of lower class citizens. The geographical location of [[Oran]] allowed for the spread of many cultural influences, allowing raï musicians to absorb an assortment of musical styles such as [[flamenco]] from Spain, [[gnawa music]], and French cabaret, allowing them to combine with the rhythms typical of Arab [[nomad]]s. In the early 1930s, social issues afflicting the native population in the colony, such as the disease of [[typhus]], harassment and imprisonment by the colonial police, and poverty were prominent themes of raï lyrics. However, other main lyrical themes concerned the likes of wine, love, and the meaning and experiences of leading a marginal life. From its origins, women played a significant role in the music and performance of raï. In contrast to other [[Algerian music]], raï incorporated dancing in addition to music, particularly in a mixed-gender environment.<ref name="a4"/>

In the 1930s, Raï, al-Andalousm, and the Egyptian classical style influenced the formation of [[wahrani]], a musical style popularized by [[Blaoui Houari]]. Musicians like [[Mohammed Belarbi]] and [[Djelloul Bendaoud]] added these influences to other Oranian styles, as well as Western piano and [[accordion]], resulting in a style called [[bedoui citadinisé]]. Revolt began in the mid-1950s, and musicians which included Houari and [[Ahmed Saber]] supported the [[Front de Libération National]]. After independence in 1962, however, the government of the [[Houari Boumédienne]] regime, along with President [[Ahmed Ben Bella]], did not tolerate criticism from musicians such as Saber, and suppression of Raï and Oranian culture ensued. The number of public performances by female raï singers decreased{{clarify|date = September 2010}} which led to men playing an increased role in this genre of music. Meanwhile, traditional raï instruments such as the gasba (reed flute), and the derbouka (North African drums) were replaced with the violin and accordion.<ref name="a4"/>