Editing Raï (section)

==Censorship==
Throughout the course of raï music's development and commercialization in Algeria, there have been many attempts to stifle the genre. From lyrical content to the album cover images, raï has been a controversial music.  Religious identity and transnationalism function to define the complexities of Maghrebi identity. This complex identity is expressed through raï music and is often contested and censored in many cultural contexts.

[[File:Disco Maghreb.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Edition Disco Maghreb - Oran]]

In 1962, as [[Algeria]] claimed its national independence, expression of popular culture was stifled by the conservative nature of the people. During this time of drastic restriction of female expression, many men started to become raï singers. By 1979, when president [[Chadli Bendjedid]] endorsed more liberal moral and economic standards, raï music became further associated with Algerian youth. The music remained stigmatized amongst the Salafi Islamists and the Algerian government. Termed the "raï generation", the youth found raï as a way to express sexual and cultural freedoms.<ref name="a4"/> An example of this free expression is through the lyrics of [[Cheb Hasni]] in his song "El Berraka". Hasni sang: "I had her ... because when you're drunk that's the sort of idea that runs through your head!"<ref>[http://www.freemuse.org/sw9434.asp Freemuse: Algeria: Cheb Hasni—popular rai hero assassinated<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Hasni challenged the fundamentalists of the country and the condemnation of non-religious art forms.

Raï started to circulate on a larger scale, via tape sales, TV exposure, and radio play. However, the government attempted to "clean up" raï to adhere to conservative values.<ref name="a4" /> Audio engineers manipulated the recordings of raï artists to submit to such standards. This tactic allowed for the economy to profit from the music by gaining conservative audiences. The conservativeness not only affected the way listeners received raï music, but also the way the artists, especially female artists, presented their own music. For instance, female raï artists usually do not appear on their album covers. Such patriarchal standards pressure women to societal privacy.<ref name="a4" />