Say hello to one of my favorite songs of all time. It’s so soulful, so beautiful to the point of being almost spiritual. If you don’t like it, then you and I aren’t friends anymore.
Cheb Khalid - Aicha
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SudaneseThinker
SudaneseThinker
{ 18 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh, what a great song. I really love it. Interestingly, I found it through the English version by Outlandish. But this one is best!
Oh so right on, Drima - I fell in love with this song years ago and it never fails to give me the tingles even now!
By the way, I’ve always wondered what it’s about - is it a father singing to his daughter?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khaled_(musician)#Lyrical_Themes_and_Politics
Seems like the song is quite famous.
I think I like everything about the song.
I like the performer, the writer, the idea behind it, the melody, and the lyrics.
So I guess we are still friends.
there’s also a Malay version by that yassin guy.. i think that was his name. He sang it both in the original arab version and also a malay version.
sorry, the “original” part was typed wrongly. just meant to say he sang it in arab (i think) and also a malay version.
Attended his concert in Aarhus, Denmark years back (not far from a cartoonprinting newspaper called Jyllandsposten
). Been a fan since. Wonder why several of the rai-singers have a name starting with “Cheb”?
@ Sheema: What an innocent thought
But no: “The song’s lyrics are about a woman named Aicha, who is being wooed by a man.” Wikipedia has more.
@ Peter: Cheb is not a part of their original names. It means “young man”.
Simon, Khaled’s is the original. Outlandish used his for their own version.
Sheema, tell me about it. I LOVE this guy!
Roman, it’s not famous. It’s HUGELY famous.
Andrew, good, looks like we are.
blodyn, ya I heard it on Malaysian radio a few times before. Khaled’s Aicha has been copied into so many different versions by many artists all over the world.
Peter, I hate you man. I’m jealous now.
Oh and PEOPLE! Here’s something that might interest you all:
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Algerian Islamic fundamentalists were violently opposed to raï because of its sometimes irreverent tone and the fact that raï singers freely addressed taboo (to islamists) issues like romantic love, drugs, and alcohol.
Singers like Khaled articulated socially progressive, more modern themes that many younger people identified with, a way of rebelling against the constraints of the older generations and more traditional Islam. As Khaled says himself, “in rai music, people can express themselves. We break taboos”[1]. This open embracing of taboo subjects in Islamic culture can be witnessed in the video of Khaled’s hit song, “Didi”, showing women provocatively dressed and dancing, both taboos in Islamic culture. [1]
However, due the nature of these lyrics, fundamentalists were infuriated when the Algerian government, in the wake of a hugely popular 1985 raï festival in Oran, officially declared it to be one of the country’s native music styles. In response, fundamentalists sent death threats to some raï artists. The danger forced Khaled to move to Paris in 1986 (see 1986 in music). In 1994 these threats materialized when another Raï artist, Cheb Hasni, was murdered.
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Simon -
I have officially lost my innocence now.
Sigh.
Lovely
Reminds me of my youth
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this Cheb before. Beautiful everything- music, lyrics and video. His voice is so soothing and his accent his just divine. Thanks for sharing.
Great song! I once translated it into Danish for my daughter (who loves everything French) - the lyrics are a bit on the cheesy side, but the voice… intense.
Simon, Peter and Ahmad: Outlandish are Danish, isn’t that ironic ?
Beautiful everything. His voice is so soothing and his accent is just divine. The music is chilled and the lyrics are poetic and for once we can understand the arabic-berber hybrid in a cheb song. Do wonder why they have aicha as a porcelain doll type figure but the complexion contrasts between the two of them makes the video visually stimulating. And he has a wonderful smile for someone who knows that half of his country wish him dead
If all your favourite songs are that cool, then set up a playlist so readers can subsrcibe.
oops sorry for the double posting, it said error last time- didn’t realise it had posted.
what you ignore about that “nice” guy, he’s been condamned for beating his young wife ; that made his carrier get down ; we hardly hear from him in the medias now
One of my favorite songs since high school
salam
cheb khlid hadi lik quero dicirte q eres una maquena de de cantar lo q mi gusta mas en ti es la vos natoral y normal( muebian por tudo)
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