rai arabic north african

Rachid Taha

Rachid Taha (Arabic: رشيد طه) (born 1958) is a French-Algerian musician. His music is influenced by many different styles such as rock, techno, and raï. Taha was born in Oran, Algeria. His father was a factory worker. Taha's family immigrated to France in 1968. While working in a heating appliance factory in the late 1970s, Taha founded Les Refoulés ("The Rejects"), a nightclub where he would spin mashups of Arabic pop classics over Led Zeppelin, Bo Diddley, and Kraftwerk backbeats.