Cheikha Rimitti

Cheikha Rimitti (; 8 May 1923 – 15 May 2006

Early musical career At age 15, she joined a troupe of traditional Algerian musicians and learnt to sing and dance. In 1943 she moved to the rural town of Relizane and began writing her own songs. Her songs described the tough life endured by the Algerian poor, focusing on everyday struggle of living, pleasures of sex, love, alcohol and friendship and the realities of war.

Traditionally, songs of lust had been sung privately by Algerian women at rural wedding celebrations but were considered crude and unfit to be heard in polite society. Rimitti was one of the first to sing them in public and did so in the earthy language of the street, using a rich blend of slang and local language. She eventually composed more than 200 songs but remained illiterate all her life.

Her back catalogue was rediscovered by a new generation raï successors including Khaled who has covered "The Camel". Many singers of the new generation venerated her as "The Mother of the Genre" and Rachid Taha dedicated a song to her, "Rimitti".

Her most recent album N'ta Goudami, released in 2006, was a lustful combination of traditional Algerian and modern rock sounds sung in a deep voice of booming energy that belied her 83 years and garnered enthusiastic reviews . For someone who had been officially banned in Algeria, Rimitti marked rai history by taking the defiant step of recording her last album at the Boussif Studios in Oran.

She continued performing until the end – two days before she died she was rapturously received by an audience of 4,500 at the Zénith in Paris.

She died in Paris from a heart attack on 15 May 2006, aged 83.

Selected discography

Over a 50-year period she recorded over 400 cassettes, 300 singles, 50-something 78rpms and the handful of CDs. A selected CD discography can be found below:

Ghir al Baroud (1996) Sidi Mansour (1994) with Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and other. Cheika (1996) with Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Robert Fripp (King Crimson) and other. Trab Music (2000) Nouar (2000) L'etoile du Rai (2001) Live European Tour 2000 (2001) Salam Maghreb (2001) N'ta Goudami (2006)