Khaled (musician)

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Khaled (خالد)
Khaled performing in Oran in July 2011
Background information
Birth name	Khaled Hadj Ibrahim (خالد حاج إبراهيم)
Also known as	King of Raï Cheb Khaled The Ambassador of Arab music
Born	(1960-02-29) 29 February 1960 (age 61) Oran, Algeria
Genres	Raï[1] pop blues jazz
Occupation(s)	Musician singer
Instruments	Vocals guitar darbuka accordion synthesizer saxophone trumpet
Years active	1974–present
Labels	Universal Music

Khaled Hadj Ibrahim (Arabic: خالد حاج إبراهيم‎, born 29 February 1960), better known by his mononym Khaled (Arabic: خالد‎, pronounced [ˈxaːled]), is an Algerian Raï singer, musician and songwriter born in Oran. He began recording in his early teens under the name Cheb Khaled (الشاب خالد, Arabic for "Young" Khaled, with "Cheb" as a common title for male Raï singers).

Khaled is one of the most important musicians in the history of Raï music in his native Algeria and is one the world's best-known Arab singers.^[2] To date, Khaled has sold over 80.5 million albums (10 diamond, platinum, and gold) worldwide, making him one of the bestselling Arabic-language singers in history.^[3][4] Among his most famous songs are "Didi", "El Arbi", "Abdel Kader", "La Poupée qui fait non", "Wahran Wahran", "Bakhta", "Aïcha", "C'est la vie", and "Alech Taadi".^[5]

Early life[]

Khaled Hadj Ibrahim was born in 1960 in Oran's Eckmühl neighborhood, Algeria.^[6][7]

Khaled was a playboy and a partier, rejecting the polite traditions of Algeria's poetry. When a traditional Oranese poet wants to describe love, Khaled says he prefers to take a different approach.

Musical career[]

At the age of 14, he founded the Cinq Étoiles (Five Stars) band and started performing in nightclubs and at weddings. In the 1980s, Khaled started producing and singing songs in the Raï genre.

His rise to national fame was mainly due to the efforts of Lieutenant-Colonel Hosni Snoussi, director of the state-supported arts and culture Office Riadh el Feth, who took Khaled under his wing and invited him along with other rai stars to perform at the state-sponsored Festival de la Jeunesse pour la Fête Nationale in Algiers in July 1985.^[8][2] In the same year, he was crowned king of rai in the first official festival of rai which was staged in Oran.^[9]

Khaled a la Coupole 2014 Algerie

Hosni Snoussi and Martin Meissonnier, who met at the Festival, convinced France's Minister of Culture Jack Lang that the export of rai from Algeria to France was in the French government's interest and together they organized the first rai festival in France at Bobigny in 1986. Cheb Khaled, who had been avoiding his mandatory military service, was able to perform at Bobigny only after Colonel Snoussi intervened with the Algerian military authorities to secure him a passport.^[8][2] Shortly thereafter, Snoussi arranged for Cheb Khaled to record in France, with funding from the Office Riadh el Feth. The album, Kutché, released in 1988, a collaboration between Khaled and the Algerian jazz musician Safy Boutella, expanded his reputation in France, where he soon settled.^[8]

Guitarist Steve Hillage produced many of Khaled's career.

By 1986, Khaled (who'd now dropped the Cheb) had been forced to move to Paris, as violence in Algeria claimed lives and he'd been threatened several times (producer Ahmed would, in fact, be murdered, as would several Raï performers). Arriving with a reputation, he attempted to take his music to a global level, although his real debut, Kutche, did him no favors with its jazz-rock arrangements. He fared much better with 1992's Khaled, with some tracks produced by Michael Brook and others by Don Was. It yielded his first big hit, "Didi" and helped consolidate his reputation as Raï's first superstar. That was firmly cemented the following year with the Was-produced N'ssi N'ssi, which mixed funk, rock, and an Egyptian orchestra behind Khaled's persuasive voice and winning smile for a major commercial breakthrough in France, winning a European, as well as North African, audience. In 1996, he hit again with Sahra, whose first single, "Aïcha," written for his daughter, gave Khaled a French number one hit. A mix of producers gave varying sounds, with French hip-hoppers Akhenton & Imhotep proving the hardest on the track "Oran Marseille" with its rapid-fire rap. There was even some reggae on "Mektoubi," which merged relatively seamlessly with the North African sound. While well-received critically, it sold little in the U.S. however, unlike France, where the album became Khaled's biggest success. Perhaps the moment that justified his title of King of Raï, however, came in 1999, when he headlined the 1-2-3 Soleils concert in Paris (which led to the album of the same name), over Rachid Taha and Faudel. It was the biggest Algerian show ever staged in France and left no doubt that Khaled remained Raï's hottest attraction. 2000 brought Kenza and a change of producer, as former prog rocker Steve Hillage helped bring a more organic feel to the proceedings. A smash in Europe, once again it did little business in the U.S.^[10]

International impact[]

Cheb Khaled performing at the 7th annual Concert for Tolerance in Agadir (2012).

One of the Pioneers of world music, Rai musician Khaled has gone beyond all geo-political boundaries to become one of the world's most popular performers, mixing traditional Algerian music with western rhythms and styles such as soul, rock and reggae to achieve his distinctive sound and voice unlike anyone ever.

Khaled has been celebrated not only for his music, but for his role as a builder of bridges between cultures. selling more than 80 millions copies around the world makes him a nationwide celebrity and unofficial ambassador for the country's Arab minority.

—Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome, 2008 ^[11]

Khaled's signature song, the 1993 hit "Didi", became extremely popular in the Arabic-speaking countries and also in several other continents, including Europe, where it entered top charts in France, Belgium and Spain, and in Asia, including India and Pakistan. The song was also used in a Bollywood films Shreeman Aashiq and Airlift and a Mollywood film titled Highway. Khaled and producer Don Was appeared on The Tonight Show on 4 February 1993.^{[12] [13]}

In the wake of the 9/11 tragedy, Khaled became the first Arab artist to headline a U.S. tour, breaking attendance records throughout the U.S. in February 2002. In May of last year 2004 the two performed together for the first time since recording Khaled's hit single Didi, in Rome, Italy. Together Don Was & Khaled performed live a new rendition for Quincy Jones's historic concert "We Are the Future". The song was part of the compilation CD and a Live DVD to be released throughout the world all the proceeds, to support children of war torn areas.

On 16 October 2003, Khaled was nominated Goodwill Ambassador of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Khaled returned to the America in December of 2004 for a special guest performance at the GRAMMY JAM 2004 in Los Angeles, Ca. He joined a cast of celebrity artists honoring the great musical legends Earth Wind and Fire, performing Brazilian Rhymes into DIDI showing how there music crossed the world, fusing with his North African style.^[14]

In 2010 he performed Didi at the opening ceremony of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa.

In 2012 Khaled's album C’est la vie sold more than one million copies in the European market, 1.8 million copies in the Middle East and North Africa, and over 4 million copies worldwide.^[15][16] The album reached number 5 on SNEP, the official French Albums Chart.^[17]

On 3 April 2015, Khaled was convicted for plagiarism of Didi, from Angui ou Selmi, a musical composition recorded by Cheb Rabah (born Rabah Zerradine) in 1988.^[18][19][20] But on 13 May 2016, Court of Cassation removed the charges against Khaled, when a 1982 audio tape with the song was shown. This tape was recorded by Khaled and given to a producer located in Oran, 6 years before Cheb Rabah's record. In the end, Rabah had to compensate Khaled for the fees during this case.^[21]

Personal life[]

On 12 January 1995, Khaled married Samira Diabi, when she was 27. With Diabi he has four daughters and one son.

In 1997, his wife filed a complaint against him for domestic violence, before retracting the complaint.^[22][23]

In 1998, the biography Khaled: Derrière le sourire (French for "Khaled: Behind the Smile) was published, which recounted his life.

Khaled has an illegitimate son with whom he has no contact. Before a court in 2001, he denied being the father of the child, continuing to claim that he had been "deceived".^[24][25] On 7 May 2001, Khaled was sentenced by the Nanterre criminal court to a two-month suspended prison sentence for "family desertion".^[26] His move to Luxembourg in 2008, where he's been residing ever since, has reportedly been motivated by these charges.^[8]

He was awarded Moroccan citizenship in August 2013,^[27] which he didn't ask for but accepted because he felt he could not refuse.^[28]

Discography[]

This discography does not include a number of albums released on cassette in Algeria early in his career, and several bootleg/unofficial albums.

Grammy - Dawn Elder, Kc Porter, India Arie, Stevie Wonder, and Khaled.

Studio albums[]

Live albums[]

Solo

Collaboration

Compilation albums[]

• 1991: Le Meilleur de Cheb Khaled
• 1994: Le Meilleur de Cheb Khaled 2
• 2005: Forever King
• 2005: Spirit of Rai
• 2006: Maghreb Soul – Cheb Khaled Story 1986–1990
• 2007: Best of Khaled
• 2009: Rebel of Raï – The Early Years

Festival de la chanson Raï en France (1986), de gauche à droite : Cheb Mami, Khaled, Cheb Hamid, Cheb Sahraoui

Singles[]

Khaled NYC Concert Feb 8 2002

Featured in[]

(charting hits only)

Appearances[]

Soundtracks[]

Filmography[]

• 1997 100% Arabica
• 1997 Le Centre de visionnage
• 2003 Art'n Acte Production
• 2004 We Are the Future

Honors[]

• First Arab singer to win World Music Awards (1992).^[36]
• Only Arab singer to perform at Fifa World Cup ceremony (2010).
• FAO goodwill ambassador.^[37]
• Only Arab singer to perform at European Atheltics Championships (2006).
• Was named top 50 Voices in the World by NPR.
• Is decorated « Chevalier  des arts et des lettres »^[38]
• First Rai singer to be named Cheb in 1974 which means (young man), and then all rai singers named (Cheb) or (Cheba) after Khaled.
• First and only Arab singer to perform in many countries all over the world such as USA, Canada, Japan (1989), Netherlands, Turkey (1996), Germany, Portugal (2018),^[39] Italy, Brazil (2000), Spain,^[40] England, Denmark, Norway, Switzerland, Mauritius (2014), Slovienia, Eihiopia (2014), South Africa (2010), Senegal^[41] (2014), India (1992), Greece (2006), Hungary and Luxmburg.
• Only Arab singer to chart in France, Sweden, Blegium, Usa, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland,^[42] Austria, Slovakia.
• First Arab singer to chart in Billboards Hot 100.
• First Arab singer to chart in France Charts.
• First Arab singer to chart in European Hot 100 singles (2009).
• First and Only Arab singer to chart in a latin american country Brazil for the song (El Arbi) ^[43]
• Only Arab Musician to win Cesar Award (1994).
• Only Arab (Musician) to Win Venice Film Festival award (1993).
• Most-singing Arab singer in L'Olympia in Paris (5 times).
• Sold over 80.5 million albums (10 diamond, platinum, and gold) worldwide.^[44]
• Considered one of the most-selling Arab singers of all time.^[45]

Awards[]

Khaled at the Caesar ceremony 1994.

Below is a chronological list of awards won by Khaled

• 1985 (KING) Oran
• 1989 in France
• 1989 (kutché)
• 1992 (didi)
• 1992 World Music Awards (didi)
• 1992 (didi)
• 1993 Venice Film Festival 50th – (Un, deux, trois, soleil)
• 1994 César Award – best movie soundtrack
• 1995 Victoires de la Musique (Artist of the Year)
• 1997 World Music Awards (Song of the year) (Sahra album)
• 1997 Victoires de la Musique (Song of the year) ("Aicha")
• 1997 best North African singerKora Awards ("Aïcha")
• 1998 le Prix européen MTV Europe Music Awards
• 1999 World Music Awards (1,2,3 Soleils) shared with Rachid Taha and Faudel
• 2004 Grammy jam Awards (Khaled and Carlos Santana) ("Love to the people")
• 2005 R3 Awards BBC Awards for World Music – (Mid East & North Africa Winner)
• 2005 Montreal International Jazz Festival (The Antonio Carlos-Jobim Award)
• 2005 ImagineNations and DC Internationals (Empowering Award, for spreading the message of peace)
• 2006 The for Creativity
• 2008
• 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards creativity
• 2009 (meilleur duo) avec Magic System
• 2009 (highest-selling Arab album in history) (The legendary) (Las Vegas)
• 2010 (best Arab artist selling in United States)
• 2010 One of 50 Great Voices profiled by NPR
• 2009 European Hot 100 Singles 2009 (Billboard Awards) (with Magic System)
• 2012 (Billboard Awards) ("C'est La Vie")
• 2012 best North African singer ("C'est La Vie") Kora Awards
• 2013 Victoires de la Musique ("C'est La Vie")
• 2013 World Music Awards ("C'est La Vie")
• 2013 – Best International Song & Best International Singer – Cheb Khaled – ("C'est La Vie")
• 2013 prix d'honneur – Maroc Festival International Al Ansra de M’diq ("C'est La Vie")
• 2013 à Tanger festival Touiza MAROC 2013 ("C'est La Vie")
• 2016 XLII Universal Music Award - Vienna 2016 - for "C'est La Vie" as Best Song
• 2019 Gq Middle East - Legend Award

References[]

External links[]

• Official website (in French)
• Article on Khaled by Paul Tingen
• Khaled on IMDB
• Khaled on Britannica