Cheikha Remitti

While names like Khaled and Cheb Mami are probably better known, few if any current artists can claim to be the voice of raï the way that Cheikha Remitti has been for decades. Born in the western Algerian town of Relizane in 1923, this singer was one of the founding parents of this Maghrebi style—becoming, as she says, al ghedra ("the root") of modern raï.

Born with the name Saadia, Remitti was orphaned as a young girl; her nickname came on an occasion when she, wanting to buy a round of drinks for French fans but not knowing their language, sidled up to the bar and sang a line from a popular tune: "Madame, remettez un panache! ("Barmaid, another drink!") Remettez became "Remitti," and a stage name was created; the honorific Cheikha came later.

When she was still just a teenager, Remitti became a member of one of the country's shikhat, a troupe of all-female musicians who would sing for celebrations. During World War II, she moved to the town at the heart of raï: the port town of Oran, where the style originated. In the following years, she came into her own as a singer: her lyrics started vividly—and, for many listeners, quite shockingly—enunciating the pleasures and pains of being an Algerian woman, whether it was advising young girls on the joys of sex or decrying certain social mores unjust to females. At its heart, raï is the music of the dispossessed; Cheikha Remitti addresses her music to the most neglected segment of that population.

While Remitti's remarkable recordings aren't very easily available internationally, a recent album that gives something of the taste of the cheikha's reign is Sources of the Raï (Institut du Monde Arabe); her wild, scratchy voice and ferocious delivery on this recording, made when the singer was 71 years old, are still mesmerizing. —Anastasia Tsioulcas