Search - Cheb Mami :: Prince of Rai

It takes a couple of tracks for Prince of Rai to get up to speed (royalty still has its privileges), but the wait pays off as soon as violinist D. Benyelles begins asserting himself in "I Am Still (Suffering)." This being rai, sweet suffering is the prevalent emotion conveyed by Cheb Mami's slinky young voice, with a mesmerizing chant combining Algerian street slang with classical Arabic embellishment. One of the last records Mami recorded before relocating to Paris from Algeria, Prince of Rai updates urban folk music through studio sophistication. The subject matter also bridges the generations: the singer makes one game attempt after another to flout convention, though the cards are stacked against him. Defending his wife against accusations of infidelity in "Keep On, Keep On, Oh My Enemies," for example, the singer warns her, "I'll not divorce you until I've made you suffer." --Richard Gehr