PRODUKTBESCHREIBUNGEN
AMAZON
Rai, like the other musical form that shares its street roots and [almost) its name, has come a long way from its rough-and-ready beginnings. Silky and smooth, Cheb Mami is the Will Smith to Cheikh Hamada's Grandmaster Flash. Apparently doomed in Algeria to forever live in the shadow of the King of Rai, Cheb Khaled, the "Prince" has set his sights further afield, not only to France [the other great hot bed for the music] but also to America. Meli Meli is very much a modern rai album, acknowledging not only the aforementioned rap element but also flamenco and funk. No wonder that that world music magpie Sting has recruited Mami for his latest album. "Parisien Du Nord" [presented in three remix forms] is aimed straight at the French hip-hop kids, but may be a little to safe for the more streetwise. Elsewhere, there is a pleasing range of influences and instrumentation-the whole effect not a million miles away from what Youssou N'Dour set out to achieve on his "Soka" album. The rai purists may find Meli Meli a little over-produced but the rest of the world should find it a comfortable introduction to the genre.--Phil Udell