Ali-Chérif Benaïssa aka Cheb Aïssa (which means Jesus in Arabic) was born on 1 March 1972 in Saïda. This town, which lies about 200km from Oran in the west of Algeria, is renowned as a hotbed of musical activity. In fact, Saïda is also the birthplace of Rai hero Cheb Mami.

Ali-Chérif was surrounded by music from an early age. His maternal grandmother was a "meddahate" (a traditional singer who is only allowed to perform in front of all-female audiences). As a child, Ali-Chérif would accompany his grandmother when she sang at parties and other informal family gatherings and he performed in public for the first time with her when he was just 12 years old. Ali-Chérif only sang a few short songs at first, to small audiences of women sitting with their children. But these first performances fuelled his passion for singing. Ali-Chérif was also greatly encouraged by his cousin, who encouraged him to pursue his new-found vocation.

In 1986 Ali-Chérif went on to join the Rai group Farachète (Butterflies). The group built up an excellent reputation on the local music scene, performing at cultural centres and weddings. But Ali's father, who earned his living as a grocer, remained fiercely opposed to his son's choice of career. He wanted Ali to give up music and learn a 'real' profession instead and when the young singer returned from his wedding performances in the early hours of the morning, his father was generally waiting to give him a good telling-off.

Nothing could divert Ali from his chosen career, however. The headstrong 16-year-old spent several months selling crates of vegetables to earn his bus fare, then headed off to Oran in 1988, to discover the town which was famous for its music, its seafront and its all-night partying. Ali had just one idea in his head on arriving in Oran and that was to get himself a job at "Les Andalouses", a tourist complex on the coast where a host of famous Rai stars such as Cheb Khaled, Cheb Hasni and Cheb Mami had all launched their careers.

"I slept on the lawn at 'Les Andalouses' for a whole month, because I didn't have a penny to my name," Aïssa recalls. "Then one day the security guards found me sleeping there and started asking questions. I convinced them my parents were renting a bungalow in the complex. But they soon found out I was lying. So I came clean and told them my parents were badly off and I needed a job. I told them that what I wanted more than anything else in the world was to earn my living singing." Impressed by the young man's perseverance, managers at "Les Andalouses" ended up offering him a room, a book of meal tickets - and, more importantly - a trial on the complex's main stage. Cheb Aïssa's first show went down well with the crowd and the budding young singer found himself presented with a contract for two months.

Cheb Aïssa's debut at "Les Andalouses" caused a minor stir on the local music scene. "I remember the first time he got up to sing on stage, he was wearing shorts", says Zinata, a well-known Algerian guitarist who has worked with the crème de la crème of the Rai world (including Khaled, Fadela & Sarahoui etc.) Zinata remembers being particularly impressed by Cheb Aïssa's voice and his personal charisma: "Aïssa lived by his wits in those days. He was so passionate about music that he was prepared to do anything just to be able to get up on stage and sing."

Aïssa ended up getting his first lucky break at "Les Andalouses". The director of the label Pop d'Or happened to be in the audience one night and, bowled over by the young singer's vocals, he invited him into the studio to record a debut cassette album (released in 1988). Aïssa returned to the studio the following year to record a second cassette album entitled "Bela babi" ("I'm Closing My Door"). This second cassette album began attracting a lot of attention on the Algerian music scene and concert invitations began flooding in from towns up and down the country. Cheb (which means "young singer" in Arabic) was invited to perform at the prestigious Saïdia Festival in Morocco and went on to support the legendary Rai star Khaled on a month-long tour. Aïssa also performed on stage with a host of other famous Arab music stars, working with acts such as the Moroccan diva Fayssal and Arab super-group Nass El Ghiwane.

In spite of his father's initial reluctance to let him pursue a singing career, Cheb Aïssa continued to give part of his music earnings to his parents - and his father eventually began to accept his vocation. "In the end my father understood that what I really wanted in life more than anything else was to be a singer. He understood that singing was a profession which was just as respectable as any other and he trusted me to make a go of things", Cheb Aïssa recalls. Following his growing success on the Algerian music scene, Aïssa soon began yearning to stretch his wings. Aïssa's main aim was to perform in concert in France, for he was sure that this would open the doors to an international career.

In 1991 Cheb Aïssa got his first major break in France, when he was invited to perform in Paris at "La Mutualité". The young cheb was unable to stay in France and promote his career after the show, however, as he had to return to Algeria to do his military service. Aïssa had to wait until March 1993 to relaunch his career in France, but when he did so he did it in style, performing a month-long run at "La Camel", a well-known cabaret in Toulouse. But Cheb Aïssa's main aim in life was to perform in Marseilles, the multi-ethnic city which had launched the careers of Rai kings Khaled and Cheb Mami. Would Mektoub (the Arabic word for Fate) smile on young Aïssa too? It appears so. For at the end of '93 Cheb Aïssa finally landed a regular spot in Marseilles, performing at "Les Mille et Une Nuits", a famous club on Boulevard d'Athènes.

Aïssa went on to become a regular fixture on the Marseilles cabaret scene, patiently working away to make a name for himself at the Cabaret Club (1994), La Palmeraie (1995-1996) and Le Sultan (1997). He also recorded a number of cassette albums. Unfortunately for the budding young Rai star, his arrival in Marseilles coincided with a veritable Rai explosion on the French music scene. Cheb Aïssa faced tough competition on all sides and with an increasing number of Rai singers putting out cassettes and singles the French market soon became saturated. Meanwhile, successive French governments began to crack down on immigration, denying foreign singers and musicians visas and making it impossible for them to organise tours and plan their careers long-term. French immigration policy would have a disastrous effect on the burgeoning world music scene in Paris and Marseilles. Cheb Aïssa soldiered on on the cabaret circuit, feeling he was getting nowhere. Little wonder that many of his songs from that period were tinged with homesickness, nostalgia and Oriental blues.

Cheb Aïssa turned out to be one of Rai's lucky ones, however. Cheb Mami's manager Michel Lévy spotted Aïssa's talent early on in his career (when he saw him in concert in Morocco in the late 80s) and from that moment followed his career with close attention. In 1996 Aïssa was invited to start supporting Cheb Mami at various concerts. Renowned for his generosity and his willingness to give young singers a helping hand, Cheb Mami was extremely influential in launching Aïssa's career in France. In 1997 Mami promoted Aïssa at the Fête de l'Humanité in Paris (helping his young protégé score a 30-minute slot on the main stage) and the following year Aïssa joined Cheb Mami on stage when he performed in concert at "La Cigale" in Paris.

Michel Lévy, who became Aïssa's manager in 1997, acquired the rights to the singer's album "Chira France" ("Girl from France") and rushed it into French record stores. Aïssa's album received good reviews in the French press and caused a minor flurry of controversy thanks to the supposed misogyny of the title track. Cheb Aïssa's reference in the song to a beautiful young Arab girl who makes him suffer because she goes out "kissing men and drinking beer" provoked a storm of complaints from female music fans. However, Aïssa denied any macho intentions in the song, claiming he had simply been noting the changes in social mores and documenting the new relationship between men and women (thereby continuing the themes, which Rai had promoted from its early days).

Concert invitations soon began flooding in from the four corners of the world and Cheb Aïssa quickly established himself as the Champion of trab (the Arabic word meaning "dust" or "earth" is used to refer to a specific rural genre of Rai linked to the gasba flute which often features risqué lyrics and sexual allusions). The new Rai star went on to perform in several different countries including Yemen (May 1999) and Qatar (June 1999). Aïssa also went into the studio to record a duet with reggae star U-Roy.

On 5 November 1999 Aïssa brought the house down when he performed at the legendary Parisian club Le New Morning, at a memorable concert celebrating the release of his second studio album "Nouara" ("Flower"). This album, which was distributed internationally on the Sony label, was recorded with the aid of four producers - Eric Bono (famous for his production work with Alpha Blondy, Xalam and Salif Keita); Yves Ndjock (a talented Cameroonian guitarist, based in Paris, who also plays on several tracks on "Nouara"); guitarist Edouard Papazian (famous for his work on the progressive rock scene) and bass-player Alain Genty, a renowned figure on the Breton music scene who masterminded a fusion of Kabyle music and Celtic bagpipes on Cheb Mami's album "Meli Meli" (c.f. Mami's duet with Kabyle star Idir on the song "Azwaw").

Interestingly enough, there is also a catchy sample of Breton bagpipes on the title track of Aïssa's new album, "Nouara" (an old folk song from the Aurès which Aïssa has skilfully reworked, blending the traditional chaoui rhythm with Western funk influences). In fact, Cheb's new album is a joyous mix of old and new, modern instruments such as the electric guitar fusing with violins, the gasba, the bendir, the derbouka and the accordion. "Nouara" also features a diverse mix of styles, experimenting with everything from blues rock, break-beat and reggae guitar to Oriental influences and rap (c.f. the single "Vivre ma vie", mixed by the famous New York producer Mario Rodriguez, which features expert rapping from Marseilles 'tchatcheur' Fresh. K).

Cheb Aïssa has established an excellent reputation on the world music scene for mixing Rai with a rich variety of genres, without ever losing the Algerian sound's original flavour. Aïssa's work stands out because of his skill in using influences from Rai's Bedouin roots and his creativity in reinventing the traditional "trab" sound for modern ears.

October 1999