[1][2] As a child, Houcine Ben Bouchaïb would skip school to practice music with an improvised instrument in the quiet of the cemetery.

[2] His music addressed the ills of the new urban society in Morocco brought about under the French Protectorate: the tears in the social fabric, the rural exodus, and the proletarianization of the population.

[2] He later adopted the nickname "Slaoui," from by his birthplace, Salé, and emerged as one of the principal craftsmen of the modern Chaabi songs in Morocco.

[2] In response to the American invasion, he composed and recorded in 1944 his most celebrated song: "دخلت الماريكان" ("Dakhlat l-Marikan" lit.

He was influenced by such Middle Eastern artists as Mohammed Abdel Wahab and blended some of the styles of early Egyptian pop music into his songs.