[8] His father was a textile factory worker,[9] with long hours and low pay, such that his life was compared to that of a "modern slave", according to one account.

"[4] In the late 1970s, Taha founded the nightclub called The Rejects or, in French, Les Refoulés, where he would spin mashups of Arabic pop classics over Led Zeppelin, Bo Diddley and Kraftwerk backbeats.

[11] Taha was influenced by the Moroccan chaâbi band Nass El Ghiwane which has been described as "Morocco's answer to the Beatles or the Stones.

"[12] In 1981, while living in Lyon, Taha met Mohammed and Mokhtar Amini and the three of them, along with Djamel Dif and Eric Vaquer, would soon form a band.

In 1982, Taha was the lead vocalist for the Arab-language rock group which they named Carte de Sejour, meaning Green Card or Residence Permit depending on the translation.

By the time of Mogador '81 they weren't just a rock'n'roll band, they were doing hip-hop, reggae, ska, country and western, disco, but making it sound their own.

Taha gave them a copy of a demo tape by his band, Carte de Séjour (Residence Permit), an outfit from Lyon who combined Algerian raï with funk and punk rock.

– report in The Guardian, 2007[13]Taha believed his early recordings helped to inspire The Clash to create the song "Rock the Casbah".

[5] A New York Times music reporter wrote of Taha's cover version of the Clash's hit song probably influenced by his earlier work: Is "Rock El Casbah", with its images of sheiks gusting through the desert in Cadillacs and cracking down on 'degenerate' disco dancers, an indictment of the oil-choked, religiously fanatical Arab world, or a wry comment on the West's cartoonish vision of the region?

[1] The group never achieved much commercial success and, as a result, Taha had to work a series of day jobs in a factory, then as a house painter, a dishwasher, and later as an encyclopedia salesman.

In 1984, with the help of British guitarist Steve Hillage, the group achieved a "sharp, driving sound" which played well on the radio, and the LP was entitled Rhoromanie.

[2] In 1986, his "sneering punk-rock cover of 'Douce France'" was seen as an "unmistakable protest against the nation's treatment of its immigrant underclass", and caused consternation in French political circles.

[2] It appeared at one point that Taha might become an "overnight success", but after the release of the album Barbès, sales were disappointing in the United States, possibly because Americans were not keen on Arabic-sounding music during the time of the first Gulf War.

[17] In 2001, Taha released Made in Medina, and a music critic commented that he used a "full and varied instrumental palette" along with "a dizzying vocal facility that transcends whatever style he's plugged.

They were both French colonies at one time, and there's even an area there called Algiers," and he noted that Louisiana Zydeco drum patterns were similar to raï music.

[4] Made in Medina combined Algerian roots, techno, pop music, and early rock and punk influences with "remarkable consistency" with previous works, according to Hillage.

[4] There were elements of political protest in his music leading a BBC critic to describe him as a "shit-disturbing artist who risks challenging his own culture as undemocratic.

[4] Taha's breakthrough album as a solo artist was his bestseller[4] Diwân, featuring remakes of songs from Algerian and Arab traditions.

[25] In 2008, Taha was growing increasingly prominent, with greater audiences in places such as Canada, although there were reports that his music had "trouble getting airplay" in France.

[28] In 2009, Taha released Bonjour which The Guardian music critic Robin Denselow described as "calmed down" under a new producer, Gaëtan Roussel.

[29] Denselow wrote: "The result is an unlikely set in which Taha appears to be deliberately courting a new, wider market by playing down that wild rebel image.

In 2013 Taha released the Zoom album, which was produced by guitarist Justin Adams and featured guests Mick Jones and Brian Eno;.

One critic described his arrangements as "no less bombastic" since they mixed North African rhythms and "string orchestra flourishes" with "pummeling big-beat techno, distorted electric guitars, snatches of Bo Diddley, Led Zeppelin and other macho sounds.

"[5] Taha's blend of anger and angst has been distilled into a set of songs that match crunching guitar chords, simple riffs and angry lyrics (in French and Arabic) with subtle, wailing flourishes of North African embellishment.

– Robin Denselow, The Guardian, 2007[11]The thrumming beat in this 21st century Räi piece is ancient and high-tech, showing how gripping a single drum can be, even when we cannot tell whether it is living or looped.

The lyrics ricochet back and forth between French and Arabic, and we remember that Räi began in the city of Oran, whose windows are supposed to face away from the sea to gaze only on the desert sand.

"[5] Taha was not fond of contemporary French cinema and said "I'd much rather watch some dumb Hollywood movie than another haute bourgeois auteurist piece of crap.