Raï (/raɪ.i/, /raɪ/; Arabic: راي, rāʾy, [raʔi]), sometimes written rai, is a form of Algerian folk music that dates back to the 1920s.

[4] Raï is a type of Algerian popular music that arose in the 1920s[5][6] in the port city of Oran, and that self-consciously ran counter to accepted artistic and social mores.

In the years just following World War I, the Algerian city of Oran—known as "little Paris"—was a melting pot of various cultures, full of nightclubs and cabarets; it was the place to go for a bawdy good time.

Out of this milieu arose a group of male and female Muslim singers called chioukhs and cheikhates, who rejected the refined, classical poetry of traditional Algerian music.

Instead, to the accompaniment of pottery drums and end-blown flutes, they sang about the adversity of urban life in a raw, gritty, sometimes vulgar, and inevitably controversial language that appealed especially to the socially and economically disadvantaged.

It drew its name from the Algerian Arabic word raï ("opinion" or "advice"), which was typically inserted—and repeated—by singers to fill time as they formulated a new phrase of improvised lyrics.

By independence in 1962, the Jewish quarter (known as the Derb), was home to musicians like Reinette L'Oranaise, Saoud l'Oranais and Larbi Bensari.

Hawzi classical music was popular during this time, and female singers of the genre included Cheikha Tetma, Fadila D'zirya and Myriam Fekkai.

French colonization of Algeria changed the organization of society, producing a class of poor, uneducated urban men and women.

They sang medh songs in praise of the prophet Mohammed and performed for female audiences at ceremonies such as weddings and circumcision feasts.

Another group of female social outcasts were called cheikhas, who were known for their alluring dress, hedonistic lyrics, and their display of a form of music that was influenced from meddhahates and zendani singers.

When first developed, raï was a hybrid blend of rural and cabaret musical genres, invented by and targeted toward distillery workers, peasants who had lost their land to European settlers, and other types of lower class citizens.

However, other main lyrical themes concerned the likes of wine, love, and the meaning and experiences of leading a marginal life.

Revolt began in the mid-1950s, and musicians which included Houari and Ahmed Saber supported the Front de Libération National.

After independence in 1962, however, the government of the Houari Boumédienne regime, along with President Ahmed Ben Bella, did not tolerate criticism from musicians such as Saber, and suppression of Raï and Oranian culture ensued.

The number of public performances by female raï singers decreased[clarification needed], which led to men playing an increased role in this genre of music.

Meanwhile, traditional raï instruments such as the gasba (reed flute), and the derbouka (North African drums) were replaced with the violin and accordion.

[9] In the 1960s, Bellamou Messaoud and Belkacem Bouteldja began their career, and they changed the raï sound, eventually gaining mainstream acceptance in Algeria by 1964.

While this form of raï increased cassette sales, its association with mixed dancing, an obscene act according to orthodox Islamic views, led to government-backed suppression.

However, this suppression was overturned due to raï's growing popularity in France, where it was strongly demanded by the Maghrebi Arab community.

[9] After the election of president Chadli Bendjedid in 1979, Raï music had a chance to rebuild because of his lessened moral and economic restraints.

[19] President Chadli Bendjedid, who held power from 1979 to 1992, and his FLN cronies blamed raï for the massive uprising that left 500 civilians dead in October 1988.

Yet raï's reputation as protest music stuck because the demonstrators adopted Khaled's song "El Harba Wayn" ("To Flee, But Where?")

On September 29, 1994, he was the first raï musician to be murdered, outside his parents' home in the Gambetta district of Oran, reportedly because he let girls kiss him on the cheek during a televised concert.

The escalating tension of the Islamist anti-raï campaign caused raï musicians such as Chab Mami and Chaba Fadela to relocate from Algeria to France.

[20] France was where Algerians had moved during the post-colonial era to find work, and where musicians had a greater opportunity to oppose the government without censorship.

By 1979, when president Chadli Bendjedid endorsed more liberal moral and economic standards, raï music became further associated with Algerian youth.