Algeria: a Cheikha Rimitti square in Paris

She was born in 1923 in Sidi Bel Abbès, died in Paris in 2006, and remains today one of the greatest stars of raï music. For a few days now, this musical pioneer has had her name displayed on a Parisian marketplace. It is in the 18th precinct, between rue de la Goutte d’Or and rue Polonceau, that fans of the late singer will be able to go and see the name of their idol displayed on the billboards.

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Dorénavant, chaque jeudi je rendrais hommage aux artistes qui font la culture Raï 🎼 Aujourd’hui ce sera avec la grande Cheikha Rimitti, la mamie du Raï avec sa voix féminine par excellence 🎤 Vous souvenez vous de cette chanson « Nouar » ? 😍 #tbt #rai #cheikharimitti #gasba #nouar #music #love #follow #likeforfollow #throwbackthursday #flashback #maroc #algerie #tunisie

A post shared by Youcef Shems☀️Compte Officiel (@youcefshems) on Mar 28, 2019 at 11:25am PDT

Parisian at heart, and a committed artist

After a long career as an artist in her native country, Cheikha Rimitti moved to Paris in 1978. Her career then took off internationally, and she toured the world, collaborating with prestigious artists such as Robert Fripp and Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

The woman, who died only two days after a concert at the Zénith in Paris, will have composed a large number of songs during her lifetime, and subjects as imported as they were varied, such as and inspired some of the most famous raï artists, such as Cheb Khaled or Rachid Taha.