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Hip Hop in Algeria
Algerian immigrants in France have been among the leading individuals in hip hop out there. But in Algeria itself, a hip hop vibe is in the air - defying censorhsip.
Faouzi Tarkhani
Album: Guerrier pour la paix (Polydor 1999)
Intik
Members: Youssef, Reda, Samir, Nabil
Albums: Intik (Sony France, 2000)
Intik was first heard by most on the Algerian hip hop compilation 'Algerap'. Though French rap has plenty of Algerians, some of them quite succesful, most of them were living in Marseille, Paris or the other big French towns. Algerap brought mostly music from Algeria itself, and Intik was among them. They were kind of discovered by Imhotep from the succesful French group IAM, who heard them on a festival in Marseilles in 1998.
Intik have a story to tell, it's the story that other Algerian musicians have also been telling, that of the violent oppression in Algeria that makes it so hard for people to express their feelings through music. A friend of the group was put into jail for 6 months just because he had a pirate radio station. He only got out after 6 montsh because a relative was working with the police.
On their album, many well know rappers wanted to participate but Intik was afraid to be regarded as 'hitching' on others' fame, so they chose to start out on their own strength.
There is an interview with the group at Planet DZ site (French)
MBS Albums: Ouled el Bahja (1998), Le micro brise le silence (Island/Universal, 1999)
N.A.P. (New African Poets)
Album: La fin du monde (High Skills, 1998) Le boulevard des reves brisés
Website label
Algerap
Compilation (1999)
This album put Algeria on the map abroad, and resulted in several albums of the individual groups.
-Caravane (INTIK FEAT. K-RIME) -L'ombre du néant (DE MEN FEAT. SOFIANE) -Des paroles en l'air (Tragédie) (INTIK) -S.O.S (HAMMA) -Le message (K.2.C (CAS DE CONSCIENCE)) -Le constat (DARKMAN - K. RIME) -Balle perdue (CAUSE TOUJOURS) -L'Algerie le conte de fées (HAMMA) -M.I.A (K.LIBRE)
Check out the site of Radio Grenouille for a realaudio interview and concert bites from French-Algerian crew Hamma.
Buy the album at Amazon website.
At FNAC website (France), Sofiane from Hamma explains that it can be dangerous in Algeria to tell it like it is: Lors d'un concert, alors que l'on attaquait le morceau "Omar, victime du pouvoir", un flic de la sécurité nous narguait en brandissant une paire de menottes. A la fin du spectacle, on n'a même pas attendu d'être payés, on s'est tirés comme des petits voleurs...
Algerap was the first recording available from Algerian rappers.