Cheikha Rimitti

The First Lady of Raï

Paris 

15/12/2005 - 

Cheikha Rimitti is a living legend, an artist whose music inspires awe and respect. No wonder she is known as the 'doyenne' (a nickname she earned on the cabaret circuit in the post-war years because the audience had to buy the lady a drink before she would sing!) Sixty years on, Raï's leading lady is still going strong. Now over 80, Cheikha Rimitti has just put the finishing touches to N’ta Goudami, an album where rhythm’n’blues-style arrangements meet traditional Algerian instruments.

Cheikha Rimitti is what can only be described as a character, a unique larger-than-life personality, destined to live and breathe music until her very last breath. RFI Musique had the honour of meeting the 'most modern of the old guard' – or should that be the 'oldest of the moderns'? – prior to the release of her new album. And, as we soon found out, she has lost none of her legendary energy nor her famous sniping power!

RFI Musique: You've stuck to more or less the same 'formula' for fifty years now and yet your music seems to be as relevant today as it ever was...
Cheikha Rimitti: I'm the one who gave birth to Raï, you know. I'm the doyenne of the Raï movement. This music is deeply rooted in my body and my brain. I created it directly on the gasbah (flute) and the gallal (tambourine), without ever noting anything down on pen and paper. It was the gasbah and the gallal which created Raï, but Raï also contains other influences such as Oranese music and chaâbi... I've never changed my 'formula' once over the years. And if you think my music sounds as good now as it ever did, that's because I have a knack for anticipating what the public wants. I'm like a well-trained police dog!

Some critics have compared you to Billie Holiday, a singer who had blues in her body and soul...
I've lived through a lot of different experiences in my life and that's what my music's about. All I've ever done is transpose into music everything I've seen and heard in my life, everything from love, drink, divorce, war and poverty, it's all there in my songs... Maybe that's why you think there's a certain resemblance between me and this lady, Billie Holiday, who I don't know. There's no secret to it, you know, unemployment and hard times affect everyone in this world.

Do you think you have to have suffered in life to sing with real emotion? Yes, I do. I believe that you have to live something in your life before you can express it in your music. Suffering's something you feel – you can't make it up! I lived through an outbreak of typhus, you know, where trucks drove through the streets picking bodies off the ground and I lived through food rationing during the Second World War. Then the liberation came and American soldiers came through the streets, throwing us blankets and things. After that, I lived through the war of independence. So, yes, I think it's fair to say I've suffered in my life. But misery is a good school where you learn a lot. That's what inspired me and gave me the strength to become a musician.

Would you say there's as much misery and suffering in the world today?
I'd say there's a new, modern form of misery, but it's nothing compared to what I endured sixty years ago! Young people don't realise that, though. They're not born into suffering like we were. We managed to get through it, though. People were brave enough to get up on their feet again, sweep the streets clean and get on with life. Of course, there weren't problems of drug trafficking and thieving like there are today! If you live according to the rules, then you can have a clear conscience towards God and society. These days, people suffer because those who are in power are complete despots. And they create their own misery because they don't respect things. If a man lends his neighbour or his friend money, for instance, they don't necessarily pay him back. Sadly, these days there are a great many problems of incomprehension, blackmail and contempt!

And is that what you talk about in your songs?
You know, I spent many long years with my traditional musicians. But when I came to France in the 70s there weren't any good gallal or gasbah players, so it was difficult for me to continue with what I was doing. Then I lost my husband, as well… In the 80s I had to stand by and watch all these young singers stealing my songs from my repertoire and they never even credited me. Then, in the 90s, I met Jacques Benoît and Houari Talbi. I tried my first 'modern' experiment with them, making the album Sidi Mansour which did really well commercially, but never really convinced me on an artistic level. The American musicians I worked with didn't understand me at all. When we went into the studio to record I was all on my own in this little cabin. I couldn't even see them! They were locked away in their own little cabin. Music doesn't work like that, you have to be able to touch and feel one another! Then, after all that, the two producers started waging war on one another one day. The moment I turned round and asked for my share, they told me the company had gone bust. I didn't earn a penny! That's why I ended up getting myself a lawyer to protect my rights.

That's a bit of a classic story in the music world, don't you think? Throughout my entire career I've been robbed, plagiarised and plundered by unscrupulous producers... Despite the fact that I've been supported by some great artists in my time and great artists who've stood by me, other singers have not shown a moment's hesitation in robbing me of all they can. There was Cheb Khaled to start with. He stole a lot of songs from me like La camel. One day at this gala in Germany, he actually dared to get up on stage and sing my song while I was actually there! I was brought to my knees so many times that I had to turn round and protect myself by registering with the Sacem (the French copyright association). From that moment, things got back to normal.

What does N’ta Goudami, the title of your new album, mean?
It literally means "You in front of me, me behind you." And that basically means "Follow me and I'll follow you!" Women are always trying to run after men to see what they're doing, what they want.

The female condition is a recurrent theme in your songs...
On my new album there's a song with a line that says "Don't despise me!" And in that song what I'm saying to everyone is watch out, because my brothers, my sisters and my nearest and dearest are there to defend me. I'm not speaking about myself, of course, but about women in general. Women should have the right to bloom! Things have changed today, of course, and women have access to the same things as men. They can drive a car, vote in elections and wear jewellery they buy themselves… Women are free to stand up and speak out and sing about whatever they like. When I first started out I suffered the most terrible problems getting my career off the ground. I was independent and open-minded and that meant I was treated worse than a nobody! Of course, I was also lucky enough to cross the paths of some truly great artists, like Mohamed Abdel Wahab and Abdel Karim, and they treated me with respect.

Do you think you would have had more of an international career if you'd grown up in a different context?
Why have I always been so misunderstood? Even though I come from the people and I've never been to school, I became a singer - and a poet, too! Why have I never been honoured for what I've achieved? Why should Zidane have earned so much respect playing football and I haven't, even though I've used my voice to fly the flag for Algeria and France? Normally, I deserve a gold medal for what I've done! It's interesting, you know, one day at this gala in Japan, someone came up and said to me, "Zidane won the world cup with his feet, but you'll do the same with your voice!" Ha!

Cheikha Rimitti N’ta Goudami

Jacques  Denis

Translation : Julie  Street