Algeria: Ban on album of artist in exile

The second album of Baâziz, entitled ‘Cafe de l'independence’, was released in France in 2004 and was banned in Algeria virtually upon release. In it, he rails against both America and France.

Abdelazziz Bekhti, also known as Baâziz, is a young Algerian singer based in France. He was born in 1963 in Cherchell, 100 kilometres west of Algiers, and developed a passion for local rhythms early in life, while also finding inspiration in singers such as Bob Dylan and Jacques Brel.

While most of the Algerian youth were obsessed with Algerian raï music, Baâziz was drawn to chaabi, a kind of working man’s blues, and maâkous, in which classic songs are reinvented via metaphor and barbed satire.

However, Baaziz was forced to leave his homeland due to government disapproval. He now lives in France where he continues to create tongue-in-cheek yet powerful rants against military, religious and administrative oppression.

The song ‘God Bless(e) America’ from the banned album has received world-wide fame as it was published as the first track on the 2004-publication from Ellipsis Arts, ‘Songs of Struggle and Resistance from Around the World’.

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