The Maghreb — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya — together with Egypt and Mauritania. The region is the home of Algerian Raï (Cheb Khaled, Cheb Mami), Moroccan Gnawa trance music, and Chaâbi street song.
Most popular
Folk & WorldRaïAlgerian-Oranian popular music — protest, love and exile sung over synth bass, drum machines and electric oud since the 1970s.
Hip Hop / R&BMoroccan Hip-HopCasablanca-anchored Darija rap. Don Bigg's 'Casa Nayda' (2007) is the origin manifesto; ElGrandeToto now sits at the top of Morocco's Spotify chart year after year.
Rock & MetalNaydaMorocco's 2000s urban cultural revival — Hoba Hoba Spirit, Fnaïre, H-Kayne — fusing gnawa, chaabi, rock, and hip-hop as a response to the 2003 Casablanca bombings.
PopMoroccan PopContemporary Arabic-language Moroccan pop centred on Saad Lamjarred, whose 'Lm3allem' (2015) is the biggest Arabic-language YouTube hit of all time.
Folk & WorldNass El Ghiwane MovementThe 1970s Casablanca populist band movement — Nass El Ghiwane, Jil Jilala, Lemchaheb, Izenzaren — that Scorsese called 'the Rolling Stones of Africa.'
Folk & WorldAïtaRural Moroccan chanted poetry led by cheikhat (female singer collectives) — the countryside female counterpart to melhoun's urban male tradition.
ClassicalMelhounThe urban Moroccan sung poetry of Fes and Meknes — centuries-old artisan-guild tradition of long qasidas in colloquial Darija, delivered in acceleration suites.
Folk & WorldEgyptian Sha'abiCairo's working-class wedding music, brash and electrified, distinct from the elegant tarab classical-pop tradition.
Folk & WorldKabyle MusicAlgerian Berber song from Kabylia, blending acoustic guitar harmonies with non-Western melodic instincts.
Folk & WorldAlgerian ChaâbiAlgiers casbah music descended from Andalusi classical tradition, sung in colloquial Arabic over mandole, banjo and percussion.
