The King of Emotional Rai

Hasni Chakroun was an Algerian singer born in Oran, in 1968. In North Africa, Cheb Hasni was very famous for performing Rai music. He reached his heights during the years between 1980 and 1994. As a child, Hasni dreamt of becoming a professional footballer. For a short period, he played with a second division football team in Oran, and then he retired to start a musical career.
His start was at an early age when The ‘Naoui Brothers’ discovered his talent at a wedding party and invited him to sing on the stage of ‘the Guinguette Cabaret’. The second major opportunity he got was when a famous producer noticed him and cast him to co-perform with Cheba Zahwania. In 1986, Hasni released his first tape in which he sang a duet with her. The album ‘Beraka’ sold over one million copies and Cheb Hasni became famous.
Cheb hasni’s career was a short one. Nevertheless, he released several successful albums and singles such as ‘chkoune Irabbili Weldi’ in 1990, ‘Elli zahreh Ma Yendamchi’ in 1991, and “C’est pas la Peine” in 1991.
Like many Rai artists, Hasni travelled and performed in many cities all over the world like Paris, Marseilles, Tunis, Boston, Casablanca, and Tokyo.
His last concert was in Algiers on July 5th 1993. He performed for 150 thousand people on the occasion of The Independence Celebration. He was killed on September 29th, 1994 outside the skirts of his Oran parents’ home in the suburbs of Gambetta.