Rachid Taha

Algerian singer who shot to fame in France

Rachid Taha, singer. Born: 18 September, 1958, in Sig, Algeria. Died: 12 September, 2018 in Paris, France, aged 59.

Algerian singer Rachid Taha, who thrillingly blended Arabic music with rock and techno and at times wore blue contact lenses to protest against anti-arab prejudice in his adoptive France, has died at the age of 59.

Taha’s record label, Naive, announced his death in a statement on Wednesday. It said that he died following a heart attack at his home in the Paris suburb of Les Lilas.

Taha had recently finished recording a new album, which was due for release next year.

He was scheduled to film the first music video for one of the new songs, Je suis Africain (I am African), this weekend.

Born on 18 September, 1958, in Algeria, Taha would have marked his 60th birthday next week. He moved to France at the age of ten with his parents. With the group Carte de Sejour (Residence Permit), Taha caused a stir in France in 1986 with a husky-voiced rocky cover of legendary singer-songwriter Charles Trenet’s sentimental, patriotic Douce France (Sweet France). The group distributed copies of the song in France’s parliament as policians were debating changes to the country’s nationality laws.