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Aït Meslayen was born Benhabouche Idir in 1944, in the village of Aït Meslayen (from which he took his name) in the commune of Akbil, located in the Tizi Ouzou province of Algeria. In the early 1960s, he began to develop his musical talent, and people started taking note of his stylistic voice paired with his politically subversive lyrics. This was the same period when other famous Kabyle singers of his generation, such as Lounis Aït Menguellet and Lounes Matoub, were emerging. Aït Meslayen composed and wrote his own songs, though he also used lyrics from the grounded tradition of Kabyle poetry, which was a common practice. His songs deal with topics of love, separation and exile; hardships that resonated widely in Kabyle society throughout the post-independence era. He was politically vocal, and many of his songs dealt with political in- justice. Like other Kabyle political singers, he went into exile in France during 1976, mainly due to his song “Ghoumane Itji Sougharval.” He lived in France from 1976 until 1981, when he was finally able to return to Algeria. Throughout his stay in France, he collaborated with many musicians and recorded songs that became widely popular in Algeria. Among them the track “El Fenn.” featured on the 2nd Habibi Funk Compilation. While Aït Meslayen generally sang in Kabyle (...), he occasionally also sang in Arabic as on “El Fenn”. Aït Meslayen recorded his last album in 1994, and passed away on December 21st, 2000. (by Malak Makar)
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