Slimane Azem is a Kabyle poet and singer. born on 19 September 1918 in Agni Gueghran, died on 28 January 1983 in Moissac. His career shows how Algerian popular music can turn private feeling into shared memory.
Context
Slimane Azem is a Kabyle poet and singer. born on 19 September 1918 in Agni Gueghran, died on 28 January 1983 in Moissac. His career shows how Algerian popular music can turn private feeling into shared memory.
Story
he reached France in 1937 and sang exile, social satire, changing values and attachment to Kabylia. The songs speak about individual lives, migration, city life and a society changing around the artists.
A Muh a Muh, Ilah ghaleb, Kulci yeqleb, Zzman tura yexxerwed, Baba Ghayu and Ghef teqbaylit yuli was. These reference points explain why Slimane Azem still appears whenever raï, Kabyle song or modern Algerian music is discussed.
Listening today
his voice remains a reference for Kabyle song and modern Amazigh poetry. Listening today means hearing both the period that produced the voice and the echo it still has for Algerian audiences.