Algeria is the home to a new music genre called Rai. This form of music has gained fans in France, Spain and Asia. Many new musicians are experimenting with this genre to make it more global.

Rai is a creative outlet to express political discontent. “Rai became an important means of cultural expression for a minority struggling to carve out an ethnic identity and a space for itself in an inhospitable, racist environment” Rai is more than simply cultural expression, it morphed into a unique blend of popular “rebel” music. “What makes raï so rebel, so politically charged, is the fact that it goes against the hard-line conservative government, a religiously fundamentalist establishment. Unlike traditional music, with its subtlety, flowery language, and innocuous subject matters, raï is notable for its blunt imagery and willingness to tackle subjects such as sex, booze, lust, and drink – all of which the deeply religious establishment frowns upon.”

Malouf Modern malouf has some elements of Berber music in the rhythms, but is seen as a successor to the cultural heights reached by Muslim Andalusia. Malouf has been called “an emblem of (Tunisian) national identity” [6]. Nevertheless, malouf can not compete commercially with popular music, much of it Egyptian, and it has only survived because of the efforts of the Tunisian government and a number of private individuals. Malouf is still performed in public, especially at weddings and circumcision ceremonies, though recordings are relatively rare.