Kenza

Never heard of him! Love this so far!

The best thing about music is that you don’t need to understand the words to feel the music. This is a good album! I love the Arabic music scale. Please, bless me with more stuff like this 🧎🏾‍♂️

A bit too long, but not bad, lots going on, mix of Algerian and Western music.

Pretty fun album. Really neat to hear this kind of music in different styles and really trying to make it blend with other styles. Khaled is a Music Bender.

Its a pretty good album overall not sure how famous this dude is in India but sounds fresh with great quality and Imagine song cover that was very good

Not bad for a foreign language album.

Goofy ass music

More enjoyable than I thought. 3.5

Solid but could use a trim. Imo.

je verstaat er geen zak van, behalve het Frans... maar toch is dit opzwepend en vrolijk makend

It wasn't my thing and the imagine cover really ruined it

Cannot find

I found this one somewhat interesting, but not really a fan. Too long. First song sounded promising. And yes, the Imagine cover was not really needed.

Not my style but still interesting

This was nice. He has a lovely voice.

Great recording/production value, and some of the music is decent, but not sure I enjoy the style of singing. Prefer the French songs. Why do we need a cover of Imagine? Overall it’s alright.

lwk fire

Interesting, but not for me. 3 or 4 songs are more than enough.

not for me

Man that's hard to rate. The instrumental part of this is mostly quiet enjoyable but I really can't handle arabic singing. My western ears will never be compatible to this. But i'll give it 3 stars to be fair

Fun, North African/French/Arabic album. Couldn’t understand a thing but catchy background music

I'm going to go with the old Duke Ellington thing that says "if it sounds good, it is good". I don't know a thing about rai music, but I kinda dug this.

This is the type of album I signed up for when I started this list. Something I'd never heard of that is entertaining and eclectic. Yes, it's too long, and yes, the imagine cover should have never happened, but the rhythms, genre-bending, melodies, and vocal performance all make it worth it. 3.5/5.0: Very Good

interesting listen but way too long to be enjoyable

Generally a mixed bag but there are some songs that hit

Feels like the label made a mess of this

Surprisingly eclectic. I really enjoyed this one. Not something I would have ever listened to otherwise, but quite pleased that it came up today. Pepped up my dreary, rainy Monday.

Not my kind of thing but at least it's nice and long :(

Surprisingly compelling despite my relative antipathy for the style.

Уберите это

Ik heb me beter vermaakt dan verwacht. Het begon erg sterk. Daarna kwam imagine. Verschrikkelijk. Daarna was het weer leuk. Vond het wel wat te lang worden. Door imagine en de langte krijgt het 3 ipv 4 sterren

A lesson to us all. When you open the car door, look behind for cyclists.

Had to double check I hadn’t changed album when I got to track 4. I quite like the coffee shop acoustic sound of Arabic style music and was hoping it’d be that, but this feels too over produced

I tried to be fair but I quickly got a bit bored. Turned it off after Imagine

6.5/10 - it’s hard to judge an album when you know nothing of its peers. It was nice to get an album that wasn’t from an American or a Brit. This is what I was hoping this list would be like. Trigue Lycee is my favorite song on the album. Enjoyable but too long.

I like that we have non-American/British albums making the list. I wish that it was a different album on the list though. This doesn't justify the run time and I think this style of music isn't for me. 4/10

Pretty cool, despite not understanding a word said. I do find the album to be a bit too long though. Standout Tracks: Imagine, Leili

As much as I appreciate the offer of some music with a less western background this is way too poppy and shallow for my taste. Also way too long.

big 3

A nice listen. Some pretty solid grooves on this -- even if I couldn't understand a word, other than Imagine. Lots of interesting tracks popped up afterwards, as well.

I don't think I've heard the Arabic, French and English languages spoken all on one record before. This was surprisingly listenable.

Alright I suppose. Didn't really do it for me.

Good music but some better than others

Could be singing the phone book for all I care. Still good music

Not my speed but slickly produced

Imagine took me out, but apart from that, certainly a vibe.

Not my thing but there sure was a lot of it. Top track: “El Harba Wine”

Kinda fun. Imagine was funny and better than Gal Gadot.

--Aâlach Tloumouni...we thankfully get a reprieve from the barrage of Euro-American music. Some very interesting sounds here. I'm not a fan of the vocal technique; may prevent me from getting into it --El Harba Wine...we got a bass groove going. this humps --C'est la nuit...sugar --Imagine...well, I guess we got some British stuff. I prefer John's version --Trigue Lycee...this is fun. great bass and horns --E'dir E'sseba...we got some soul going! booty shaker --Ya Aâchkou...bass and horns. not fair, my two biggest weaknesses! --Melha...another nice groove but this album already feels long and we got a while to go --Raba-Raba...basically the first track. great musicianship but I don't vibe with the vocal stylings --El Bab...a little hip hop. this is fun --El Aâdyene...another fine groove but it's all blending together --Gouloulha-Dji...something with Latin flair. nice change of pace --Mele H'bibti...there's something for everyone on this album, but there are 15 tracks that average over five minutes. needs to be tightened up a little --Derwiche Tourneur...a night club feel to this one --Leïli...sweet closer. maybe too sweet but it's nice

I don't hate it but I doubt I'd listen to it again

Comme si, j’n’existais pas

A pleasant surprise

Ugh, one vocal note in and I can tell where this is going. I’m not one for whiney sounding vocals and this is like a dying dog killing a rabbit that’s screaming while it scrapes its teeth on a chalk board. Pass. Hard pass.

^_^

Admission up front: it's a long one (just shy of an hour and twenty). I think it's instructive to listen to popular music from around the world and I've never heard Algerian raï before. In influences of Western pop (especially French, as Algeria was colonized; Khaled sings in French) are clear but the distinct Arab soul of this Maghrebi genre is overriding. It's interesting to hear some of its similarities to more distant cousins, like reggae. The 'Imagine' cover is just fascinating. Quite a lovely version! I don't think I'm becoming a lifelong Khaled fan. But one day, I'll visit Algeria and have some context for some of its local culture. I remain very impressed by the highly ornamented vocals in the Arab and Indian worlds -- it reminds me of Irish sean-nós. Not a huge number of standout songs for me on this one. 'E'dir E'sseba' is a jam, though. 'El Bab' is bright and sunny and worthy of a windows-open drive on a sunny day. Reminds me of old Shaggy -- possibly an influence on him (not something I'm an expert in; I just survived that period). Not mind-shattering but a bit horizon-expanding. Lands in that awkward place in The List where I'm happy to have listened but I'm not coming back, probably. That usually equates to a 3.5 and it's about as enjoyable as Band On The Run, which is now my yardstick of that range. Have your 4/5, Khaled.

One of those corny, watered down attempts to “reach new audiences” but end up really unengaging. The cover of Imagine is painful.

Decent background music, though could not understand the Arabic and French mix ups. Album also felt too long.

I enjoy listening to foreign music but this wasn’t a good album

Normally stupidly long albums take a hit for being so long, but I listened to this over the span of two days so that helped it. It's too long but it sounds really good. Love Khaled's voice, no clue what he's saying which is cool and usually I love that. Don't love that he covered "Imagine", it's a dumb song but that's another conversation.

it started out as an interesting listen, but mostly as background. then the cover of Imagine came on....ugh. and over an hour is too long for an album (unless you're a huge fan). 2.5 stars

WE THE BEST MU— wait, wrong guy. Oops. For as much I love making fun of DJ Khaled for just kinda existing, that's not what we're here to do today, as he (understandably) is not on this list. Does that guy even have albums? I don't know. I know Khaled does though, as I had to listen to one today. So, how do I feel about Algerian pop music? Eh. Solely going by this album, I'm not into it, but I fear that this may not be the best representation of the raï music style. Khaled is one of the most famous raï artists, but this album feels a little... over-engineered. It's trying a little too hard to have major pop success, you know? What I'm trying to say is that the production isn't my favorite. Khaled's singing is good. He's got good control of his voice. That's something that I've noticed about many people who sing in Arabic. Their voices are always moving. It's definitely different, but not in a bad way at all. The writing seems to be pretty thoughtful from the translations that I found, though social consciousness seems to be a bigger part of the raï genre than this album makes it out to be judging by what Wikipedia says. I think the album's biggest issue is that it just drags on for too long. There's really not much more to say. Kenza is an interesting look into what Algeria has done musically and while I can't say that it's something that I love, it is something that I respect. I get why people like this, even if it's not for me. 3/5.

Another album that I would have never listened to or discovered if it wasn't for this project. I thought the album was fun and I definitely heard some elements of funk mixed in, which I thought was cool. This is something I feel like I could listen to again, whether its Khaled or this genre.

The firsts songs were more interesting, then become more pop over time and I cannot stand a lot Arabic pop.Yet have some enjoyability.

Doesn't really stick. Fine tho

No. 2/5

Европеизированная арабская музыка, европейская музыка, эклектика. Но как-то сладко.

Had never heard this before but will most definitely be revisiting!

"Great" I thought, "something out of the ordinary, that's what the generator is all about". I was coping with Khaled okay until I got to Imagine. Dreadful cover of a dreadful song.

Banger

This didn’t seem special to me.

Not sure why this is essential.

6/10

There must be better arabic-styled music out there that is better than this? Feels like a mediocre addition to a list crowded with western rock. Other than that, vibed with Khaled

he has a good voice and I think the production on this is fairly solid. That being said, the Imagine cover is god awful and I'm not really sure if I get the vibe of this album? to be fair, I do not speak Arabic so the song's meanings are lost on me a little. It almost feels more like an 80's record than a 90's one. I'm not offended by it but it's a little generic.

Perfectly pleasant. At times a bit repetitive at times but when it shines it's really fun.

😵‍💫

hm

2.5

This was different than what I normally listen to. I appreciate the Lennon Imagine cover to place English listeners, but idk if it's necessary. The music is beautiful on its on.

When I was younger I wondered what "the olds" meant when they said all rock and roll sounded the same. Surely they weren't listening! Such diversity! Ahh ... Listening to all 15 tracks on this album gave me some insight. I KNOW there is range here, but damn if it doesn't sound like the same song from top to bottom. It's not a bad song, but it's the ... same? Am I listening to this because it's good for me? To make me smarter and more sensitive to diversity? I played this (quietly) in the office and several colleagues walked by and nodded knowingly. Do they really know what this is? Or does it sound different so therefore better than, say, Pyromania, which I listened to yesterday. I dunno, but Khaled has apparently sold 80+million albums, and I've never heard of him, so I do appreciate the exposure. Enjoyed the listen, but doesn't it sound the same??

Never heard and truly thought it was Khalid. Different Khaled. Not for me though I do respect it.

Vibe

Sorry Khaled, dit was m gewoon even niet voor mij

Marcouz Borsatem

Album #1,043 This is Raï music, something I've never heard of. The singing style is definitely middle eastern with its wavering pitch. The music sounded like a mix of middle eastern, latin, and other instruments. I liked the strings. C'est la nuit sounds like Napoleon Dynamite music. Once I got used to the vocals, it was OK to listen to, though that <hgka> throat clearing sound some languages have never sounds good in music. (I looked it up, and apparently it's called voiceless uvular fricative.) And the song Imagine is kind of insufferable in any language.

Thought i would hate this after the first song, but it's actually pretty fun and creative. Not sure I'll listen again but there were some catchy tunes in there! There's also a cover of Lennon's Imagine which was unexpected haha. Overall not really my style of music and ive not got similar albums to compare it to but get a feeling that it's pretty good if youre into raï

I am obsessed with the horns on this album. They're so buoyant and crisp. Unfortunately, the rest of the album doesn't quite match up. Or at least, it's not to my taste - always an important distinction with non-Western music I guess. The vocal style is a little much, especially on an album that's almost 80 minutes long. Overall though, I'm glad to have experienced it.

Loving this album! Great mix of exotica and funk! Would make a great party album. 4

Vibes

The first half of this album was not good. Especially the song Imagine. Should I hold Khalid responsible for the sins of John Lennon and Gal Gadot? Probably not. In fact, Khaled’s version has a much better message and meaning. However, the tune of that song is like nails scratching a chalkboard for me at this point. The second half was redeeming. I liked songs like Raba-Raba. I was surprised when I suddenly heard Latin American sounds with the song Goulouha-Dji and it was fun. I wish the first half of this album didn’t exist! Otherwise, it would have gotten a 4.

im subtracting a point for the choice of covering imagine but anyway glad to see something other than uk pop rock on this list Would I listen again: no Deserves to be on this list: probably 3.4

This is painfully mediocre. It's a very bad thing, because it's soooo looooong. As someone who comes from the middle east this sound is nothing new to me. I don't find anything authentic or interesting about it. The vocals are fine but not at all special, and the production is so lazy and lifeless. And will it ever end? To be honest, it's not all that bad. Track 11 for example has nice energy and instrumentation. But the fact that I know that I have 4 more songs after it doesn't really help me to enjoy it in any way. Yeah, I'm loosing it. But today I decided I am going to finish this thing- it's the only thing that will make it a legitimate thing to loose 78 minutes of my life for this thing.

This album is so good man. The different languages and cultures being combined here make such an interesting project. 4.5/5

Not as Arabic/African as I'd expected.

This was a fun one! I liked it.

It isnt in English, and it sounds like James Bond movie music. Kinda cool

I liked the first song a lot and was hoping the album would be follow suit with that kind of music, but alas, it wasn't meant to be. I enjoyed the medley of different sounding genres on here, but nothing really stood out as exceptional. I guess I prefer the more traditional-sounding middle eastern rather than a fusion with more Western tones. Aalach Tloumouni and Raba-Raba were my fav songs.

As far as foreign music goes, this is pretty close to peak. Was bobbing my head along to a lot of it.

онестлі нот івен бед, почувалась шехерезадою

It’s okkk - like I don’t think I would ever have gotten a chance to listen to this if it wasn’t for this - will I listen to this again? No probably not but is the best Algerian album I ever listen too

Besides the 2-3 songs that feel like from a different album (the covers), it’s quite terrible - hardly pushed through.

Hell no. This is what my taxi driver listens to. Why is this an album I must hear?

I usually like World music, but his was way too westernized, I would much rather hear traditional instruments, compositions, and sounds. Their version of "Imagine" was cringey

Interesting to hear but nothing much to make me want to hear it again.

This is a LONG album! I don't normally listen Algerian music but it made a pleasant change to listen to this. Difficult to comment on lyrics as much of it is in French or Arabic. The music is good - lively. I was surprised to hear Imagine (John Lennon) on the album!

Love 1001 albums for exposing me to random music from different countries. Not always love the music, but that's another story. I do enjoy the first 2 songs here because they showcase a pretty interesting style of arabic music with some fun instrumentation. After that we get boring french millennial pop, a pretty mediocre cover of Imagine and a whole lot of watered down versions of those first 2 songs. Not much that grabbed my interest later on the album.

Well, combination of world music and pop music its what usually makes me sick. But not this time. Some of this turkish melodies really ignited me and dance rhythms rather hyped it, than destroyed its fun. Almost a win. But its rather a long collection of songs, than an album, so only 3, rather than 4.

I want to be open minded and be able to listen to any genre, but sometimes it is a real struggle to get through these albums. Can't really give out low scores based on persenal preference however, and it sure sounds well made.

No se ni en cuantos ni a veces cuales idiomas han cantado, pero pec. Mencion espcial a la version de Imagine.

Trivelig nytt bekjentskap.

Not sure what he is singing about but he does it really well. The guy is obviously very talented and the music is great with some excellent beats and a wide variety of music and sounds. It's a really good album and I'm glad I listened to it but it's not something that I would listen to on my own.

I weirdly liked it too

Strong start and I thought it had a chance. Then it just repeated itself and dragged on much too long. Nah.

Too long and too boring.

Well.. Arabic.. don't get it much

My favourite kind of album in this project: an artist I haven't heard of before and a genre I don't listen to regularly. As my daughter says, this slaps. Loved it.

This really did have some moments that held my attention around the middle third. The parts which were more outwardly and deliberately intended as dance tracks and used horns effectively were enjoyable enough. I do just really struggle with guttural vocals being used outside of music that isn’t intended to be abrasive. I also do feel that large parts of it were just flat out boring. The cover of “Imagine” caught me completely off guard and was a bit of an eye roll moment if I’m being honest. Certainly not without merit but it is bloated in length and I was relieved when it ended.

WE THE BEST MUSIC!! GOD DIDDDD like how its kinda funky. actually really cool production. lowkey mad because I accidentally listened to this on shuffle, mb khaled. i will most likely never return to this album again so sorry, i guess i never hear this the order khaled intended. i like it though

Kenza is the exact soundtrack that starts playing the second you step into a questionable phone shop or climb into a Pakistani uncle’s taxi at 2 a.m. that hypnotic, ultra-polished, zero-personality oriental raï-pop that’s been scientifically engineered to make you scroll TikTok faster while smelling shawarma. It’s basically like if George Michael from the 90s had been born African, kept the mustache for life, and decided to drop raï bangers instead of soul-pop ballads. Same seductive driver pose next to the car, same “I’ve seen things” vibe, just swap the London minicab for a tuktuk and some oriental synths. However, production is clean, mix is good and master is crisp. That I can appreciate (at least it doesn’t sound like it was recorded inside a washing machine). 2/10

Album Review 056 Kenza by Khaled (1999) Rating 2/5 On day #56 of my adventure, the 1001 Album Generator deals me not just an album I’ve never heard of, but an album by an artist I’ve never heard of from a genre that I’ve never heard of. It’s just a shame that I didn’t particularly like it. Trying to describe Kenza is difficult without a frame of reference. It sounds like a fusion of Arabic tunings and scales, flamenco, bhangra, salsa and ‘western’ pop, and I haven’t a clue what the lyrics are about - aside from Imagine, which is godawful. I tried to be open minded and give Kenza a chance, however whilst some of it sounded pleasant enough, my untrained ears didn’t find enough familiarity or understanding to make it an enjoyable experience and getting though the full 79 minutes was a challenge. Best I can say is that it’s the finest Algerian Rai album I’ve heard (but the worst at the same time).

Groovy!!!

I couldn't finish this album

at first i didn’t rly love this album even though i do like foreign music, but it’s rly started to grow on me towards the end, my only complaint is it was a bit too long

World / Arab Music. I've nothing I can really frame this with, this is very much out of my zone. Musically there are some good catchy beats, lyrically I had to look things up and can identify with some of the themes. It's just different, but nice. 2.5

5/10

Ca change mais c'est pas trop mon style de prédilection, mais ça reste assez varié en rythmes donc c'était sympa quand même à écouter

Franchement, ça change donc rien que pour ça je vais mettre un bon 4/5 ! C’est aussi un des plus connus dans le raï… c’est bien en fond, en ambiance

Une assez bonne surprise, d'habitude c'est pas trop un genre que j'aime bien mais là c'était chouette

3/5

did not listen

Best Song: Melha I saw someone on the 1001 list say that this reminded them of restaurant music and I have to agree, makes me want a lamb kebab. Anyway, this is the "king of Rai" and if you don't know what that is, neither do it. It is a description of Arabian folk which, unless Arabian music considers folk different than I, this doesn't really fit that bill - this is more pop/dance than folk, in my opinion. Anyway, I wanted to go outside my comfort zone and this did it. However, maybe it went a bit too far as I would never listen to this again unless I was making kebab's at home and wanted to be more authentic. Not my thing. 1/5.

8.2

Ihan hyvää soitantaa ja itämaisia rytmejä.

this was actually pretty fun! Really enjoyed some of the tracks with a horn section. really good instrumentals but the vocals got a little annoying after a while. Also really long album when theres like a solid 4-5 that sound exactly the same. Solid 6/10.

Very diverse and fun, just not entirely my thing. Cover of imagine was incredible, though.

Funky but I don’t know the words

1+ Stars (3/15)

Okay, enjoyable listen different, but probs won't listen to again

Algerian singer/songwriter - it's got some funk in those baselines. It has an interesting cover of "Imagine" that switches between languages.

Good album with good music. Interesting music styles.

Khaled – Kenza Kenza is an ambitious exhibition of global fusion, but one that ultimately felt "overwhelming" and inaccessible. While the production is clearly layered with complex instrumentation and powerful vocal delivery, the lack of a personal connection to the Raï style made it a difficult "body of work" to fully engage with. While it’s an interesting cultural detour in the 1001 list, it didn't resonate with the same "rock" or "hip-hop" energy of previous days. A neutral experience that serves as a reminder that even immaculate talent doesn't always translate across every listener’s taste.But yoo I, at least I got to hear it 🤷‍♂️

1. aalach - 1.5 2. uuine - 1 3. nuit - 0 4. imagine - 0 5. lycee - 1 6. zeba - 0 7. ya - 1 8. melha - 1.5 9. raba - 1.5 10. Bab -1 11. DENE - 1 12. IDJI - 0 13. Mele - 2 14. Tourner - 1 15. Leili - 1

I liked this a lot more than I was expecting to! It's a lot of fun Songs added to playlist: - El Harba Wine - Trigue Lycee - El Bab

Oh man ... what did they do to Imagine? This album is a good example, where the blend of music cultures goes horribly wrong. The songs in which he stays in his tradition are awesome. Some songs get worse and "Imagine" is the climax of cringe.

Out of my ballpark but not bad!

Ik had zo veel zin om Arabische muziek te luisteren want I love Arabische muziek, maar meestal is het heel slecht opgenomen. Dit album is goed opgenomen, dus dat is geweldig. Aan het begin vond ik het jammer dat het toch een beetje cookie cutter popmuziek was, maar het was wel zo catchy dat ik dat heb genegeerd. Zeker het tweede deel van het album was leuk! Erg verrast door de Hebreeuwse/Arabische/Engelse versie van Imagine, maar world peace i guess.

El Harba wine >> ElBab >>> Mele H'bibti > Leile >> There's some really cool and interesting-sounding tracks on this album, and then there's an Imagine jumpscare. El Bab, El Harba Wine, and Leile were my favourite tracks. Besides the obvious, C'est la Nuit (in French) was probably my least favourite—which makes for a fun contrast

puntje aftrek voor de imagine of it all, maar een erg lekker en mij volledig onbekend album. duurde wel wat lang

does anyone want to invite me to their algerian wedding? :(

It's important not to pay too much attention to reviews before listening to an album, as many would have you believe this is an affront to music. As it stands, this is a perfectly fine, if a little underwhelming, album I'd never have listened to if not for this project; and that's okay.

I enjoy the sound of this album, it sounds similar enough to latin music that it's not completely new, but is still different enough that it's a new experience for me. I am an especially big fan of some of the trumpet parts on this album. My biggest complaint is that it lasts way too long, and the songs do kind of start sounding the same after a while. At least I have Africa on my RYM music map now.

Wasn't sure on the first few tracks, couldn't sit through Imagine, but then got properly into it and had a great time grooving along to the rest.

don't really listen to Arabic music. its not bad, if I understood the lyrics I could see liking it quite a bit more.

4/10 Best songs: El Harba Wire, Derwiche Tourneur My first non-English album during this project! My thoughts? Uh, it's fine. It gets very samey at some points (most points), and a lot of the songs drag a little too long for my liking. The cover of Imagine was a choice. I appreciate the mixture of traditional and western instrumentation and styles.

520/1001

Enjoy albums on the list from massive artists in other parts of the world I've never heard of. This sounded a lot like the music the distant Egyptian relatives I have go mad for when it comes on at weddings. Melha was the best song, the melody on this was good. Otherwise I'd struggle to say it was good rather than novel, liked it well enough bar the dodgy imagine cover but not to the point of a repeat listen. 2.5.

Feels like a great example of the style. I didn't care for the cover of Imagine.

I think of all of the foreign language albums we've had, this is the one I've enjoyed the most. I've probably heard more Arabic music throughout my life than any other music of a different language so I guess this makes sense? It reminds me of being on family holidays when I was younger. I'm going to give Khaled a pass on the imagine cover, which was the worst part of the album and was unnecessary. The rest I enjoyed though generally. 3.5 but a 4 as it's my favourite non English album so far I think

bruh this ain't my shit at all lol

Normally this would not be a 3/5 but there were some good vibes here

Quite enjoyed, funky sound

OK, this is pretty rad, exactly the reason I even started the challenge to hear something new and fresh to me. I liked the first song, surprised by the cover of "Imagine" which was quite interesting. Might go for 3 stars, does get a bit samesy and I feel like this western instrumentation does not always serve to make the music better here, but indeed a very interesting discovery. OK, so I gave a dead average of 2.5/5.0 for RYM but I will round to 3 stars. Interesting start of the year, today is January 1st 2026.

ainda na segunda música, tô gostando do ritmo mesmo não entendo nada.. Não tava esperando uma música em francês ... Gostei mais das duas primeiras músicas, o resto do álbum é bom mas nada demais

Great beats!

Это просто не моя музыка. Лучшая песня - Ya Aachkou.

Proof that you don’t need to necessarily understand the lyrics to feel the emotion behind them. And the instrumentation had a lot of variety and was quite interesting. It was hard not to enjoy this.

The album seems to pick up from “El Bab” on, but the western pop infusion from more than a decade earlier does nothing to enhance the album’s sound.

Pretty good, even if relatively similar throughout. 3.5*

5/10

Incredibly long but man, I fucked with this. Incredible grooves, not sure I’ll ever listen again but I had a blast this time round.

What I enjoyed most was probably the flowery string accompaniments that first stood out to me on "El Harba Wine". I see a lot of people rolling their eyes at the "Imagine" cover and I'd like to think it isn't as corny as one might think. I'm sure Imagine was one of the just dozens of English speaking songs to reach and be understood in Algeria and all sorts of primarily-not-english-speaking countries. So, is the cover great? No. But it's not abhorrent. I was a huge fan of "Tigue Lycee" that came on right after anyways, I could look right over it. "E'Dir E'Sseba" wasn't amazing, but did have an instrumental that reminded me of like half the videogame menu theme's I heard as a kid growing up on the PS2. Other solid tracks include "Raba-Raba" and "El Aadyene". The detractor is that I get bored of listening to something I know nothing about and have limited ability to interpret after about an hour in. Soft 3/5 I'm glad this wasn't from America/UK

Not bad.

It’s fine but not something I would ever put on. I would enjoy it in the right situation though. His cover of Imagine should never have happened, and the album is just way too long

This was a nice change of pace after bad, plain albums and some stuff that I knew was good already. Off the beaten path, but well produced and had a nice amount of variety. Still too long. I didn’t even mind the “Imagine” cover! It was arranged well and the voices sounded lovely.

The uptempo tracks are tremendously fun. The ballads are a bit cheesy, but overall this is great.

- The music felt like the album cover showed it would, unfortunately - uncool. It felt really dated - like it would have even felt dated when it came out in the 90s. - Some nice base lines and drum beats (especially at the start of Mele H’Bibti). - I dislike his voice for most of it - the higher registers felt strained and thin, and not in a unique kind of way that makes you think “oh, that’s his fingerprint” or “he’s so refreshingly vulnerable!". It just sounded like a voice without much personality straining. His lower, more gravelly range was so much better, but he mostly sang in the shouty higher register. I liked the high register of the woman on El Harba Wine, though, which was easily my favourite song on the album along with C’est la Nuit. - I will never reach for this. - That Imagine cover was… bad. - So long… way too long. - Not a fan of what I read in the Wikipedia page... Probable DV, abandoning an illegitimate child... so, another creep?

I was not familiar with the music and do not know the language so my vote should not count for much.

Interesting record. Not at all what I thought id every listen to to be honest. As an american its just not on my radar at all. Middle Eastern like music isnt even something I consider. Its not really even that. North Africa actually. But the same kind of hallmarks of a desserty type thing. Maybe im just ignorant and I wouldn't be all the surprised to hear that. But I had a decent time. Not amazing but the long runtime didnt get to me. I was floored when we got an imagine cover. That was wild. El bab and El harba wine were my saves here. Didn't expect to get any. Pleasantly surprised at any at all. The rest were enjoyable enough but not too stand out. A decent bit of what I would like to 70s style ballads. Not my favorite thing in the world to begin with. Too long at the end of the day but still worth the listen

Pretty good stuff.

Almost 200 albums in, I really wish some more non-English albums were included at the cost of a couple fewer British DJs. I thought this one was fantastic from start to finish, I was dancing and head bopping to all the Middle Eastern beats. Khaled's got a great voice as well.

Algerian goodness.

I wish I could find translations for the lyrics.

very good cover of imagine, very enjoyable

Difficult for me to judge as I stopped listening half way through the "Imagine" cover version.

Lots of different types of pop represented here which I liked. A bit long though.

such class, so much fun

My first non-English record from the generator. First song reminds me of Timbaland's production on FutureSex/LoveSounds. Was surprised by the Imagine cover sung in both Arabic and English. All the other songs blend Algerian and Anglophone music to make a modern, groovy Raï sound. It does suffer from being bloated.

This is what the project is for surely (and don't call me Shirley). Maybe everyone in his home country thinks he pumps out the most bland shit imaginable and the music press there are super snooty about anyone who likes it. But this is a banger no?

I recognise the last song and I have no idea from when or why. It’s fine overall but Jesus Christ is this long.

3.4 / 5 First things first, this kind of music isn't what I'm usually listening to, but I'm open for new impressions. Makes me think like I'm a bit of a hypocrat trying to judge this album without understanding a single word 😅 But I'll try my best. Both the singing and the music sound very atmospheric like you're being catapulted straight into another culture. Especially "Aalach Tloumouni" is pretty dynamic, other titles sound well executed, too. Now to the elephant in the room: the "Imagine" cover is two-sided for me. I honestly appreciate the multi-language approach to it, but I'm also part of the "John Lennon Hate Club". The album doesn't gain or lose anything by keeping or losing this song honestly. Apart from that, the musical execution is really good, the songs don't sound all the same which is already more than Bob Dylan can do. One thing I see a bit more critical is the song length with none being shorter than 3:55 minutes, but that might just be me being used to western music. All in all, "Kenza" is pretty solid. It sounds pretty intriguing, even with the language barrier in mind. Using different translators helped a bit though.

TIL Imagine is just as terrible a song with the lyrics in Arabic. Started out strong then fell off a cliff with this terrible cover then bounced back a bit. Three stars but for the Lennonization. Probably still going to get shawarma for lunch tomorrow, though.

I didn't know Khaled before this adventure; he has sold +80M albums worldwide, I should have heard of him! I was excited to dive into a new adventure. It's fecking awful. The low point was the cover of Lennon's 'Imagine', but I soldiered on through nearly an hour and a half of this pageant (I'm committed). I couldn't figure out how this guy sold so many albums; there had to be more to him -- turns out there is. According to besteveralbums.com 'Kenza' is rated 22,902 (21,901 albums to hear before you die are ahead of this one). He has a live album, 'Hafla', 11,388 places earlier on that same list; that's 31 years of this! Why wasn't that the recommendation? Well, I'm listening to 'Hafla' now, and it's excellent. It's intoxicating; the live energy transports me into the middle of a celebration. I want to be part of that scene. I understand why Khaled is so popular now.

Not sure how to evaluate this album but half seems organic, half seems poppy and one is a John Lennon cover. Nice to discover a new genre of music (in this case rai which is Algerian). I will explore more.

"World music" is such a bogus name for a genre because it's used as a "catch all" for non-western music when there is such a huge variety of music within the non-western world. That being said, Khaled created an album that reflects the entire world. An Algerian artist, he used rai (or Algerian folk music) but wait, there's more! He sung in multiple languages and included genres from around the world without sounding clunky or abrasive. I clocked French, Spanish, Latin/Hispanic, Hindi, and I'm sure there were more. Honestly, several of these songs sounded like they were straight out of a Bollywood movie; learning from Wikipedia that his music has been featured in Bollywood movies was no surprise. "Raba-Raba" even had the Indian genre of bangra! Even though Kenza included music from around the world, the album flows beautifully. John Lennon's "Imagine" is a classic, but with some verses translated into another language, the song becomes more beautiful. "E'dir E'sseba" is soul and funk, whereas "Leili" is sweet and romantic. How did Khaled do it? Definitely an underrated artist that should be known more in the "western" world.

What a unique album this was! I'm not at all familiar with the genre "rai" that this album fits into, but Wikipedia describes it as "Algerian folk music". It defies fitting into any "Western world" genre, but if I had to try, I'd say this is some kind of cross between folk, jazz, and pop. In addition to not knowing this genre, I didn't know the language either, but I didn't care -- I enjoyed this all the same!

50/100. At times charming, but often grating. It’s an interesting and culturally rich release, but ultimately not one I see myself returning to.

Not for me.

Given how much variety there is and how fresh it feels at the start, its amazing how fatigued I feel by the end. Could've been a banging 40 mins, especially if they cut Imagine.

Okay some of this is actually pretty nifty! However it's only some, and it really is just too long imo. Also shout out to Mele H'Bibti diving into drum n bass

This is my first time hearing any Algerian raï music, and it was a fun listen! I was expecting it to drag on me across its nearly hour and 20 minutes of runtime, but I found myself bopping along to it throughout. Definitely a worthwhile stop on this list!

I enjoyed a lot more of this than I thought I would! Like a lot of it sounded like songs that would be playing when movie protagonists get off a plane in a middle eastern desert town, but then a lot of it was fun pop vibes.

Absolutely blown away by this one. Unfamiliar as I am with the raï genre, I kept trying to pin down a specific sound to the album, but that proved impossible as Khaled pulls from a very wide variety influences. Thanks to that, even at an 80 minute runtime, the album never felt stale, and in fact I found myself grooving along to each new track that came up. Fantastic experience! Standouts: Aalach Tloumouni • Trigue Lycee • E'Dir E'Sseba • Ya Aachkou • Melha • El Bab • El Aadyene • Gouloulha-Dji • Mele H'Bibti

Sorry, I just don't like it. I can tell there is a lot of talent on this album, but it never caught my attention. I occasionally found myself grooving but it would quickly become background noise again and the length quickly wore me out.

interesting

I remember this from when it was recently released. Holds up.

Yes?

Not for me, but I also wish they stuck to the more traditional sounding stuff and less 90s pop cheese.

this was just fine. the cover of imagine is horrific.

The cover of imagine really threw me off

As with many of these World music releases, I wish I had so much more context for the melding of sounds, the background of the music, and the artists themselves. All I know is that this albums slaps hard. Every song is a banger and I can't wait to revisit this one again.

Interesting, not really in my wheelhouse, however.

Is this some sort of joke, top 1000? Enjoyed some of the instrumentals and beats like Imagine. Oh thats right not his music. C’est La Nuit was the only other song I could tolerate. Once he started singing it’s a No Thank You, for me.

Listens: 2 Standout Tracks: Imagine I don't necessarily feel like this is bad per se, but it is incredibly hard to relate to. The musical style is not something I have more than a passing experience with, and even then, it would be confined to movies or other forms of visual media. Combine this with the fact that I have no experience with Arabic or French or French-Arabic (if this is even what Khaled is speaking), and so with the exception of one song (Imagine), I do not understand what is being sung. So, my review is exclusively based on the music. I do not know if Khaled is just singing, or if he's also playing instruments, or if the artist is part of a band, or even if the apparent instruments are even actual instruments (as opposed to purely digital, electronic music). Again, what I've heard so far isn't like, terrible. There's brass instruments, accordion (maybe), decent percussion, probably string/guitar, possibly wind instruments on some tracks and there's an (obvious) general Mediterranean vibe, which I like in some of the electronica music I do listen to (like Thievery Corporation and Morcheeba and Bitter:Sweet). What I could do without is an 1:18:00 runtime. Yea, this could easily be only 45 minutes and that would be more than enough.

Liking the more traditional sounding songs, the covers are God awful, and the more poppy stuff is gobb shite, probably a 2.5 to 3⭐⭐

Enjoyed it. Surprisingly poppy and it zips along with hardly a dud track apart from the Imagine cover.... Not sure i will return but glad I listened.

Not listened to any Rai before. A couple of the more traditional sounding tunes sounded quite good, the pop stuff was too cheesy. Tellingly, the tunes that Spotify played from other similar artists after the album ended, sounded much better.

Seeing the length of this album at the start, it's fair to say I wasn't looking forward to it at all. But what a nice surprise, this guy is a real talent! My overall takeaway is that the whole album is really accomplished. There's lots of different types of songs and flavours. Some of them are quite catchy, pop-type numbers. Others are funky, some are super chill, and is that some drum n' bass flavour in there..? Musically it's on-point throughout. I really like the trumpets in particular, and that nice funky bass..? Yes please! Maybe this gels more with my Western sensibilities than some other, more traditional Arabic albums, but I did really appreciate the fusion of styles here. It's refreshing to enjoy a complete unknown album that you absolutely would never have heard of otherwise, and in this instance I had a great time with it. 3.5 rounded up.

Ummmmm. Nope

Not bad, I liked some of this. Imagine... no comment.

I am not used to this type of music but for a first I really liked it. Quite weird to add a cover of Imagine here 3/5

Insanely long but this had some heat! Managed to not sound repetitive which is an issue I have with a lot of foreign language music. I was feeling it.

Good world/Arabic/French music. I wouldn't mind having this on on the background.

I feel like he really needs to clear his throat though I think that’s the singing style. The imagine cover was a fun surprise.

I liked his version of "Imagine"

Kind of bangra sounding but apparently algerian folk, I didnt hate it. Highlight was the imagine cover

Þetta kom mér hressilega á óvart. Í upphafi bjóst ég við að ég myndi ekki þola svona söng sem jarmar en svo vann hann á og lögin voru bara hreint ekki slæm þótt hljóðfæraleikurinn sé pínulítið næntís með skemmtara en samt í bland við fleira.

Made the list of 1001 albums that should be tossed in the trash.

3/5

A new genre to listen to. Surprises for each song, but not my usual listening style

Loved this. I'd normally dock a star for being too damn long, but honestly - aside from the cover of Imagine - I don't know which songs wouldn't make the cut.

25/11/2025 As much as I have no issues with cultural differences in music, this really wasn't for me. Spotify listeners: 2.9 million

Who knew? Not a perfect listen, but the majority of these tracks (European edition) were great. Khaled's voice stands out through out; the 2nd track with Amar was outstanding; I will definitely re-visit this in the future for something different, but not in a completely alien voice. 4 solid stars!

Love the French tracks!

At this point my criticism goes toward Dimery and his curation rather than Khaled. How is it possible this was the best he could include? It’s a 75-minute mishmash of different variations of what counts as “world music”. For Khaled, it’s perfectly fine: there’s some good material here, especially for sampling. It's nothing to write home about though. So why is this classified as a “must listen”? How did this make the cut, when there's so many glaring omissions across the different editions? Its inclusion really only shows Dimery’s limited knowledge of “world music,” which is also evident from several other "world music" picks that feel stereotypical or even performative in how "diverse" they are (see Ananda Shankar, Shalimar, etc.), often including subpar covers of Western hits. I feel that Dimery’s selections imply this is the best the “rest of the world” has to offer, yet it would be easy to pick 10 records that are not only better than this, but also that represent much better the diversity of cultures and sounds that exist beyond the UK/US music scene. Regarding the album, E’dir E’sseba and Gouloulha-Dji were great. The Imagine cover wasn’t good. The rest is a mixed bag, sometimes interesting but most of the songs tend to be overlong and repetitive. The funky moments are what worked best for me. It's upbeat and kinda fun, but way too long.

interesting album. this is the exact thing i love this project for. an artist i've never heard of singing a genre of music i am unfamiliar with in a language i can't speak. so fascinating. this one is fun to listen to for most of its runtime, and definitely pays deference to a lot of western music in the process. there are even musical nods to western songs (did i hear a reference to funkadelic at one point?). but because the album has a wide swatch of influence, it unfortunately is a bit of a mixed bag. sometimes it ends up working really well, and sometimes it sounds a bit awkward. khaled's cover of john lennon's imagine is a bit laughable. it's interesting and it's certainly not bad, but i almost wish it was more on its face algerian than it actually is.

pretty good easy listening

I liked this a lot more than I thought! Very accessible even not knowing the language.

I want some hummus.

I didn't know what he was saying most of the time, but it was still fun.

Interesting but I couldn’t quite get into it. Maybe too poppy and inaccessible for me with language.

Oh boy. "Imagine" is as awful as other reviewers warned. The instrumentation sounds like part-Karaoke backing track, part-1985 Casio Keyboard demo song. The vocals are doin' too much. This song cries for simplicity, and we don't see that here. Apart from that, I absolutely found some fun bops on this album! "Trigue Lycee" is poppy, bouncy, and has a great bass line alongside brass and bright Middle Eastern vibes. Enjoyable! "E'Dir E'Sseba" gives early 80s "end-of-disco" feels, and honestly, it works!

This was fun, a left step from what we’ve had and, in a sense, been building up to this week. This type of music always amuses me, the fact that it’s (I believe) microtonal and so there’s notes that you don’t normally hear in western music is so cool. We never get those ones!! Lots of fun genres covered with some really cool grooves and just good music, the cover of imagine gave me a jolt. The album itself did drag on a bit, started feeling a bit bored towards the end. 3.8/5.0 Best Song: El Bab

It was a pretty fun album, I think it gets old pretty quickly, but it’s been a bit of a breath of fresh air and pretty different compared to most of the stuff we have listened to so far. He also looks hard as fuck on the album cover. El Harba Wine was my favourite

Enjoyed it a lot

This is #day467 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… you must be fucking kidding me. This is a 1 out of 5. Looking forward to #day468.

The first song was a banger. The cover of Imagine by John Lennon was pretty good. Despite having a language barrier, I didn’t hate this album.

Good beats, I’m a dumb American who only likes English music though.

Boring mainstream pop with some oriental influences. Not special.

Great album. Sonically it sounds really good but I like my chances of someone landing on the sun before I return to listen to this album again. 4/5

Fuck you and your Imagine cover

Labai patiko, tikrai nuoširdžiai patiko. Graži kalba, jau anglų užkniso.

Enjoyable Algerian rock. A lot of energy. 3.5/5

Pretty fun. I like when random non-english stuff comes up I've never heard of though

Imagine by John Habibi Lebanon. "Aalach Tloumouni" kicks things off with a fun pop edge. The cover does its job. The photo is simple but the colours and typeface give it character. The Imagine theme fits the peace message, even if people love to hate on it. "Trigue Lycee" and "Ya Aachkou" were the surprise. A funky bassline under Arabic vocals should not work this well but it does. Then "E'Dir E'Seeba" drops in with a full disco pulse that is just flat out fun. The album drags a little at the end. That might be from not understanding the lyrics or some songs blending into each other. Still, it is an underrated record and the bias by some does not help. 7.5/10.

This was not a group that I had heard of before. Other than an oddly placed cover of John Lennon’s “Imagine” it was Middle Eastern house music.

Just throwing up a mid review since I can't go off of anything

Light 2,5

Khaled!!! I’m sure no one has made that joke. Great voice, but the production is like the equivalent of a late period Elton John album. Very safe, sentimental, kinda corny.

You have to hear this style before to really appreciate it.

Not English, nice melody’s, but foreign to my ears. Hard to find enjoyment from this album, can’t understand anything

Wrote this one off before even pressing play. So glad I decided to give it a chance. Didn’t understand a word (besides the small amount of English), but bopped along. Catchy songs.

Okay, not my usual go to, so let’s see how I relate to this and how broad my spectrum really is! Didn’t give it the same attention I usually would. Quite poppy and similar throughout. Good groove and feel, but nothing mind blowing for me. For those not finding this on Spotify, it feels a good time to sing the praises of QOBUZ. A muso’s paradise - made for music lovers, by music lovers. Leave Spotify and its investment in AI weapons and find your home! Most these albums are within their Ideal Discography AND they have great recommendations and playlists. Okay, back to the album…got a bit bored by C’est La Nuit, but this was followed by Imagine and not quite sure how to sum that up. It’s….different? I can see it closing Arabic X factor as the credits roll… nice use of duet though. Maybe I’m not cultured enough to particularly value this. It’s good but it’s nothing special and something I would have never otherwise heard. So fair play. Personal bio pretty interesting too.

It was a fun listen. Very unique. I liked the rendition of Imagine.

This sounded pretty nice. I don’t think I’ll be getting too deeply into Algerian pop music, but Khaled has a great voice and this was a fine horizon expanding listen.

Hadn’t listened to a lot of Algerian music before, but there is a lot to like on this album, although not sure it is something I will return to often. Pretty good cover of “Imagine” Highlights: “C’est la nuit” and “Melha”

Great to hear something a little different, and I really liked this in places. However, some of the production is super dated and cheesy - there are bits that sound like a late-90s Spice Girls B-side. It's also way too long, and did we really need another version of 'Imagine'?

I had never heard of this but really enjoyed it .Great music .

I didn’t have the time or patience to listen to this yesterday. I skipped through the songs after hearing about a minute of each so I can’t give this a fair review other than to say I didn’t like it. And it was confusing why this was on the list. Even Wikipedia had nothing.

The language barrier is the most obvious problem I have with this album. It’s my own fault for not being able to understand it, but it limits how I can appreciate the songs and makes my criticisms one dimensional. That being said, the music was very uplifting. I found myself moving to the beat with a smile on my face on a number of the songs. The cover of Imagine threw me for a loop, for sure. Overall, it has a funky beat and I can really bug out it.

How can the inclusion of this album be anything other than cultural tokenism? Let’s put in a middle eastern album to make the list more global? Distasteful at best. Who am I to say if this is any good? What do I know about music of this culture? I may as well be ranking Mongolian Throat Singing or a Scottish Bagpipe album. If I knew anything at all, I’d chime in. But I’m just a tourist in these parts and I’m not going to apply my musical standards and tastes to a something from a place with completely different expectations, styles or standards. I’ll stay in my lane here, keeping right down the middle because I don’t know any better and neither do you, if you’re being honest. I also won’t award points, overpraise or grade on a curve because it “sounds different”. I doubt that this is an album I needed to hear before I died. At least it’s not another Nico album.

Never thought I'd listen to an Arabic album, let alone actually enjoy it....yet here i sit. This was great, many of the songs felt like they had a Latin vibe with middle Eastern flair. Very different (to me), and very cool. Coolest of all is the great version of Imagine, fitting rendition of a song about a world where we all live in harmony. Will I ever listen to this again? Maybe, good background music, but likely not. Nevertheless I enjoyed this quite a bit.

Some catchy songs and a surprising variety of genres

я хуй знает, это нестандартная джими-ача. прикололо меня.

well the recording quality is good, singing and instrumentals are masterful. but it's so not my vibe that i can't listen through this withous skips.

A strong 3. Oke baiiii

There is a lot of variety on this album, you hear the influence from all over the world. There's chansons, samba, conventional rock with a really cheesy Imagine cover and of course the Arab music itself. I really like that this is included in the list. It's a bit too poppy at times and quite long for repeated listens, but it's enjoyable and quite varied.

Rating: 6/10 A lot of very catchy songs, too long though.

Cool style, but the choice of songs to cover was weak.

rhythmic, but hard to have on (turned low it is ok as background music I ignore).

Must have been a blast live. Too long though.

Não consegui nem terminar, mas também compreendo que não é meu nicho

work, driving

Listenable for something a bit different.

I would have never heard of this album but for this list. This is very melodic and varied in as far as i can tell.

Can’t help but enjoy it by the end

This is pretty cool. It's not something I'm going to listen to all the time, but it's pretty damn good, if not overlong. The songs are interesting compositionally, and though I do think it starts to drag a bit, I found myself engaged throughout. I think it's strongest when it leans into the traditional sounds, and less effective when it strays into a poppy, almost merengue style. Three well deserved stars, I'd give this 3.5 if I could, but it just doesn't quite meet the standards of 4 stars.

Algerian Folk-Music with a modern feel, including an interesting cover of John Lennon's "Imagine". I liked it a lot.

That was a pleasant listen. I'm not enough and expert in North African music to say much more but it was fine.

Just not my taste

Lively beat and very different style of music than I have ever listened to before. I enjoyed how different this was from everything else I have heard through this project.

The male vocal is irritating when it does that warbling sound. If not for that, I'd place this as 3 star.

3 - pretty good

honestly the beats are kinda unmatched lol favorite song from the album: Aalach Tloumouni

Not my type but its not bad

Algerian, Ali baba 1999, has it all, biggest arab El harba wine Imagine

Wasn’t a lover off this but listened to

Well that’s North African music meeting western pop. And it isn’t half bad. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to it this morning. With no preconceptions it was just a fun listen. 3.5 Stars

Way too long. It was OK but I'll never listen to it again. 2.5/5

I love hearing such well known songs as "Imagine" in other languages. Being able to appreciate the beauty of a language you don't know while still understanding every word is a wonderful thing. Obviously they switched to english halfway through, but I think my point still stands. Beautiful album! Great instrumentation throughout!

Nice pop album. Imagine cover unnecessary. Too long.