Khaled
Most prominent among rai artists is Cheb Khaled (Khaled Bra- him, b. 1960), dubbed the “King of Rai” at the first Algerian Festival of Rai. Already a well-known figure in the music community, Khaled left Algeria after the festival and re- established his career in Paris. In 1991, he signed with a prominent French record label to become the first rai artist whose music was distributed to an international market. Throughout the 1990s, he had several hits as a crossover artist in France and became wildly popular in India as well. His success paved the way for several other rai artists to reach global markets.