France's huge Maghrebi population has long had its own singers. But Carte de Sojour (Residence Permit) is very different from, say Mohamed Abderrahmane, who sang of the immigrants' concerns in a standard chaabi. Ramsa ("Five" -- Khamsa, in English transliteration) is a punk-oriented protest song about the police. Other songs have different mixes of Maghrebi music, reggae, funk, and (quite dominant) punk, but whether angry, proud or hopeful, all are songs of self-definition. ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music, All Music Guide
