:: CHEB MAMI BIOGRAPHY ::
Birth Name : Mohamed Khélifati
Date Of Birth : 11 July 1966
Place Of Birth : Graba-el-Oued (Saida - Algérie)
Nationality : Algerian
Cheb Mami was born on July 11th 1966 in the algerian city Saida.
Mami's career started with singing at marriage ceremonies and circumcisions.
His soulful voice earned him the nickname Mami (= the mourner).
In 1982 he participated in the Ihan wa chabab contest, a popular radio program. He won the second prize. Right after that
Producers contacted him. One of the producers has been Boualem, the producer of Disco Maghreb, a label from Oran that had
released the most successful names in raï in the recent years. Mami began releasing cassettes; a dozen just is 1986. Each
sold between 100,000 and 200,000 units, one as high as 500,000. The artist saw very little profit.
In 1985 Mami made his first public performance at the Premier Festival of Rai of Oran.
In January 1986 Mami participated in the Raï Festivals of the Villete (Paris) and Bobigny. There he met Michele Levy,
who became his manager. In December 1986, Mami appeared at the famous Olympia Theater in Paris.
After he finished two years of military service in Algeria, in May of 1989, Mami returned to the Paris stage at the
Olympia, confirming that he was the main hope for the rejuvenation of Rai. He later toured the United States, the
Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Spain, Scandinavia and England.
tbc. . .
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