"My father, when he came, he came in a very sensitive period at that time. It was that the rich people got their own music, classical music. But the poorest people, the poorest people didn't have nothing. So he came in between the middle, in order to let the people, the poorest, listening to a music that they will — it's coming from them." - Abdel Hadi Halo, son of Hajj Mohammed Al-Anka, who is considered to be the father of Chaabi music in Algeria Chaabi music is the name designated to the popular music of North Africa; different styles carrying the same name exist across the region. It is the music of the popular class; blending Arab traditions with African and Western traditions. In Morocco, Chaabi was popularized beginning in the 1970s. It was first played in markets, but is now common at many types of celebrations. Chaabi is often politically and socially controversial; loved by part of Moroccan society and looked down on by the other.
Griha music is a form of Chaabi music that is directly descended from Andalusian music. It uses the Moroccan dialect of Arabic, Darija, instead of the classical Arabic used in Andalusian music.
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