Najat Aâtabou ( ar, نجاة اعتابو; born 1960) is an

Berber Berber or Berbers may refer to: Ethnic group * Berbers, an ethnic group native to Northern Africa * Berber languages, a family of Afro-Asiatic languages Places * Berber, Sudan, a town on the Nile People with the surname * Ady Berber (1913–196 ...

Moroccan singer, songwriter and composer. Her song "Hadi Kedba Bayna" was sampled by

the Chemical Brothers The Chemical Brothers are an English electronic music duo formed by Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons in Manchester in 1989. They were pioneers (along with the Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, the Crystal Method, and other acts) in bringing the big beat genre t ...

in their 2004 song "

Galvanize Galvanization or galvanizing (American and British English spelling differences, also spelled galvanisation or galvanising) is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting. The most common method is hot ...

Early life

Najat Aâtabou was born in

Khémisset Khemisset (Amazigh language: Zemmur, ar, الخميسات) is an Amazigh town in northern Morocco with a population of 131,542 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is situated on the A2 motorway between Rabat (81 km) and Meknès (57&nbs ...

on 9 May 1960 into a lower-class family, with five brothers and four sisters. She dreamed of becoming a lawyer, but her life would take a different direction. Singing was her favourite thing to do and she would walk to school every morning singing songs. When she reached the age of thirteen, she would sneak out of her bedroom window and sing at local weddings and school parties for money. At one of these parties, a friend recorded her voice with a tape recorder. The tape was sold illegally throughout Morocco and the song ("J'en ai marre") ("I've had enough of it") became especially popular. Her family soon found out about her singing and did not accept her choice of vocation. Her brothers threatened to kill her if she continued. She was afraid and decided to run away from home. She fled to the local music shop, that being her first choice because "they played music there", as she later said. That very day a coincidence happened. A famous Moroccan music producer (Mustapha El Mils) walked into the shop, looking for Najat Aâtabou after he had heard the song (J'en ai marre"). He asked for her trust and to join him in

Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...

. Having no choice, she left for Casablanca, where she would stay for three years, living with the mother of the music producer. After these three years, her family found her and they made up.

Career

As a songwriter and singer of

Chaabi Chaabi ( in Arabic), also known as Chaâbi, Sha-bii, or Sha'bii meaning "folk", refers to different music genres in North Africa and the Middle East such as Algerian chaabi, Moroccan chaabi and Egyptian Shaabi. Chaabi music just means 'music ...

music, she told the story of the modern Moroccan woman and tried to improve

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

within Morocco. In (1992) she scored her biggest hit, "Hedi Kedba Bayna". ("Hedi Kedba Bayna") is about a woman whose husband is cheating on her. The title literally means "This lie is obvious". Another song "Shoufi Ghirou", is about women who are in a relationship with married men, while in Morocco it is illegal to have such a relationship. Her songs have evoked social and political discussion in Morocco and brought improvements on feminist issues. She sings in

Moroccan Arabic Moroccan Arabic ( ar, العربية المغربية الدارجة, translit=al-ʻArabīya al-Maghribīya ad-Dārija ), also known as Darija (), is the dialectal, vernacular form or forms of Arabic spoken in Morocco. It is part of the Maghrebi ...

and French. She is also one of the subjects of the film ("Morocco Swings") about two generations of Moroccan singers.

Personal life

Najat Aâtabou is married to Moroccan music producer Hassan Dikouk and has three children. She currently resides in a

chalet A chalet (pronounced in British English; in American English usually ), also called Swiss chalet, is a type of building or house, typical of the Alpine region in Europe. It is made of wood, with a heavy, gently sloping roof and wide, well-suppo ...

in the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

and still records songs.

Albums

* 1991: The Voice of the Atlas (Globe Style) * 1997: Country Girls & City Women (Rounder/Universal) * 1998: Najat Aâtabou (La Fa Mi) * 2001: La Diva marocaine (La Fa Mi)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aatabou, Najat Living people Moroccan feminists People from Khemisset 20th-century Moroccan women singers 1960 births