RIP Rachid Taha

Rachid Taha has died of a heart attack at home in Paris aged 59.

This Guardian obituary covers his career if you are not familiar with Rachid Taha’s music and life.

“Rachid Taha, who has died of a heart attack aged 59, shook up the global music scene with his inventive and fiery fusion of Algerian styles and rock, techno and punk. An engagingly bohemian-looking figure, influenced by the Clash as well as by chaabi and rai music, he became a bestselling artist across the Arab-speaking world and will be remembered for Rock el Casbah, his 2004 treatment of the Clash song Rock the Casbah and for his international dance hit Ya Rayah, as well as for his energy, angry political stance and wit.”

— Robin Denselow, The Guardian

"It reminds me of a home I've never known."

How one Franco-Algerian feels about Rachid Taha's song "Ya Rayah" - and what his music meant for immigrants in France.#رشيد_طه pic.twitter.com/KYoZM85lRj

— BBC Newshour (@BBCNewshour) September 12, 2018

RIP Rachid Taha. Gone too soon.