Najat Tazi - Ya Saqi

 

Here's a swell rai album from singer Najat Tazi. This dates to 1992 or '93. Najat hails from the region of Taza in northeastern Morocco. The internet boasts dozens of her albums on international streaming platforms like YouTube, Spotify, etc. On some she sings in Riffian Tamazight (Tarrifit), and on others she sings in Moroccan Arabic. Despite this prolific output, I can find almost no details of her life or career online.

The one short article I found relates that she was born in the town of Aknoul, north of Taza, began her career singing backup for many artists, gained initial notoriety singing cover versions of songs by rai singers Cheb Khaled and Mimoun al Oujdi, and has subsequently recorded more than 50 albums. The article also links to a 2020 video interview, so if you know Tarrifit and find that she said something noteworthy, please let me know! [1] 

She performed at the big Mawazine festival in Rabat in 2016.

This album has some great early rai grooves and some unusual keyboard sounds. And Najat's voice is powerful. Dig this opening track:

Najat Tazi نجاة التازي
Fassiphone cassette 07/4 فاسيفون
c. 1992-93

A1 Ya Saqi يا ساقي
A2 Tkherrejti Âla Ouladi تخرجتي علی ولادي
A3 Démarrez ديماري
B1 Kounti Ghalia Kifache Rkhesti كنتي غاليا كيفاش رخصتي
B2 Zine Âlah Iseddou Âlia Lbibane الزين علاه يسدو عليه البيبان
B3 Ouelli Lia Ya Lâziz ولي ليا يالعزيز

320 | FLAC

[1] Najim Al-Sabaa (نجيم السبع). "Gzennaya stars around the world: The capable artist Najat Al-Tazi (نجوم اكزناية عبر العالم | الفنانة المقتدرة نجاة التازي)". https://gzennayamedia.blogspot.com/2020/11/blog-post_11.html

Interview excerpt on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdBGdYdcAUc

Full interview on RADAS TV program "Thawra n Rif": https://www.facebook.com/RADASTV1/videos/486435888975880/