After Khaled’s hits, Chaba Fadela and her husband Cheb Sahraoui’s “N’sel Fik” must be one of Raï’s most recognizable tracks. Featured on the seminal “Raï Rebels” compilation, it is also the opening song on Chaba Fadela’s 1988 album “You Are Mine,” which was produced by one of the protagonists behind the new generation of Raï pop, Rachid Baba Ahmed. The intoxicating amalgamation of traditional instruments like the derbouka with synths and drum machines is his doing, and one which would leave an indelible mark on Algerian Raï. But it’s Fadela’s voice that hits squarely in the chest, with its throaty sensuality, vulnerability, and strength.

– Megan Iacobini de Fazio