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Faudel - that's a mere twentyone year old singer, who shot to the French charts - and not only there - to number one with this great debut album of his and the massive hits "Tellement n'Brick" and "Baida" The reason why this album is so immensely pleasurable to listen to, is because of his uninhibited approach to different styles: wonderful spanish Flamenco and Latin sounds on "Omri", wild Drum 'n Bass on "Abadou", bone-hard French rapping on Dis-moi by the group Delta, Hip Hop on "Baida" (and another Hip Hop-version of "Tellement n'Brick" and an Oriental version of "Baida" which includes a beautiful Algerian String arrangement), this all is in fact Rai. A brave mixture of traditional Arab beats and melodies and Western sounds. Faudel sings in Algerian and French, accompanied in Spanish on "Omri". His voice sounds young as he is, very fresh, almost with a certain humour, his wailing always gets a grin on my face, and just beautifully fits into his compositions. Try this, if you like something truly exquisite, not only as a World music specialist, but as someone who likes to be challenged to quality music, from a place of the world, you wouldn't be sure instantly where to point to - North African coast. Enjoy!

Faudel- Tu seras le maitre du rai bientot... This is a fantastic album that mixes Arabic, French and even Spanish flamenco sounds and vocals. The highlights would be Baida and Tellement n'Brick for both the original and the hip-hop versions, and Dis-Moi. The lyrics of Dis-Moi are very touching and come from the heart regarding faudel's perceptions on North African immigrants and "beurs" struggles to adjust to life in les banlieues. For those who are not very familiar with the immigrant experience in france, this album can teach you a lot. As opposed to Khaled who is an Algerian living in France, Faudel is clearly French and has a bizarre mastery of the two worlds. Moreover, even though Khaled's lyrics are often in French and Arabic together, he keeps the two languages distinct. Faudel's lyrics reflect a certain urban patois, where the two languages are mixed in a sentence- Tellement N'Brick is the perfect example.

Faudel is one of rai's brightest stars, but in this first CD, he only partially succeeds; a partial success from Faudel however is probably better than the best from many singers. He has an excellent voice, and in these songs sounds youthful and sweet, and not what one usually associates with rai music. He tends to sing in a higher register than he does in his subsequent albums, and his voice does not have the colorations and mature musicality that it has on his 2nd effort, "Samra".

Favorite tracks: "Omri": A flamenco flavored number with terrific guitar work.
"Abadou": Faudel sings in a throatier voice on this track and sounds great, and the song has the feel of a more traditional Arabic melody.
"N'Sel Fik": Here Faudel is joined by Samira Cherraj for a rousing version of the song made a hit by the duo of Fadela and Sahraoui; this track is terrific and "real rai", with no "pop" sugarcoating.
Faudel fans will also like his hit "Tellement n'Brick", which is given a second "hip hop" version on track 12, and the title song is given an "oriental" version on track 13.
If you're looking for an authentic sounding rai CD, you will only like "N'Sel Fik", if you're a devoted Faudel fan, you'll enjoy it.
Sung in a mix of Arabic and French, the sound is good, and total time is 57'58.

i haveknow algerian singers from a long time.but i never thought that it would be this good.faudel joind two culturs and languages together which is arabic and french.thats what i like about his great songs.I never listend to french songs or i havent heard many modern french songs but when i listend to his songs i really like the french words wirth the rythem.His voice is excellant.and the words are very touching.i just would like him to preform concerts in the arab world and keep up the good work ya zaine el shabab:):)

I began tracing Rai 5 years ago, though, as an Egyptian I found Algerian dialect is a bit difficult, I was extremely attached to the original and spontaneous folkric music of Ray. Faudel is the best of the bests, his voice is so sensitive, so Arab, still he is not famous in Egypt except with Abdel Kader, I suggest that he may give some attention to his audience in Egypt as an Arab singer, his strong beautiful voice and his original Rai music will be very popular in Egypt if he tries to simplify the dialect. finally in Egypt we are very proud of our Arab brothers who achieve success in France. I also suggest that he may come to Egypt and have a concert here. I work in Egyptian T.V. and I'm a writer and I can find him a way to come. I wrote an article about Rai which made a great success in Egypt and drew the attention to Rai in Egypt. If Faudel likes to read it or to contact me for his visit to Egypt he can mail me on nawaranegm@hotmail.com thanks

Our western aproach to music is very different than eastern ways, sometimes even when you are not understanding a damn thing what singers are saying, you can feel that they are so close to true emotions and that they are really bare souls searching for non-terrestrial comunication.
Fortunately once Khaled passes away, we'll have another "chosen one" among us, and it's this boy.
The first time I listened to the tittle song, I felt so vulnerable that I was even ashamed of myself.
Buy this cd and prepare yourself for a sublime experience, half of it it's a bit edgy since he mixes hip-hop, techno-pop and other western styles with rai (now an essence within the style) but the other songs are so great that you will never regret.

I discovered Faudel in France and I immediatly loved his music. He is musically very talented and is a great person as well. He has succeeded in making french people accept him as a great artist by his simplicity and his open mind. I predict him a great future. I had the honor to see him live in a free concert in Paris Parc de la Villette and I was totally fascinated by his music but by the audience too. He has the power to bring two worlds together and it's a wonderful power.

Baida is excellent album from Faudel that spotlights this young singer's exceptional talent. The CD is fused with Arabic rhythms, North African beats, French lyrics, R&B, pop, and a host of other musical stylings. This has got to be one of the best CDs that represent rai music.

"Anti" opens the album with an upbeat tempo and is followed by the uplifting "Eray." "Tellement n'Brick" is Faudel's breakthrough French single that best highlights his talent. "Dis-moi" is a political outpouring expressing the frustrations of the beur generation in France. "Omri" is yet another great song with Spanish influence sung entirely in Arabic. "La valse" is not a high-point and "Baida" is another generally good song. "Miskin" is an up-tempo song that is almost reminiscent of Culture Club beat fused with Indian rhythms. "Abadou" is a slow yet soothing piece and "N'Sel Fik" is a fast beat duo with a girl. "Ma vie" is yet another take on frustrations of the beurs. The remix for "Tellement n'Brick" was really unnecessary and very inferior to the original track. Yet the remix for Baida is better orchestrated on the final track remix.

The fusion of the all the different sounds is very innovative and it is what makes the opus truly groundbreaking. This is a must have for anyone who needs a little flavor in his music collection.

I like the music even though I don't understand the lyrics. I like Faudel's voice and the feeling he gives to the music. He is destined to be a great star. The first track, Anti, is my favorite. Faudel has a fan in Puerto Rico. Keep up the good work!

The first time i hear Faudel was when he sang with Khaled and Taha and I was impressed by his performance and music so I bought his CD. It's SUPER. He does not have yet the same maturity of Khaled but his music and rhythm. If you like RAI music this CD is a MUST HAVE.