NPR

He Rocked The Casbah: Singer Rachid Taha Has Died At Age 59

The Algerian singer loudly proclaimed his outsider status in France as a punk-bred vocalist who culled from Algerian tradition. He died of a heart attack during the overnight of Sept. 11 -12.
The late Algerian-born, France-based singer Rachid Taha, performing in Lille, France in 2004.

One of the most charismatic and influential singers to come out of France, the gritty-voiced Rachid Taha, has died at age 59. Taha's death was announced in a joint statement from his family his record label, who said that he died of a heart attack in his sleep at his home in Lilas, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, during the overnight of Sept. 11 to 12.

Born in Algeria, Taha first gained traction as the frontman of the band Carte de Séjour, and later emerged as a solo artist who gained a worldwide hit

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