Medjahed Hamid is an author, composer and performer of Algerian Kabyle song. He was born in the Casbah in Algiers, originally from Alma, Ichaladen region in Kabylie. His passionate story with music began at the age of 7. It is said that often chance does things well! Nevertheless, there are indeed these coincidences that get under the skin of the great premonitory talent.
Indeed, that day, fate began with the distant echo that resounded in the ear of Hamid as a child. He already wanted to hear more closely and understand the mystery. They were musical sounds coming from a place called “the morning star”. In search of the sound that bewitched him, sowing in him for eternity the magic of the musical universe, he finally found himself facing the closed door of the room. His curiosity made him look through the keyhole. He could only see 2 or 3 musicians.
From that moment on, it became like the joyful humming of a chorus that you never tire of repeating. He did the same thing again; he continued like this every evening. Even the corrections of his father due to his repetitive and late returns to the house did not let him resign himself to his new passion for sound and singing. He had to wait for his first paycheck to afford to buy his first guitar. He trained from the age of 15-16.
One day, he listened to a Kabyle song entitled “Ach Nezman” while ignoring who was the interpreter. In fact, looking for the composition of this work, he is told that it is the famous Chérif Kheddam, author, composer and performer of Algerian Kabyle song. Having learned that this artist was presenting a program “Ighenayen uzekka” which he had been listening to since 1967, he refrained from applying because at the time in this program the two instruments which took precedence were the guitar and the darbouka.
Thanks to his circle of friends, the young Hamid signed up for another program called “Le music-hall si-radio”, a program by Kamel Hammadi presented by Achrouf Idir and M’henni. During his visit, he met the musicians he used to see through the keyhole. He then sang his first song with them and did not hesitate to ask them at the end for their opinion. They were remarkably surprised by the composition of his song and the fact that he gave them the mode of music and the main note (bayati-sol). They then became his first listeners. Without doubt, the Kabyle song was like an extraordinary vector for him, fully motivating him to learn Kabyle at the age of 20 in 1969.
For Medjahed Hamid, music remains an authentic passion because alongside his life as an artist, he ensured a rich and diverse professional career. While his songs were very well known, listened to, it took 40 years of musical career, and that after much insistence from the public, for the 3 albums “Chants amazigh de kabylie” to finally see the light of day.
Medjahed is an artist much appreciated by the public for his talent, his humility and master advice. He made known and helped with sublime generosity several young artists in his program on the Algerian Kabyle channel 2 radio: “Ighennayen u zekka” (the artists of tomorrow). He is known as a principled, outspoken man. One of his famous famous expressions is: “Ayen yelhan kan yelha!”. He is also known for the subtlety of his highly esteemed humor. The quality of the inspired work in terms of musical research and the depth of the lyrics leave the repertoire of his works unquestionably immortal, to name but a few: d-kem, Lmut, Imdebbren, Tawes (in homage to Taos Amrouche, an artist Amazigh-Kabyle, French-speaking writer and performer of traditional Kabyle songs),….
From the anecdote of the child in front of the closed door, we saw the birth of the story of a master holding the key to Kabyle Amazigh singing. What about his work? It is the art of words and their setting to music that rocks our soul in depth, that of the heart. We cannot thank this truly precious man enough. He is an artist who has given his whole life for art and only for the love of art and culture. What a pleasure to listen to it, what a privilege!