Kenza [2005]

1	Aâlach Tloumouni 5:04
2	El Harba Wine / Amar 4:33
3	C'est la Nuit 5:04
4	Imagine 4:06
5	Trigue Lycee 4:45
6	E'dir E'sseba 5:49
7	Ya Aâchkou 3:56
8	Melha 6:07
9	Raba-Raba 5:39
10	El Bab 5:27
11	El Aâdyene 5:37
12	Gouloulha-Dji 5:39
13	Mele H'bibti 6:29
14	Derwiche Tourneur 6:06
15	Leïli - "C'est la Nuit" Arab Version 4:07

Barnes & Noble

Khaled has finally made the album we've been waiting for. It seemed that the undisputed King of Rai was in danger of losing his leading edge after his syrupy single "Sahra" (a commercial confection penned by Celine Dion collaborator Jean Jacques Goldman) became a European pop hit. What a wonderful surprise, then, that KENZA harnesses Khaled's lusty delivery and libidinous persona to the talents of such "underground" producers as Steve Hillage (the savvy auteur behind Rachid Taha's punk-rai rock) and Lati Kronlund of Brooklyn Funk Essentials (whose Orientalist groove must have impressed Khaled when they met at an Istanbul concert). Sure, there are pop concessions: three Goldman numbers and an ill-advised cover of John Lennon's "Imagine." But elsewhere, KENZA is rich beyond compare: "Raba-Raba" is the most insinuating track he's cut since "N'ssi N'ssi," and the house-music piano and hand claps of "E'dir E'sseba" and "El Aadyene" make the most sophisticated funk he's ever laid down. Subsonic bass frequencies duel with Arab percussion, turntable scratches duke it out with oud and accordion, dub effects and Stax horns spar with downright hypnotic trance beats. Vocally, Khaled's at the top of his game, tearing into these thick grooves with relish. People, the King is back. Mark Schwartz

All Music Guide

"King of Rai" Cheb Khaled's fifth album, Kenza, was recorded all over the world: London, Cairo, New York, and Paris. Appropriately, the music takes on a globetrotting feel itself. Funk, pop, reggae, and Arabic music convene on Khaled's most accessible album, with aid from producers Steve Hillage and Brooklyn Funk Essentials' Lati Kronlund. Kenza is musically passionate without ever becoming forceful (or, for that matter, involving). Michael Gallucci