Kamel Hamadi

Kamel Hamadi, real name Larbi Zeggane (in Arabic: كامل حمادي‎, in Amazigh: ⵍⵄⴻⵔⴱⵉ ⵥⴻⴳⴳⴰⵏ), born December 22, 1936 in Aït Daoud, Wilaya of Tizi Ouzou, in Algeria, is a singer-songwriter in Kabyle and Algerian Arabic. During his career, he signed a total of 2000 titles. He is the husband of the Algerian singer Noura.

Kamel Hamadi attended school until he obtained his primary school certificate in 1950. He then became a tailor, like his father Saïd Zeggane, at the age of 14. In 1953, he moved to Algiers, with another uncle, and it was there that he showed his writing talents for the first time to the singer Arab Ouzellag. He encouraged him in this direction, then thanks to Saïd Rezoug who opened the doors of radio to him a year later. With him, he will present the show Lesrar N Ddunit (Secrets of Life) dedicated to the discovery of young talents. It was during a number on this show that he met Mohamed Hadj El Anka in 1957, who asked him to write him a song talking about the father-son relationship, after having listened to him declaiming one of his poems; he then wrote to him A mmi εzizen (Dear son), later performed by the master of Chaâbi.

The young Larbi then decided to devote himself solely to singing. He will choose his stage name from two names of Egyptian stars that he likes: Imad Hamadi and Kamel Chenaoui, this is how Kamel Hamadi’s artistic career was born.

Around 1958, having had his first successes on the radio, Kamel Hamadi released his first songs at the age of 21, with Tepaz, among which: Yid-m Yid-m (just with you), which will meet a great success. On February 25, 1960, he married the singer Noura, for whom he composed a large part of his repertoire in Arabic and Kabyle. Noura had already made herself known with titles such as Ya ma goulili by Mahboub Bati, the first compositions that her husband signed being Ya welfi âlech del djfa and Ya ouled el houma (children of the neighborhood). They will also sing as a duo, in Kabyle, titles that have remained popular like ruḥ Rebbi ad isahel (go in peace!), Anwa i s-yennan (who would have said).

Back in Algeria, during the 1960s and 70s, he reconnected with the Algerian Kabyle radio channel II and accompanied several young Kabyle singers of the time, composing songs for them in different styles, including Aït Menguellet, Atmani , Slimani, Salah Saadaoui, Mouloud Habib and Aït Meslayene. What he will continue to do with other singers of a new generation like Karima. In Kabyle, he will collaborate with Hnifa, Abdelkader Chaou, Boudjemaâ El Ankis, Djamel Allam, among others. In Arabic, among the singers for whom Kamel Hamadi has written or composed, we can cite: Noura, Fadhéla Dziria, Khaled, Cheb Mami, El Houari, Djahida, Malika Medah, Zoulikha, Khadidja El Annabia, Dhekra Mohamed, Ismaïl Ahmed.

In July 2009, he was decorated in Paris with the Cross of the Legion of Honor, a medal given to him by the former French Minister of Culture Jacques Toubon, in recognition of his great contribution to culture as an author. or composer of 2,000 works. In 2010, the director Abderrazak Larbi-Chérif dedicated a documentary portrait to him (Kamel Hamadi Ger Yenzizen, 2010, 63 minutes).