Cheb Akil (in Arabic: الشاب عقيل), real name Akil Abdelkader (in Arabic: عقيل عبد القادر), born June 27, 1974 in Khemis Miliana in Algeria and died on June 14, 2013 in Tangier in Morocco following a road accident, is an Algerian raï singer and composer.

Akil was born in Khemis Miliana, a medium-sized town, halfway between Algiers and Oran, double heir to an Algerian Chaâbi heritage and a raï with a rural accent. As a child, he listened to his elders Khaled and Mami before becoming infatuated with the raï love of Cheb Hasni and spent most of his time pushing the song and arousing the admiration of those around him.

He was barely 13 years old when he was asked by a producer to record his first cassette. It is Abdelkader Cassidy, who was the pygmalion of all the raï artists of the 80s and 90s who will give him his chance by having him record an entire album of covers, just to conform to the Oranese custom which launches new talents with blows. already proven titles. It is through his warm and nuanced voice that Akil will make the difference. A well-made head and above all a head full of openness and inventiveness (he signs all the arrangements himself).

Cheb distinguished himself very quickly, in 1989, with a hard-hitting piece, entitled "Do not leave me Omri" and included in a compilation, which Cheb Bilal would later cover when he only performed his own songs. And it was in 1995 that he joined on the podium confirmed values of raï who remained in the country like Cheb Abdou or Chaba Kheira. Indeed, the title "Tahasdou oula T'ghirou" (envious or jealous) was a big North African success, making him known thanks to more than 100,000 albums sold.

He will demonstrate this with new compositions, including "Malade Mental", launched by local DJs and a TV show. Akil, who has performed all over Algeria, sometimes playing overtime (he sang for four months in Bejaia, the capital of little Kabylia), delighted the spectators at Sfina, a venue next to the Algerian corniche, and managed to get recorded by Oran producers who were used to only producing artists from the region.

Victim of a serious road accident, Cheb Akil succumbed to his injuries in hospital during the night of June 13 to 14, 2013 in Tangier, Morocco, where he was to give a concert that same evening at the Salle du Millennium.

https://www.discogs.com/fr/artist/3362423-Cheb-Akil