Rachid Ksentini (in Arabic: رشيد قسنطيني) real name Rachid Belakhdar, Algerian singer and theater man, born November 11, 1887 in the Casbah of Algiers and died July 4, 1944 in Algiers.

He left school very early to work as an apprentice cabinetmaker with his father in Bab El Oued until 1914, originally from Constantine. On the eve of the First World War, after an apprenticeship as a cabinetmaker at the age of 27, in 1914 in Bab El Oued, he tried to broaden his field of knowledge. He then joined the merchant navy, curious by nature and a fine music lover, he listened attentively to all kinds of music. From opera to local folk and popular tunes. He learned to strum, as an amateur, on the strings of a guitar that he had bought without any pretension. The merchant navy will open his horizons, introducing him to many countries, their cultures but especially their music. The adventure will take him across all continents, from North America, to China, via India... for a dozen years. The boat he boarded was torpedoed by German naval forces. The survivors were fished out by the English navy which then transferred them to Marseille.

The last stop was Paris, where he worked as an employee at Galeries Lafayette. It was during this period that he honed his artistic gifts in small extra roles in the world of Parisian entertainment.

He returned to Algeria but for a brief stay. He returns to France. In 1925, he returned to the country and the same year met Allalou in a café, who asked him to join his theater troupe Zahia Troupe. Their collaboration resulted, among other things, in the presentation of the play Zouadj Bou 'Akline on October 26, 1926, which marked Rachid Ksentini's first appearance on the stage. A performance that captivated the audience. The collaboration of the two men continues with adaptations by Allalou of sequences from The Thousand and One Nights in which Rachid Ksentini obtains the leading roles.

In 1927, the latter created with Djelloul Bachedjerrah, the troupe El Hilal El Djezaïr (the Algerian crescent) which dissolved shortly after. His first play El Ahd el Ouafi (The Faithful Oath), a drama in four acts, was a failure. In 1928, disappointed by the lack of success of his first attempt, wrote and performed a burlesque comedy in three acts, Zouadj Bou Borma (The Marriage of Bou Borma). Since this play, highly appreciated by the public, the name of Ksentini has dominated theatrical representation in Algeria. After his death, Mahieddine Bachetarzi will adapt his texts. The author-actor-singer's repertoire, estimated at around fifty pieces and six hundred songs, is realistic. Virulent attacks against obscurantists, bourgeois and crooked cadis. The text is transformed on stage, depending on the situations of the moment and the extraordinary improvisation skills of the actor. His writing technique, close to Commedia dell'arte, favors the canvas.

Rachid Ksentini became the face of Algerian Arab theater, he also invested in satirical, humorous songs with a social background. He works under the aegis of the music company El Moutribia, directed by Mahieddine Bachetarzi. Many of his songs are composed of music drawn from national heritage.

At this time, he knew a young actress, Marie Soussan, who became his companion and partner on stage. They formed an artistic couple until 1934. The sketches they performed together were very successful. In 1937, he played in the film Sarati le terrible directed by André Hugon.

At the end of his life, Rachid Ksentini was married to Marguerite Sevigné, the couple divorced shortly before the artist's death on July 3, 1944 in Algiers, at the age of 56.

A few meters from the entrance gate of the El Kettar cemetery, in Algiers, where he is buried, on the stele which adorns his tomb, appears this epitaph: "Rachid Ksentini (1887 – 1944) Great artist, he entertained the crowds and thought thoughtful men. Poet, singer, author, comic actor, he was the father of Arab theater in Algeria. He discovered the ugliness of the world, but wisely, decided to laugh about it so as not to have to cry about it. Applauded on all stages, he nevertheless died almost unknown and poor. Posterity reserves a better destiny for his glory. »