Algerian Folk Singer Souad Massi Blends Sounds in America
With Berber roots, Souad Massi picked up the guitar as a teenager, studied classical music in Algeria, and indulged in flamenco and Turkish music. Often compared to Tracy Chapman and Joni Mitchell, she is doing a series of concerts in the US to mark Algerian independence. Nafeesa Syeed talks the world music queen.
Dressed in a silvery, collared top and faded skinny jeans, her dark hair pulled back into a loose plait, Algerian singer Souad Massi smiles as she sets up her next number, "Samira Meskina" (Poor Samira).
"It's about a woman who's still dreaming," she told the crowd of hundreds at the Kennedy Center last week in Washington. "And I support her."
