Biography
Born Hamadi Hadefi in Oran, Algeria, in 1959, Tati drew early influence from local vocalists including Khaled and assembled his debut ensemble in 1975 alongside brothers and acquaintances. The group performed at celebrations and gatherings throughout the Oran region, prompting regional producers to offer the emerging singer studio opportunities. In subsequent years he issued six cassettes whose strong local sales established him as a hometown figure. Dissatisfied with questionable practices prevalent in the Oran industry, he relocated to Paris in 1984 and resumed performing at weddings and parties. Five years later the French label Blue Moon issued El Hamman, his first international release, after he had built a following among the city’s expanding Algerian population. Dennis Bovell served as co-producer, and the album presented Tati’s intense wailing vocals against Arabic-inflected electro funk and Bovell’s reggae basslines. In 1990 he appeared at a major concert of Algerian artists at Paris’s Olympia Hall and undertook his first tours of the USA and Canada. Two years afterward Tati supplied a rai-rap contribution to a project overseen by Japanese dance-music pioneer OTO. Their partnership continued, resulting in the 1996 release Dans La Vie, which fused Tati’s Algerian rai approach with contemporary styles such as jungle, hip-hop and trip-hop. In December 1996 he was detained in connection with a murder at one of his concerts, yet authorities later released him without bringing charges.
Albums
