The great Kabyle singer Karima was born in 1959, and is a performer and actress. Real name Karima Benghanem, "Assa Nazha" was born in Algiers. No one would have predicted that the child from El Aguiba (Belcourt) would have a future in song, especially Kabyle. Her father, originally from Aït Ourthilane (Sétif), raised her in Algiers. In 1973, she was barely fourteen. It was during a TV appearance on a show for amateurs that she first came to public attention. Her lively, marshmallowy duet with a young Samir revealed her voice. Thanks to Kamal Hamadi, she recorded her first album Katchini Diggeni (Toi, le ciel...) for 4000 dinars at "Noudjoum El Fen". From then on, she performed on the radio in various choirs, notably with Aït Meslaïene. In the mid-70s, with Ferhat, Aït Menguellet, Idir and Les Abranis, this love-singing midinette wasn't a big name. In 1979, she was taken in hand by Méziane Rachid, Mahboub Bati and Belhanafi, who wrote and composed for her. Karima herself admits that it was a failure, although after some setbacks linked to her personal life, in the mid-80s she was reunited with Méziane Rachid and the Kezim brothers, who wrote for her. From this period comes a superb duet by Méziane Rachid, which she performs with her only daughter. But by this time, both in Algeria and in émigré circles, her name was beginning to be known through the galas in which she took part with Aït Menguellet, Nora, Salah Sadaoui and yahiatène. Another springboard for her: Algerian cultural weeks abroad. With Djamel Chir in particular, she was a regular representative of Kabyle song. After a period of inactivity, she has come back with a vengeance, especially since 1987. She now works exclusively with Kamal Hamadi, who has composed some sixty songs for her, including the famous Assa Nazha, known as much in the Souika of Constantine as in the suburbs of Béchar. Although many people only remember the rhythm, Karima is also captivating for the quality of the lyrics crafted by Kamal Hamadi. She doesn't do too much of the easy folk revivals and sloganeering that have done so much harm to Kabyle song. In unpretentious, everyday Kabyle, she sings above all about the feelings of an Algerian woman. Her little joys with her growing baby, her repressed loves, her dreams. The miseries of life for ordinary people, the world of women with it's attractions and pitfalls. Karima is more than just a "star" who gets the youngsters moving. In fact, she admits she doesn't really like rhythmic songs. Assa Nazha is just a gift to her public. She's much more at home with more pathetic lyrics, such as Yavdga ammi ytsimghour (my son is starting to grow up). Her film career began with the role of a princess in the Algerian-Uzbek film Sogdiane (1992), but who hasn't been lulled to sleep by Karima's sublime songs, which have become a source of inspiration for many artists.