RAI

noun (Music) (Youth Culture) A style of popular music, originally from North Africa, which fuses Arabic and Algerian ethnic or folk elements with Western styles. History and Usage: Like zouk, rai was popularized on the world music scene in Paris during the second half of the eighties. Look for Stevie Wonder to introduce America to the latest music rage sweeping northern Africa. Called rai...the sound is described as space-age Arabic folk music. People 24 Feb. 1986, p. 29