Maalem Mahjoub
Maalem Mahjoub Khalmous is one of today's great Gnawa masters. Born in 1947 in Marrakech in the former black slave neighborhood, Master Mahjoub was brought up in the traditional world of the Gnawa linked to the royal palace.At a young age, Maalem felt captivated by the music of the Gnawa; his true school was Jammaa el fna and his teachers the musicians who made music there.At the age of 15 in the turmoil of the moussem of Tamesioht which saw all the companies from all over Morocco come together, he left his family and friends to follow Maalem Si Mohamed, a famous master from Casablanca, and continued his training in that town for three years. After briefly returning to Marrakech, he worked with most of the great maalem from the town and gradually earned his own reputation as a dancer and singer.Many priests from traditional forms of worship have turned to Maalem, attracted by his mastery of different strands of Gnawi music, including southern Moroccan, Atlantic coast and Tangiers music. An open-minded thinker, Maalem Mahjoub has been working for several years with Professor Betrand Hell, director of the anthropology laboratory at Besancon University. As regards his company, Maalem Mahjoub is surrounded by the best Gnawa performers there are.