Rachid B: "The feeling of not belonging anywhere will haunt me for the rest of my life."

PalmWith the album The Ghorba Musician Rachid B has become one of the names that has revolutionized the Spanish music scene. Included in various media outlets' lists of the best albums of 2025, the album reflects on the feelings of longing and loss that accompany any migration process, as explained by this singer, who has spent half his life in Morocco and half in Madrid. He will present it on March 28th in a concert at the Estudi General Lul·lià in Palma, where Miquel Serra from Manacor will also perform.

Where does your relationship with music come from?

— It's always been there, in the past. My mother played percussion and would get together with her friends at home for a big party, always with music. My father also loved music, and traditional Moroccan and Egyptian songs were always playing in our house. I grew up in Asilah, where every year there was an art festival that filled the town with concerts and painting, so I've always been surrounded by it.

But when you move to Madrid, you step away from all of that. And that's where the desire to write songs comes from, right?

— The circumstances I've experienced as an immigrant have deeply affected me and led me to reflect on my journey. Leaving my country and finding myself far from my family and friends compelled me to write about this.

How did he get to Madrid?

— As I was saying, we have an art festival in Asilah, and that's what got me into painting. I came to Spain on an artist visa to hold an exhibition, and I didn't intend to stay. But I met my wife, and that was one of the reasons I decided to settle here. Since then, I've done all sorts of things: I've worked in construction, in the hospitality industry, I've exhibited in bars, I've played at birthday parties… Finally, I studied social mediation. Now I work with refugees, which allows me to see everything from a different perspective.

And also share your experience with them, right?

— Yes, if they ask me, yes. It's true that there are people in very difficult situations, and sometimes I've seen myself reflected in them. What I'm sure of is that no matter how much you think you're in, that everything's settled, the situation never completely resolves itself. You have to fight hard; everything comes at a very high price.

The album is very evocative and poetic, but at times it's also very sad. Does that have to do with this constant struggle?

— I went from a small town to a very big city and had to learn all the rules to get by. Yes, you can achieve a better life, there are opportunities to find work and make ends meet, but the emotional toll is priceless. You lose your roots, you leave behind your family, your friends, all the things that were yours, and when you need them, they're not there. Like when you're sick for the first time and you don't have your mother there to comfort you; it's incredibly difficult. All of this comes at a cost that's very hard to explain to someone who hasn't experienced it.

The title of the album, The GhorbaIt also refers to that feeling.

— It has several meanings, and they're difficult to explain. You could say it's like a kind of homesickness, a feeling of being disconnected from your people and your country. It also speaks to that feeling of living between two worlds, which all immigrants experience, because it seems like you're neither from here nor there. The feeling of not belonging anywhere has haunted me all these years, and I suppose it will haunt me for the rest of my life.

The Spanish state that existed in 2000 is nothing like the one we have today. How do you assess the current situation, especially regarding immigrants?

— Everything is much more complicated now than before. I arrived in Spain during the economic bubble, a time of growth, even wealth. Back then, immigration was viewed differently. It's not just in Spain, which has changed; it's happening all over the continent. I think the situation has deteriorated, even though there are very harsh policies that try to link all the crises in Europe to immigration. Perhaps some of the problems are related, I don't doubt it, but immigration has also contributed a great deal and continues to do so.

All in all, it's a good sign that an album like his has received critical acclaim and public enthusiasm.

— I've been really lucky, honestly, and I don't quite know how it happened. Expectations were minimal; it's an album made by a couple of friends who thought we'd be successful if it ever made it beyond our neighborhood. We sold out the first edition and we're already preparing the second; I'm really happy. And also quite surprised and amazed.