Algeria's political instability in the `90s has put severe pressure on rai music. Cassette producers still crank out releases----mostly name singers backed by programmed keyboards and drum machines---causing some to complain of "too many titles by too few names." 1990's stars Cheb Nasro and Cheb Hasni sought to avoid conflicts with Islamic extremists by singing romantic, lovers rai, after the controversies of the late '80s. Born in the Gamvetta district of Oran to a welder's family, Hasni sang at weddings and then recorded with Zahouania. His break came in '87 when he covered the risqué "El Berraka" ("We Made Love in a Cemetery"). During the government's 1990-92 ban on concerts, Hasni recorded extensively, bringing his total to over 80 cassettes in six years, and selling up to 400,000 copies of each. Hasni's first international release Rai Love revealed strong pop instincts and a big voice, smoother than Khaled's, but also powerful. Hasni was fatally shot in front of his house in 1994 after receiving written death threats from Islamic extremists. Gunmen also targeted rai's top producer, Rachid Baba Ahmed, shot dead on the street in Oran in February, 1995, during the holy month of Ramadan. Though the true stories behind these killings remain elusive, they underscore rai's uncertain future in a country deeply divided about governance and morality, where pop singers and Islamic forces woo the same disaffected working class constituency.