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Kala
by
Kala Image
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 37 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
8.6

Universal acclaim- based on 325 Ratings

  • Summary: The UK rapper returns with her second album, which was recorded in several countries.

Top Track

Paper Planes
I fly like paper, get high like planes If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name If you come around here, I make 'em all day I get one... See the rest of the song lyrics
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Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 35 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 37
  3. Negative: 1 out of 37
  1. Los Angeles Times
    100
    The album hits hardest by embodying the process by which certain voices are bottled up and distorted within the global noise of what M.I.A. calls "Third World Democracy."
  2. Prefix Magazine
    90
    The result is Kala a stark confrontation of set notions of authenticity and identity--and my new favorite record.
  3. Drowned In Sound
    90
    With its mix of Tamil pop, Baltimore beats and, yes, funk carioca Kala succeeds best in pulling genres together to make something both unique and identifiable --a 'hip-hop' record that explores what it means to sing about "hip-hop things."
  4. The Wire
    80
    'Bomboo Banga' is pure power monotony, her deadpan one-note voice mixed with car engines, samples of Bombay pop, Booty Bass and tribal rhythms, is a perfect soundtrack to a stroll down London's Banglatown. [Sep 2007, p.57]
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  5. Under The Radar
    80
    Kala not only doesn't disappoint, it renews faith in M.I.A. and confirms her commitment to the individualistic sound she has created. [Summer 2007, p.74]
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  6. Blender
    80
    The impact of M.I.A.'s music isn't in what she says, but how it arrives: in tracks so irritating they're irresistible. Anything but naive, M.I.A. brings a connoisseur's ear to her beats.
  7. Vibe
    30
    The majority of Kala is limp and unfocused. [Sep 2007, p.133]
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See all 37 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 97 out of 118
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 118
  3. Negative: 13 out of 118
  1. LuizCC
    Oct 2, 2011
    10
    Epical! It's just the adjective I can use to explain the mixing of references and beats that one of the most reminding singer ever done. MayaEpical! It's just the adjective I can use to explain the mixing of references and beats that one of the most reminding singer ever done. Maya Aralprugasam a.k.a. M.I.A. returned after her acclaimed start "Arular" with more power (like she herself says in "Bamboo Banga", one the greatest songs of this album). When the urban culture got down with the African beat, it turned into a CD that contains pearls like "Paper Planes", "XR2", "Jimmy" e "World Town". The great difference for the first CD is that this one bring the power of the streets, and not just the powerbeat from Africa. This mixing is the special thing, the X-Factor, that makes this, one the shinny albums ever.… Expand
  2. SimonK.
    Oct 17, 2007
    10
    Quality from start to finish! As good as Arular , which is the biggest compliment i can bestow
  4. Kumuthanx
    Jun 11, 2008
    10
    MIA is excellent! talented. a genius. her music is like abstract art. only some of you will "get it".
  5. MikeyD
    Sep 3, 2007
    9
    This is smoking! "World Town", "Bamboo Banga", "20 Dollar" and "Paper Planes" are all FIRE!
  6. DizzY.
    Aug 27, 2007
    9
    Vibe listen carefully, open your mind. MIA is great.
  7. hydrawithears
    Oct 3, 2011
    8
    The second LP by Mathangi Arulpragasam, who is known in the music world as M.I.A., is crazy. Wonderfully crazy. Named after M.I.A.â
  8. JoeyK.
    Feb 14, 2008
    0
    The most OVER hyped, OVER rated album of the year. Combining obnoxious terribly off key vocals and contrived over thought out beats that are The most OVER hyped, OVER rated album of the year. Combining obnoxious terribly off key vocals and contrived over thought out beats that are all painfully sporadic. The worst album of the year by far.… Expand

See all 118 User Reviews

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Awards & Rankings

10
#10 Best Album of 2007
20
#20 Most Discussed Album of 2007
3
#3 Most Shared Album of 2007