Ya-Ka-May
by Galactic
  • Record Label: Anti
  • Release Date: Feb 9, 2010
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
  1. Entertainment Weekly
    83
    The funkateers have infused YA-KA-MAY with an abundance of varied flavors as they skillfully back a wide range of NOLA musicians, from legendary artists such as singer Irma Thomas and producer-composer Allen Toussaint, to young rappers Katey Red and Sissy Nobby....The result is an often very tasty musical, uh, stew.
  2. PopMatters
    80
    As the album title, a reference to an Afro-Orleanian soup-like culinary delicacy, suggests, this release is the most playful and carefree collection of tunes in Galactic’s impressive oeuvre.
  3. AllMusic
    80
    Ya-Ka-May is not merely a collaborative amalgam of tracks, but rather a unified whole reflecting NOLA’s musical vitality and reveling in it all simultaneously; it's the sound of a musical community being itself for itself, while screaming--in full party mode--into the world that it's alive and evolving.
  5. The New York Times
    80
    Galactic’s cyber-savvy New Orleans funk remembers the past but stays hardheaded about the future.
  6. Uncut
    80
    Galactic's Ya-Ka-May is a pungent musical fusion, adding hip-hop to mardi-gras funk, with help from a cast of local luminaries. [Apr 2010, p.86]
    All this publication's reviews
  7. Billboard.com
    79
    In New Orleans vernacular, Ya-Ka-May is a stew comprising various meats, green onions, noodles and a hard-boiled egg. This album may well be the musical counterpart of the dish for which it's named.
  8. Los Angeles Times
    75
    Named after a New Orleans street food, "Ya-Ka-May" mixes a whole variety of ingredients that shouldn't hold together but do. While no record could truly capture the sound of New Orleans in 2010, Galactic sure has a great time trying.
  9. Filter
    72
    For the most part, the popping bass and booming horns keep Ya-Ka-May simmering smoothly, refelcting NOLA's rich musical history while still manageing to sound unmistakably out of this world. [Winter 2010, p.98]
    All this publication's reviews
  10. Spin
    70
    Galactic struggle to accompany all these signifying voices, sometimes resorting to hard, strident rhythms that don't really augment the performances.
  11. NOW Magazine
    40
    Galactic’s Ya-Ka-May works as a concept album, but its execution ranges from grating to tolerable.

Awards & Rankings

99
#99 Most Shared Album of 2010

User Reviews

All reviews »

There are no user reviews yet.