Category:
Rock

Try if you like:
Bullfrog, Maceo Parker, Medeski Martin & Wood

•   I Got It (what You Need?)

Galactic is a New Orleans based funk group that really hasn't gotten the credit they deserve. Now these guys have been on the majors, marketed on the celebrity label Sanctuary and now they have been offered a deal with the esteemed Anti label for their latest album, From The Corner To The Block. They've pulled some interesting hip hop names into the hat for this release too. 

The album starts out amazingly strong with "I Got It (What You Need)" with the awesome vocal dexterity of Lyrics Born. This is just screaming to be a commercial hit. Then Mr. Lif takes the mic on "...And I'm Out", a cool, funky track (BTW - They are all pretty damn funky!). Gift of Gab of Blackalicious takes his tongue twisting talents to "The Corner", flowing like waterfall. Some cat called Big Chief Monk Boudreaux lends some creative vocals to "Second and Dryades" actually providing one of the biggest highlights of the album.

Now not much has been said about the music here. If you are Jurassic 5 fan then you HAVE to check out From The Corner To The Block. The music is the cornerstone here and the rhymes only lend to make them that much better. 

Chali 2na keeps the listener bouncing with "Think Back", then DJ Z-Trip takes you on a classic funk ride with Galactic driving the bus. The Coup's Boots Riley comes out of nowhere with "Hustle Up".

There are a couple instrumentals reminding you that these guys are amazing musicians as well, not just backing musicians.

If these big names aren't enough to bring Galactic to the fore-front then nothing will. And leave your impressions of Galactic at the door. This is a funky hip hop album. Funk/Jazz fans may be turned off but my message to them, open up, let this funk ride slide. My only complaint with From The Corner is that it isn't quite as diverse as you might expect with this amount of talent.