Ya-Rayi

Ya-Rayi
Studio album by Khaled
Released	August 2004 (International) June 27, 2005 (USA)
Recorded	2004
Genre	Raï
Label	Universal Records and Wrasse Records
Producer	Don Was, Jacob Desvarieux, Philippe Eidel, K. C. Porter, and Dawn Elder
Khaled chronology
Kenza (2000) Ya-Rayi (2004) Best Of Khaled (2007)
US release cover

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Khaled's Ya-Rayi studio album was released in Europe in August 2004 by AZ Records, a label of Universal Music France, and later licensed in the UK, and then rereleased in the United States on June 27, 2005. The European release was dubbed a "back to the roots" album, while the United States release was dubbed a "peace through music" album.

Ya-Rayi means "my opinion" in Arabic. The album includes remakes of El Hadj Mohammed el Arika's "El-H'mam" and Rabah Deriasa and Blaoui Houari's "H'mama".

Track listing

1. "Mani Hani"
2. "Ya-Rayi"
3. "Zine Zina"
4. "El-H'mam"
5. "Lemen"
6. "Ya Galbi"
7. "H'mama"
8. "Ensa El Hem"
9. "Hagda"
10. "El Ghira"
11. "El-H'mam" (Imhotep Remix)

In the UK the Universal Music France album was licensed unchanged to Wrasse Records with the French album track listing and an extra DVD of music clips. The Wrasse Records release (Wrasse 127X) included the original French booklet with Arabic sung texts in French romanization and studio notes in French, but with a CD backing tray insert in English.

United States Release

Ya-Rayi United States album release came with several changes. The biggest change of all was the inclusion of the song "Love to the People". With a big name such as Carlos Santana playing lead guitar, and Khaled singing in English, the producers of this album hope that Khaled would make his mark in the United States. The album "Ya-Rayi" went on to sell 300,000 copies in the United States alone, according to the Billboard Top 200. Moreover, the order of the songs was changed. The opening track "Mani Hani" was moved to the end of the album. The song "Ya-Rayi" was rerecorded, rearranged and remixed by Dawn Elder. The song "Zine Zina" was pulled out of the album. The song "El-H'mam" was removed, leaving only the remixed version. The songs "H'Mama" and "Ensa El Hem" where shortened by removing their intros.

The United States album release was kicked off with a concert tour in the United States and Canada. The tour was entitled "Peace through Music, 'Love to the People'". Khaled toured along with Elan Atias, K. C. Porter, Walfredo Reyes, Jr., Luis Conte Jr., Cheb-i-sabbah.

The tour dates were:

• July 1: Washington DC, USA, Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University
• July 3 : New York, New York, USA, Summerstage - Central Park
• July 5: Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Montreal Jazz Festival
• July 8: Los Angeles, California, USA, Grand Performances
• July 10: San Francisco, California, USA, Stern Grove Festival
• July 13: New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, House of Blues
• July 14: Orlando, Florida, USA, House of Blues
• July 16: Detroit, Michigan, Concert of Colors
• July 17: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, Festival d'été de Québec

United States Track Listing

1. Ya-Rayi
2. Love to the People (English version), Featuring Elan Atias and Carlos Santana
3. Ya Galbi
4. H'Mama
5. Hagda
6. Yema Yema
7. Ensa El Hem
8. El Ghira
9. Lemen
10. Mani Hani
11. Love to the People (Arabic version), Featuring Elan Atias and Carlos Santana
12. El-H'mam (Imhotep Remix)

References

External links

• Ya-Rayi on Shawshara.com, Ya-Rayi's lyrics and English lyrics translation.