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M.I.A.
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If you read a lot about new music on the Web, odds are pretty good that, at some point between the September 2004 release of "Galang" and the March 2005 release of Arular, you were struck with the urge to turn your computer off or maybe even heave it out of a nearby window. If you don't read a lot about new music on the Web, the preceding sentence indicates how bewildering and draining the chatter about M.I.A. became. Arular, M.I.A.'s first album, leaked well before its official release, allowing journalists and downloaders plenty of time to dissect it and bat ideas back and forth -- taking in the sounds, words, and absolutely all of the context -- before average music fans were able to develop their own opinions.

Maya Arulpragasam spent the early years of her life in a number of places. She moved from London, England, to her parents' native Sri Lanka at the age of six months, only to relocate to Madras, India. During a return stay in Sri Lanka, the civil war taking place within the country escalated to the point where Arulpragasam began to lose family members and friends. She didn't see her father -- a devout and active separatist as part of the Tamil rebellion, which has clashed with the Sinhalese majority -- often throughout these years, but her life stabilized once she and the rest of her family were able to make it back to London.

As a student, Arulpragasam became involved in the arts and published a monogram book of her paintings -- titled M.I.A. and heavily influenced by the Tamil rebellion. She later connected with Elastica, providing the photography and graphics for the group's second album, and she shot footage during their American tour. Elastica's support act, Peaches, introduced her to the Roland MC-505, a sequencer she became familiar with after returning home. Steve Mackey (Pulp) and Ross Orton became involved after hearing a demo; they made adjustments to "Galang," a song that was then pressed into 500 copies and released, under the name M.I.A., by the Showbiz label. It didn't take long for the song -- a bold, righteous amalgamation of hip-hop, electro, dancehall, grime, and baile funk -- to make an impact with DJs. She wound up signing a contract with XL, which re-released the single and, eventually, debut album Arular in 2005. Anticipation for the release was considerable, only heightened by the Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape she put together with DJ Diplo. Her second album, Kala, was released in 2007 and was recorded while spending time in numerous countries. M.I.A. produced most of its tracks with Switch; Blaqstarr, Diplo, and Timbaland also contributed. One single from the album, "Paper Planes," became a surprise hit in summer 2008 after it was used in trailers for the film Pineapple Express; it eventually reached the Top Ten. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music GuideMore

Official Profile

MIA
“I can’t drive,” M.I.A. says flatly. “So I love cars.” She’s mat...
Songs: 27, Videos: 1, Playlists: 3, Blog Posts: 6, Polls: 1, Battles: 0

Most Popular Music Videos (5)

Paper Planes
(Duration: 3:24)
Jul 14th, 7:35pm
Boyz
(Duration: 3:28)
Jul 14th, 7:43pm
Bucky Done Gun
(Duration: 3:40)
Jul 28th, 7:35pm
Galang
(Duration: 3:32)
Jul 28th, 7:27am
Sunshowers
(Duration: 3:22)
Jul 28th, 7:25am
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Fan Comments

Nov 4th, 1:52am
Sep 23rd, 12:23pm
u r beautiful girl
Sep 20th, 12:31am
Aug 19th, 12:44am
ready to fight for any war,
Aug 13th, 8:32pm
I was refferenced toward this direction
Aug 10th, 7:53am
Nice profile!!!
Aug 5th, 12:30pm
Shawty is a killa! i wish some of them southern rappers will get on these tracks with her like t.i.
Jul 17th, 11:24pm Last edited Jul 17th, 11:35pm.
Happy Birthday!

Love Ya M.I.A! Enjoy!


MyHotComments
Jul 17th, 9:24pm
Love Da Music keep doin what u doing
Happy B-Day WORD!!!!!
Jul 17th, 5:22pm
h_a_p_p_y b.i.r.t.h.d.a.y. M*I*A!!!