United Kingdom -
ஐக்கிய இராச்சியம் - an estimated 100,000 Tamils live in Great Britain
-
CONTENTS OF
THIS SECTION
MIA in Time 100 for year 2009 "It's funny to
think of M.I.A. as influential, because I don't think she
ever set out to be influential. The great thing about her is
that she doesn't have some global plan. She just has things
she cares about and is interested in, from all over the
world. She hears huge beats from Angola. She finds a DJ
doing amazing stuff in Baltimore. She hears about Aboriginal
kids rapping in Australia and thinks nothing of getting on a
plane to convince them to do a verse on her song. She reacts
to whatever's in front of her: "Those are booming Indian
drums," "That is a dope producer," "Those kids are making
sick beats." And she has great taste. Anyone can hear
all this stuff, but to be able to curate it, you have to
have taste, and Maya Arulpragasam, 33, has it."
more
"Oscar and Grammy
award nominee, Eezham born music
phenom, Maya Arulpragasam, in
the PBS interview on Tavis
Smiley show Thursday told the
U.S. listeners and fans
worldwide that "there's been a
systematic genocide which has
quiet thing because no one knows
where Sri Lanka is. And now it's
just escalated to the point
there's 350,000 people who are
stuck in a battle zone and can't
get out, and aid's banned and
humanitarian organizations are
banned, journalists are banned
from telling the story. "
Fighting Talk - She's a revolutionary's
daughter and her music oozes attitude. Dorian Lynskey meets
MIA, 22 April 2005 "That imagery
also peppers her lyrics, most controversially on Sunshowers,
with a line that sticks out like a hand grenade in a fruit
bowl: "Like PLO, I don't surrender." At first she claims
it's just an easy analogy, but I suggest that's a cop-out
for someone so savvy. "Come on, that's not fair that I
can't mention Palestine," she protests. "What we've done is
said all the acts of terrorism or rebellion are connected
and there's one big conspiracy of terrorism. That's
dangerous. So I have to be brave about that. There's issues
about the PLO that people don't know and if a line like that
puts that idea in people's heads that's a good thing. It's
really important to find out what everybody thinks about the
PLO, not what I think." She's right about sparking debate:
the MIA thread on internet messageboard I Love Music evolved
into an invigoratingly complex dicussion of Sri Lankan
politics. What she doesn't want to discuss, but the Tamil
Nation website reveals, is her family connection with
the PLO. Arular is named after her father, Arul Pragasam, a
member of the Tamil revolutionary group Eros who trained
with the PLO in Lebanon in the 1970s."...
Dance
Hall Insurgency, Tiger Style "The British-Sri
Lankan singer/toaster/artist/producer M.I.A. has been
anything but missing in action lately, blowin' up the
(cyber)spot on a worldwide(web) scale for the last few
months and garnering mention in the US, Britain and Canada
(though she is nowhere to be found in the press outside of
Europe or North America as yet). M.I.A.�s anti-establishment
quasi-activist sonic radicalism combines an old school UK
punk aesthetic with genres ranging from the established
(dancehall, hip hop, drum & bass) to the emergent
(electroclash, mash-up, Brazilian baile funk)."
more
Not-So Missing In Action
- Nirali Magazine 2004 �Nobody wants to be dancing to
political songs � Every bit of music out there that�s making
it into the mainstream is really about nothing. I wanted to
see if I could write songs about something important and
make it sound like nothing. And it kind of worked."
Tigress Beat - The new world music of M.I.A. - Matthew
McKinnon 3 March 2005 "She is
charmingly elliptical about her politics � her website
contains smiling photos of gun-toting Tamils, but no
explicit endorsement of their rebellion � a mystery that
makes her seem dangerous in these edgy times. What�s known
for fact, though, is that Arular is a bold opening step, a
12-song statement that.. announces the arrival of a new and
boundless sound to the global music fabric... She makes
music like nobody who came before her; a clutter of copycats
should trail her path..."
Pitchforkmedia Interview: M.I.A.
- Pitchforkmedia 2005 "...Everything seemed really gray. It
took time to find pockets of things that were interesting. I
didn't know where to start. When I arrived, I didn't want to
accept the things offered to me. So when people put you in a
council flat and go, "This is what you are, now behave
yourself," I just didn't want to accept it. At school, they
sent me off with the special-needs people-- that's how I
learned English. For the first couple of years, I didn't
feel integrated into anything, cause I was always that weird
kid who gets put into a van and goes somewhere else for four
hours a day. You're sat in this room with other foreign kids
and kids who are a bit slow, and you have to watch TV
programs and learn English and play games and stuff like
that.In Sri Lanka, I thought I was really smart! And then
you get to England and you're like: "Shit, I'm so bad, it's
unbelievable." Everyone in Sir Lanka thought it was amazing
that we were getting out and that suddenly we were going to
turn into these amazing foreigners. But when we got there it
was like, "Listen, you're just shit on my shoe, don't even
get it twisted.""
Guerrilla Goddess- Rolling Stone 2005
"Just as interesting
as the music are M.I.A.'s back story -- her family fled Sri
Lanka as refugees when she was ten -- and her politics. In
interviews she denounces violence, in part because her work
is infused with violent revolutionary imagery, much of it
inspired by the civil war in her native country. Her CD
booklet and Web site are decorated with her own artwork --
graffiti-stencil images of tanks, guns and Molotov
cocktails. Oh, and tigers -- the mascot of the Tamil Tigers,
a guerrilla movement in Sri Lanka that has been fighting the
government for nearly thirty years and that the U.S. labels
a terrorist organization. She may be the world's only
stylish twenty-eight-year-old who wears Day-Glo camo pants
as more than a fashion statement, and she is certainly the
hottest thing to happen to revolutionary chic since Patty
Hearst slipped on a beret."
The Next Best Thing! M.I.A.: Poverty! Violence! Jude Law!
- Jonah Weiner, Blender, Jan/Feb 2005 "She�s no
gangsta, but Maya Arulpragasam could teach American MCs a
thing or two about the hard-knock life. �I know what it�s
like to live in a little village under attack by machines
that are dropping bombs at 29 shells per second,� says the
Sri Lankan rapper who calls herself M.I.A. Between sips of
juice at a sun-soaked Manhattan street caf�, she
adds, �I know what it feels like to be shot at, when all you
have is a loaf of bread to survive on.�"
Mathangi Maya Arulpragasam
M.I.A. (Missing in Acton )
"People don't realize that I had to
come from a village in Sri Lanka to get here. So the journey
is about the journey itself, not just about doing music... Nobody
wants to be dancing to political songs. Every bit of music
out there that�s making it into the mainstream is really
about nothing. I wanted to see if I could write songs about
something important and make it sound like nothing. And it
kind of worked...I haven't heard honesty in music for so
long and this is how I feel, and this is what I think. You
don't even have to say words.. I was just being as raw as
possible. I wanted to make music that you felt in your
gut.... You can't separate the world into two parts like
that, good and evil.
Terrorism is a method. But America has successfully tied
all these pockets of
independence struggles,
revolutions and extremists into one big notion of
terrorism. You can't grab someone by the neck and
choke them and then complain they're kicking you. If
you're
going around oppressing people, they
will fight back..."
"My problem is that politics is the first
thing that defines who I am. It's like, "You're just The
Other, you're this thing. You have evil thoughts about the
world." When I watch President Bush on the telly going, we
need to fight the axis of evil and kill these terrorists by
all means necessary, I just go, "Shit, poor Dad." In the 70s
all Dad wanted to do was be a revolutionary like Bob Dylan.
He had idealistic views about changing the world for the
better and fighting for people who don't have a voice - the
same thing that Bob Dylan wanted to do. Now, he's like this
straight-up, evil terrorist; a gunned masked man with a
semi-automatic ready to take down and behead people. "
[see also
On Terrorism & Liberation - Nadesan Satyendra,
23 September 2006 "...Do we not deliberately
obfuscate when we conflate the two words 'terrorism'
and 'violence'? ... The war against Hitler was
violent but it was not terrorism...What are the
circumstances in which a people ruled by an alien
people may lawfully
resort to arms to resist that alien rule and secure
freedom? Or is it that there are no circumstances in
which a people ruled by an alien people may
lawfully resort to arms to to liberate
themselves? And if all resort to violence to secure
political ends is not terrorism, then
what is terrorism? ..to categorise a combatant
in an armed conflict as a 'terrorist' organisation
and seek to punish it on that basis, is to.. assert
in effect that a people ruled by an alien
people may not, as a last resort, lawfully
resort to arms to resist that alien rule and secure
freedom... "]
Mathangi
"Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil
activist-turned-revolutionary-guerrilla, Arul Pragasam, was
born in Hounslow, London. When she was six months old, her
family moved back to their native Sri Lanka. Motivated by
his wish to support the
Tamil efforts to win independence
from the majority Sinhalese population, her father became
politically known as Arular and was a founding member of The
Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), a
militant Tamil group. Her alias, "M.I.A." stands for
"Missing in Acton". She says her alias references both her
London neighborhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous
youth.
While residing in Sri Lanka, Maya lived with her family on
her grandparents' remote farm, a collection of huts without
electricity or running water. After a year, as her father's
involvement in militant activities increased, Maya, her
older sister Kali, and their mother moved to
Jaffna in the far north of the country, where Maya's
younger brother Sugu was born.
Contact with her father was strictly limited, as he was
in hiding from the Sri Lankan Army (which is reported to
engage in the torture of Tamil males). He occasionally
visited in secret, slipping through the window at night and
being introduced to the children as "an uncle" so that his
identity and whereabouts would not be given away to the army
when they regularly came to question the family.
Eventually, as the civil war escalated, it became unsafe for
the family to stay in Sri Lanka, so they were forced to
relocate to Madras, India. They moved into an almost
derelict house three and a half miles from the nearest road
or neighbour. They survived there for a while, with sporadic
visits from Arular, and the girls attended the local school,
excelling as students. However, visits from friends and
family grew less frequent and money grew very tight. The
children became ill; Kali caught typhoid fever and the
family struggled to survive on a limited amount of food and
water. A visiting uncle took concern and moved them back to
Sri Lanka, where they settled in Jaffna again.
By now, the violence of the civil war was at its peak, and
the family once again tried to flee the country. The army
regularly shot Tamils seeking to move across border
areas and
bombed roads and escape routes. After several failed
attempts to leave, Maya�s mother successfully made it out
with the three children, arriving first in India before
finally returning to Maya's birthplace in London, where they
were housed as
refugees.
It was in the late 80s, on a council estate in Mitcham,
Surrey, that an eleven-year-old Arulpragasam began to learn
the English language. Here she was exposed to Western radio
for the first time, hearing broadcasts emanating from her
neighbours' flats. Her affinity for hip-hop and rap began
from there. The uncompromising attitudes of
Public
Enemy,
Big Daddy Kane,
Roxanne Shante and
N.W.A. clicked with a frustrated, energetic war-child
trying to relate to grey and foreign surroundings. "Those
records were rhythmic, so whether you understood the
language or not, you could understand the music," she now
says.
Maya was a talented and creative student, eventually
winning a place at
London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design,
where she studied fine art, film and video. Here, for the
first time, she began to piece together some of the
different strands of her life experience. In an early
incarnation of what was later to become M.I.A., she learned
how to play off her different cultural personae against each
other; layering rap iconography with the warfare pictures
from her youth, Asian Britain with American new-wave film
making style and St. Martin's fashion sense with refugee
outlooks.
A successful art career beckoned and, for a while, seemed to
be Maya's destined path. Her first-ever public exhibition of
paintings in 2001 at the Euphoria Shop in Portobello,
London, featured candy coloured spray-paint and stencil
pictures of the Tamil rebellion movement. Graffitied tigers
and palm trees mixed with , green and pink camouflage,
bombs, guns and freedom fighters on chip board off-cuts and
canvases. The show was
nominated for the Alternative Turner Prize, every
painting sold (Jude
Law is a patron of her art) and
a monograph book of the collection was published by Pocko
(which was simply entitled M.I.A.).
The Publication's back cover reads: "From a long-forgotten
region of endemic conflict comes a project to challenge your
ethical core. The art of warfare is sprawled across these
pages transforming bloodshed into beauty and raising the
phoenix of forbidden expression - The real war is in us."
A commission from Elastica's
Justine Frischmann to provide the artwork and cover
image for the band's second album,
The Menace, led to Arulpragasam following the band on
tour around forty American states, video-documenting the
event, and eventually directing the music video for
Elastica's single, "Mad Dog".
The support act on the tour, electro-clash artist
Peaches, introduced Arulpragasam to the
Roland MC-505 sequencing machine and gave her the
courage to take on the one artform she felt least confident
in: music.
Back home in London, Arulpragasam and Frischmann got hold
of their own 505 and, working with the simplest of set-ups
(a second-hand 4-track, the 505 and a radio microphone),
Arulpragasam worked-up a series of six songs onto a demo
tape which became her calling card to the industry.
This
tape included the first track she had ever composed, "M.I.A.",
the second track she had ever composed, "Galang",
and "
Lady Killer". The tape found its way into the hands of
Steve Mackey and Ross Orton who then re-worked the track
"Galang" into the diverse meld of influences that would
eventually propel M.I.A. into the limelight.
An innovative recipe of dancehall, electro, grime and world
music, Showbiz Records only pressed 500 copies of the
independent vinyl single "Galang",
but that was enough for her to win the widespread and
immediate support of DJ's and the media.
Numerous major record labels caught onto the underground
success of "Galang" and M.I.A. eventually signed to XL
Recordings home to Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx and the
White Stripes, embracing them as they were the only label to
offer her complete creative control. She also chose them
because it was the closest to her house, telling the label,
"Trust me, you've been looking for me", before dropping off
the "Galang" tape. They called her back 20 minutes later.
"Galang" was
rereleased. The accompanying music video for "Galang",
featuring multiple M.I.A.�s amid a backdrop of her graffiti
artwork animated and brought to life, was directed by Ruben
Fleischer and art directed by M.I.A. herself. Scenes of
urban Britain and the war in Sri Lanka are depicted and
delivered with a wry sense of humour.
For her next single release, "Sunshowers",
Arulpragasam again hooked up with Ross Orton and Steve
Mackey who had furnished her so successfully with the beats
on "Galang". Together they pushed boundaries even further
with minimalist production and a reworked chorus from Dr.
Buzzards Original Savannah Band�s track of the same name to
create a template for her to fire out her young-girl
bravado, this time about guerrilla warfare and the Sri
Lankan war.
A lush video was made for the track, which she filmed in
the jungles of South India with acclaimed director Rajesh
Touchriver. To this day, MTV refuses to play the video until
the references to the Palestine Liberation Organization are
removed from the song. Maya refuses to comply with their
requests (although she has recently appeared on an MTV Live
spot online where this reference is uncensored).
On the heels of months of anticipation, Arulpragasam�s debut
album Arular was
finally released in March 2005 in North America, and was
simultaneously released around the world to widespread
critical acclaim. M.I.A. followed the release of the album
with strongly received performances at the Coachella Valley
Music and Arts Festival on May 1, 2005, at the Manhattan
club S.O.B.s, as well as at New York City's Central Park
Summerstage, the Glastonbury Festival and Japan's Summer
Sonic Fest.
On July 19, 2005, M.I.A was nominated for the prestigious
Mercury Music Prize for Arular. In December, 2005,
Arular
was named number 1 album of the year by Stylus Magazine' and
influential music website I Love Music. Amazon.com named it
their number 2 album of the year. Spin Magazine and URB
named M.I.A. their artist of the year for 2005. Blender
Magazine named Arular the album of the year for 2005.
Rolling Stone named Arular one of the top albums of 2005.
TIME Magazine also listed Arular as one of the top 10 best
albums released in 2005 as part of their "Best of 2005"
section. Influential indie music site Pitchfork Media (www.pitchforkmedia.com
) named Arular the #4 best album of 2005.
The nature of M.I.A.'s art work and lyrics has led to
increased curiosity into her career and levels of censorship
of her work. M.I.A.'s official website has been visited by a
curious US Government numerous times, MTV still refuses to
play the video of her single "Sunshowers"
until references to the PLO are removed from the song, and
recently the artist was denied a visa to enter America,
despite having previously lived and worked in the country.
The reasons for the denial of a visa remain unclear.
M.I.A. has however previously stated in an interview about
censorship of her work: "From Day One, this has been a mad,
crazy thing: I say the things I'm not supposed to say, I
look wrong, my music doesn't sound comfortable for any radio
stations or genres, people are having issues with my videos
when they're not rude or explicit or crazy controversial. I
find it all really funny."
M.I.A. ended 2005 embarking on her first North American
concert tour, joining Gwen Stefani on her Harajuku Lovers
Tour. The arrival of 2006 saw her performing her final arena
dates of the tour in Japan, and returning to the studio to
work on her upcoming album. At the end of May 2006,
Arulpragasam hosted the long running Australian alternative
music show Rage as a guest programmer. The show was very
well received.
So far, Maya has recorded in Tamil Nadu and Trinidad and
Tobago for her next album, and a few tracks were originally
going to be produced by the legendary Timbaland, who has
produced songs for the likes of Jay-Z, Missy Elliott and
Xzibit. However, according to a recent message board posting
by Diplo, M.I.A. will be producing her new album all by
herself, and has funded the music video for the lead single,
"Bird Flu", herself.
Images from behind the scenes on the production of this new
music video have been released on M.I.A.'s myspace account.
M.I.A. is also working with Oscar-winners Three 6 Mafia on
two songs for her next album. Two new tracks, "XR2"
and "Talk About Moi"
(tentative title) have premiered on M.I.A.'s myspace and fan
forum site, respectively.
"Freedom fighting Dad bombed this pad / Called him a
terror put him on wanted ads / Daddy M.I.A. missing in
action / Going to start a revolution" -- M.I.A. "FREEDOM
SKIT"
More
than three years into his amorphous War on Terror, President
G-Dub is now apparently prepping a drive-by on tyranny,
telling the world's stepped-on in his inaugural harangue,
"The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse
your oppressors." Nice thought and all, if we didn't
know how many people tend to die during Bush's
freedom-izing.
Not to mention that, when dealing with the oppressed, the
difference between terrorist and freedom fighter is often
subjective. Just ask Maya Arulpragasam, a London-based MC
bearing the nom de guerre M.I.A. and a
new album, Arular (XL/Beggars Banquet), on which she
ably navigates a claustrophobic global sound clash while
dropping political science.
She grew up in
civil-war torn Sri Lanka -- a 22-year conflict that's
killed 65,000, currently under an uneasy ceasefire -- as the
daughter of one of the founders of the Tamil Tigers, a
guerrilla organization that has been classified as
terrorists by the US government and accused of recruiting
child soldiers by UNICEF.
"That's why I wrote the song 'Sunshowers,'"
Maya says over the phone from Berlin before a gig. "You
can't separate the world into two parts like that, good and
evil. Terrorism is a method. But America has successfully
tied all these pockets of independent struggles, revolutions
and extremists into one big notion of terrorism."
The "Sunshowers" single -- her second after career-definer "Galang"
and riding the same jolting mash of electro, grime, ragga,
rap and South Asian influences -- contains more inflammatory
politics than one might expect on a dance track that's
available as a ringtone and has soundtracked fashion shows.
Most brazenly, she shout-outs the Palestinians ("Like
P.L.O., we don't surrend-o") but also sprinkles guerrilla
imagery like she salts and peppers her mango, chatting about
snipers, bomb blasts and street-side murders. The
India-filmed video replaces hip-hop's familiar
housing-project backdrop with a lush, tiger-filled jungle
through which M.I.A. stalks, and even the sweetly sung
chorus, interpolated from a similarly-named '70s single,
takes a threatening turn in Maya's hands: "And some showers
I'll be aiming at you / 'Cause I'm watching you, my baby."
Not surprisingly, MTV has requested she clarify the song
with a statement before they'll screen the video.
"My answer to that is that when you watch TV and flick onto
the news channel, that's what's shown and they don't have to
censor that," Maya says. "I wrote this song as a
chicken-and-egg story: who's attacking who, who is good, who
is evil. You can't grab someone by the neck and choke them
and then complain they're kicking you. If you're going
around oppressing people, they will fight back."
To put M.I.A.'s perspective into perspective, she was born
in England but brought back to Sri Lanka as a baby when her
father returned to help lead the independence movement,
spending her childhood hiding amid the chaos of the
"full-on" conflict.
"I'd seen people die by the time I left," she says.
"That's as bad as it could get, when you see people from
your village
disappearing and not coming back. One minute they're
doctors and really respected and the next they're in
wheelchairs because they've been
'accidentally' shot. My school was burned down. My
family's house was burned down. When we tried to leave
Sri Lanka with my mom, the buses we were on would get
stopped in the middle of nowhere and people would be
taken off and killed. It teaches you how bad human
beings can be."
That lesson was further elucidated after her family
escaped to England as refugees and landed in a racist
housing estate. The 11-year-old soon discovered dancehall
and hip-hop, slowly learning the English words, inflections
and cadences that would form her flow.
But Maya only started making music in 2002, taking a
serendipitous path that began when she was an art student,
known for combining Tamil Tiger imagery with graffiti. This
led to designing the album cover for Elastica's 2000 album
The Menace, followed by a gig videotaping their subsequent
tour. The opening act was Toronto's electro-expat Peaches,
who kindly taught Maya how to build beats on a primitive
groovebox.
"We did a night in Toronto and I got to meet all of
[Peaches'] friends and they seemed so open-minded and
creative," she says. "I was having issues on the tour making
that film. I was constantly talking out what was happening
in Sri Lanka because I had just heard news that my cousin
had died [in a suicide bombing] and everybody I met through
Peaches said if you really feel that strongly you should do
something about it."
So Maya bought a Roland 505, and, like her seamstress
mother, began stitching together her patchwork of First and
Third World influences.
Though "Galang" skyrocketed M.I.A. to cult fame --
saturating MP3 blogs, winning DJ hearts and scoring a
pre-emptive Fader magazine cover last summer -- it also
demonstrates a remarkable restraint. As startling as the
decomposing handclaps, sub-lo-fi bass and nursery rhyme
toasting may be, it's not until the final breakdown that the
song earns its rep. After demanding that we "speak the slang
now" she suddenly gives up on language altogether, with
multi-tracked M.I.A.s chanting fiercely resonant "ya ya
heys" that transform the song into a tribal exultation.
"They were like my batman signal," Maya says. "I haven't
heard honesty in music for so long and this is how I feel,
and this is what I think. You don't even have to say words,"
she explains. "I was just being as raw as possible. I wanted
to make music that you felt in your gut."
Following
up her fantastic hard-to-find mix disc,
Piracy Funds Terrorism with Philly DJ Diplo, and titled
after her father's rebel name,
Arular is a fully formed manifesto, equal parts
jaw-dropping intensity and hip-quaking catchiness,
clattering sonics and scattered polemics. With production
assists from Steve Mackey (Pulp), Ross Orton (Fat Truckers)
and Richard X, she brings in more battleground back story on
"Fire Fire,"
augments a home-invasion intro with Olympic horns on "Bucky
Done Gun," is
kidnapped on "Amazon"
and reps oppressed folk from Kingston to Rio on "Pull
Up the People."
While her dirty beats, inimitable sing-rap style (combining
girlish glee with intimidating patter) and stunning looks
should be enough to make M.I.A. a pop star, her aspirations
go further. But can politically fuelled dance music even
hope to make any discernable difference in this terror-era?
"I don't know," Maya says mischievously. "Let's find out."
"As if hip-hop didn�t already have enough on its
shoulders, now immigration officials are treating MCs like
terrorists. The June 15th issue of Rolling Stone reports
that British/Sri Lankan rapper MIA was denied permission to
enter the US, where she was scheduled to start work on her
new album. Always one to poke fun at the situation, the MC
wrote on her Myspace page: �Roger, roger do you hear me?
Over!!!! The US immigration won�t let me in� Now I�m
strictly making my album outside the borders!!!� MIA�s
agents, William Morris, later denied the claim, saying that
immigration simply hadn�t gotten back to them (a nice way of
saying her application has been �held up�). The controversy
over all this is a bit confusing since MIA already toured
and worked in the US as recently as last year.
But under all the damage control coming from her agents,
there�s the possibility of something a bit more calculated
-- and all too common in the climate of the war on terror
and an anti-immigrant backlash MIA (born Mathangi �Maya�
Arulpragasam) is part of a growing number of politically
charged artists.
Her lyrics, delivered with a streetwise intelligence,
take on everything from consumerism and poverty to
exploitation and war. She�s unabashedly outspoken, and a
supporter of liberation movements around the world. Her
audience has quickly grown within the past year, and her
debut was named one of the best album of 2005 by Blender,
Spin, Rolling Stone and a handful of others. As usual,
militant stances and a wide audience are a dangerous recipe
for some. "
more
"..M.I.A.'s debut record is both intensely urban and
aggressively modern. The group's sole member, Maya Arul,
infuses her blend of hip-hop and chunky electro with raw,
tribal overtones and a healthy dose of sex appeal. There are
elements of world music here, in Arul's multilingual vocal
as well as the tonal shifts and instrumentation (like the
drone that opens up "Hombre")...
Review at Amazon.com
dum
shella
Refugee education number one
here we go
Banana
ba-na-na
say it again now
ba-na-na
say it again now
ba-na-na
na-na
ba-na-na
say it again now
ba-na-na
say it again now
ba-na-na
say it again now
get yourself an education
Pull
up the people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
poor, pull up the poor
Slang tang That's the M.I.A. thang I've got
the bombs to make you blow
I got the beats to make it bang [X2]
Yeah,me
got God and me got you
Every day thinking bout how me get through
Everything i own is on I.O.U.
But i'm here to bringing you Someting new
You no like the people,they no like you
Then they go and set it off With a big Boom
Every gun in a battle is a
Son and daughter too
So why you wanna talk about
Who done who? Why you wanna talk about
Slang
tang
That's the M.I.A. tang I've got the bombs to make
you blow
I got the beats to make it bang [X2]
Pull up
the people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
people, pull up the poor
Pull up the people, pull up the poor Pull up the
poor, pull up the poor
I'm a fighter, fighter God I'm a soldier on that
road
I'm a fighter, a nice nice fighter I'm a soldier on
that road
You can bring me the reaper Bring me the lawyer
I'm a fighter, i'll take em on
You treat me like a killer I ain't hate ya.
I'm a fighter, fighter God
I'm a soldier on that road I'm a fighter, a nice
nice fighter
I'm a soldier on that road
Slang tang That's
the M.I.A. thang
I've got the bombs to make you blow I got the beats
to make it bang bang bang
Slang tang That's the M.I.A. thang I've got
the bombs to make you blow
I got the beats to make it
Slang tang That's
the M.I.A. thang
I've got the bombs to make you blow I got the beats
to make it bang bang bang
Slang tang That's the M.I.A. thang I've got
the bombs to make you blow
I got the beats to make it bang
London
Quiet down I need to make a sound
New York
Quiet down I need to make a sound
Kingston
Quiet down I need to make a sound
Brazil
Quiet down I need to make sound
They're coming through the window
They're coming through the door
They're busting down the big wall
and Sounding the horn x2
What you Want
Bucky Done Gun
What you want
The Fire Done Burn
What you want
Bucky Done Gun
Get Crackin' Get Get Crackin' x2
Time to spit new shit
I'm rocking on this new bit
I'm hot now you'll see
I'll fight you just to get peace
Heavy Weight Wrestler
Fight me in your comforter
Let you be superior
I'm flithy with the fury ya
London
Quiet down I need to make a sound
New York
Quiet down I need to make a sound
Kingston
Quiet down I need to make a sound
Brazil
Quiet I need to make sound
I'll hard drive your bit
I'm battered by your sumo grip
Lucky I like feeling shit
My Stamina can take it
Gymnastics Super Fit
Muscle in the gun clip
Bite, Teeth Nose Bleed
Tied up in a scarf piece
What you Want
Bucky Done Gun
What you want
The Fire Done Burn
What you want
Bucky Done Gun
Get Crackin' Get Get Crackin' x2
Can I get control
Do you like me vulnerable
I'm armed and I'm equal
More fun for the people
Physical, Brute force
Steel, lion you're the boss
Yeah, you're so do-able
Grind me down sugar slow
What you Want
Bucky Done Gun
What you want
The Fire Done Burn
What you want
Bucky Done Gun
Get Crackin' Get Get Crackin' x2
bongo
with my lingo
And beat it like a wing yo
To Congo
To Colombo
Can't stereotype my thing yo
I salt and pepper my mango
Shoot spit
Out the window
Bingo I got em in the thing yo
Now what? I'm doing my thing yo
Quit bending all my fingo
Quit beating me like you're Ringo
You wanna go?
You wanna win a war?
Like P.L.O don't surrendo
The sunshowers that fall on my troubles
Are over you my baby
And some showers I'll be aiming at you
cos I'm watching you my baby
I bongo
with my lingo
And beat it like a wing yo
To Congo
To Colombo
Can't stereotype my thing yo
I checked that mouth on him
Fucking check that gas on him
I had him
Cornered him
Fucking shut that gate on him
Why would you listen to him?
He had his way I'm bored of him
I'm tired of him
I don't wanna be as bad as him
It's a bomb yo
so run yo
Put away your stupid gun yo
Cos we see through like a protocol call
That's why we blow it up 'fore we go
The sunshowers that fall on my troubles
Are over you my baby
And some showers I'll be aiming at you
cos I'm watching you my baby
Semi-9 and snipered him
On that wall they posted him
They cornered him
and then just murdered him
He told them he didn't know them
He wasn't there they didn't know him
They showed him a picture then
Ain't that you with the Muslims?
He had colgate on his teeth
And Reebok classics on his feet
At a factory he does Nike
And then helps the family
Beat heart beat
He's made it to the Newsweek
Sweetheart seen it
He's doing it for the peeps. peace.
The sunshowers that fall on my troubles
Are over you my baby And some showers I'll be aiming at you
cos I'm watching you my baby
Growin
up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out look out
From over the Rooftop
Growin up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out Look out
From over the rooftop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
Row Da Boat - Straight to da ocean
Give 'im a run - A run at his own game
Signal the plane - An' I landed on the runway
A survivor, independant foreigner
First your beats had me running to the running man
Then your chat had me wanna do the bogie man
Click suits and booted in the timberland
Freakin out to Missy on a Timbaland
Growin up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out Look out
From over the rooftop
Growin up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out Look out
From over the rooftop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
You shoulda been good to me
Then I wouldn't get so rowdy rowdy
You shoulda kept ya eye on me
Then I wouldn't get so baddy baddy
Whether you are...
Swinging out to Swing beat
Laying low and jacking-up to Lou Reed
Chasin out to Pixies and the Beasties
Doin aceed with Hair-Coloured Geek Freaks
FFWD onto the' 04
Got my own flow get you to the dance floor
Little mamma doin the booty rolls
Crump clowns got me rootin for the linos
Growin up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out look out
From over the Rooftop
Growin up, Brewin Up
Guerilla gettin trained up
Look out Look out
From over the rooftop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
Competition coming up now
Load up,
Aim,
Fire Fire,
Pop
Refugee education number two
Dash your curry like you're not in a hurry
Me come from New Delhi
Me not got no worry
And if you fuck with me I gon' dash my curry
I
was missin' in action
On the side of a carton
I was taken in a Datsun
From a street in Action [x2]
I was sipping on a Rubicon
Thinking 'bout where I come
Its all this for revolution
Cuttin' up the coupon
Savin for a telephone
Can I call home
Please Can I go Home [x2]
Painted nails, sunsets on horizons
Palm trees silhouette smells amazing
Blindfolds under home made lanterns
Somewhere in the Amazon
They're holding me Ransom [x2]
Hello This is M.I.A.
Could you please Come get me [x4]
Smoking on a Benson
Tryin' to get me undone
Let Me Go
I don't want your attention
Under Submission
Out of frustration I'll do it
I'll scream for the nation [x2]
Painted nails, sunsets on horizons
Palm trees silhouette smells amazing
Blindfolds under home made lanterns
Somewhere in the Amazon
They're holding me Ransom [x2]
Hello This is M.I.A.
Could you please Come get me [x4]
Minutes turned to hours
And Became our dates
When We Shared raindrops
That turned into Lakes
Bodies started Merging
And the lines got grey
Now I'm looking at him thinking
Maybe He's okay [x2]
Can you keep a secret
From them other people
If I tell you 'bout wha-gwan?
And would you let me know
If I forget the secret
Took my eye off of the Ball?
Cause Bingo, now I'm hitting the 6 [x4]
I know what's going on
I know how you going on
I got the ra ra
Go ahead and throw the ball
I don't be running at all
I got my own goal
I stand in one place
And make sure I just hit the ball
Can you keep a secret
From them other people
If I tell you 'bout wha-gwan?
And would you let me know
If I forget the secret
Took my eye off of the Ball?
Cause Bingo, now I'm hitting the 6 [x4]
You drink too much Rum
You make me wanna run
I make no assumption
Ass will get the hump on
Wha's the point of talkin' gun?
I'm donel Blitz and bombed
That what I don't run
For the sake of havin' fun
Can you keep a secret
From them other people
If I tell you 'bout wha-gwan?
And would you let me know
If I forget the secret
Took my eye off of the Ball?
Cause Bingo, now I'm hitting the 6 [x4]
Do you know what is on?
Do you know what is on?
Do you know how this beat is made in fucking
London, Doc? [x2]
Can you keep a secret
From them other people
If I tell you 'bout wha-gwan?
And would you let me know
If I forget the secret
Took my eye off of the Ball?
Oi Ga-Ra-To Pi-qa mine nu-mu-ro
Me leaga - you teaser
Leaga para min,
Please sin
Excuse me little Hombre
Take my number call me
I can get squeaky
So you can come and oil me
My finger tips and the lips
Do the work yeah
My hips do the flicks
As I walk yeah With a good head
I came to make it With a good head
I came to break it
Did your Mama tell you
About me What she say
Don't go play there
Gonna make that hot boy
Want me Gonna make that hot boy
Take me
You can stick me
Stab me Grind me or wind me
Fuck, we can even ask your wifey
Rich bored at home With a kiddie
She don't know about
You getting nookie
Member when you first started
Call me You had a ticket
Waitin' for me
Said you wanna Meet in Miami
So we can start a
Family
Hoytu hoytu
Cept cept (cet cet)
Cinko, quadro
Tres doie
You can call me over
Dt-Dt-Dt On your mobile phone
Dt-Dt-Dt On your mobile phone
You Fuck my Man and Wreck my home,
I'll get my bro to rob your phone [x4]
You Big Dummy
Now Could it be that me and He
Are tighter than J-lo in her jeans
And Could it be that me and He
Are tighter than R.Kelly in his teens
You fucking With My man
And you text him all the time
You might've had him once
But I got him all the time
Dt-Dt-Dt On your mobile phone
Dt-Dt-Dt On your mobile phone
You Fuck my Man and Wreck my home,
I'll get my bro to rob your phone [x2]
U R A Q T
Is your Dad a dealer Cause you're dope to me
You Throw them Balls across the country
You win gold medals for when you're with me
You Big Dummy
Right then, It's On [x8]
He ain't no Word for scrabble
You don't get points for doubles
Menage Trois Lalalalala
I'll bill you for your droudles
You done lost your marble
Like a ball I'll make you dribble
Your the shrapnels in the rubble
I'm a raging bull, a rebel
It's all about the low-blow brown Girl
The No blood, no Love hot girl
The jnkn jnkn jumping off the decks girl
The jnkn jnkn jumping off the rocks girl
You big Dummy
U R A Q T
Is your Dad a dealer Cause you're dope to me
You Throw them Balls across the country
You win gold medals for when you're with me
You Big Dummy
london calling
speak the slang now boys say wha come on girls
say what, say wha
slam, galang galang galang... shotgun, get down
get down, get down, get down too late, you down
d-d-d-down
ta na ta na ta na
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a
lang lang)
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang) blaze a
blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
[2x]who
the hell is hounding you in the bmw
how the hell he find you, 147'd you the feds gon get
you
pull the strings on the hood 1 paranoid youth
blazin' thru the hood
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang) purple
haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang) purple
haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
london calling speak the slang now boys say
wha
come on girls say what, say wha
they say
rivers gonna run though
work is gonna save you pray and you will pull
through
suck a dick'll help you don't let em get to you
if he's got 1 you get 2
backstab your crew sell it i could sell you
blaze a blaze (galang a lang a lang lang)
purple haze (galang a lang a lang lang)
"M.I.A.
is hailed as one of the most freshly creative
artists to hit the scene, paving the way for
fierce and adventurous females to break the
mould. With KALA, she pulls even more
globe-trekking, and genre bending into her
musical mix. Recorded in India, Trinidad,
Australia, London, New York and Baltimore,
M.I.A. has crafted an international sound that
is as excitingly undefinable as it is
infectious. The first single from KALA, "Boyz"
was just listed at #1 Rolling Stone's Hot List,
and #1 song of the Month in Blender magazine!
"Electrifying" - The New York Times
"..It is interesting to note
that, with �Boyz�, 30-year-old M.I.A.
arguably captures a modern day Britain more
successfully than many of her younger peers.
Social commentary is often more powerfully
delivered implicitly and the imperfect,
work-in-progress rattle of �Boyz� somehow
mirrors the tensions and excitement of its
creator�s (temporary) homeland..."
Nicholas Garcia
Roadrunner, roadrunner Going 100 mph
Roadrunner, roadrunner Going 100 mph
With your radio on With your radio on
Roadrunner, roadrunner Going 100 mph
With your radio on
Somalia Angola Ghana Ghana Ghana Ghana
India Sri Lanka Burma Bamboo Banga It's a
Bamboo Banga, I said Bamboo Banga
This a Bamboo Banga, I said Bamboo Banga
And we hitting our rackets like a tennis
player And the drummer do this shit like
he makarena
This a jungle banger, I said cold jammer
(3x) I'm bored of banana want gwanabana
I gon warm my buns this summer summer Coz
I'm sitting down chillin on gun powder
Strike match light fire, who's that girl
called Maya M.I.A. coming back with power
power I said M.I.A. is coming back with
power power I said M.I.A. is coming back
with power power!!
I'm knocking on the doors of ya hummer
hummer (4x) Yeah we hungry like the
wolves huntin dinner dinner And we moving
with the packs like hyena yena Barbarella
looks like she my dead ringer When I'm
dogging on the bonner of ya red Honda I'm
a road runner a world runner I'm a road
runner a world runner
I'm a big timer it's a Bamboo Banga
I' m a big timer it's a Bamboo Banga
BIG on the underground what�s the
point of knocking me down? everybody
knows
I�m already good on the ground
most of us stay strong shit don�t
really bound us then I go on my own
making bombs with rubber bands
I have my hard down so I need a man
for romance streets are making em hard
so they selfish little roamers jumpin�
girl to girl make us meat like burgers
when I get fat I�ll pop me out some
leaders
A protocol to be a Rocawear model? it
didn�t really drop that way my legs hit
the hurdle
A protocol to be a rocker on a label?
it didn�t really drop that way our beats
were too evil
but I put away paper for later so I�m
stable a better something better come
so I could get cable ghetto pops, food
drops I store them in my stable I cook
em up , pop em down eat me it off ya a
table
The village got on the phone said the
street is comin� to town they wanna check
my papers see what I carry around
credentials are boring I burnt them at
the burial ground don�t order me about
I�m an outlaw from the badland
put away shots for later so I�m
stable live in trees chew on feet
watch lost on cable bird flu gonna get
you made it in my stable from the crap
you drop on my crop when they pay you.
When you go Rwanda Congo Take me on ya
genocide tour Take me on a truck to
Darfur Take me where you would go
Got static on ya satellite phone Got
to get you safe at home Got to get you
some where warm So you get me all alone
Jimmy Aaja Jimmy Aaja Jimmy Aaja
Time and time and time and time again
You keep pushing that button but I don�t
know what your sayin You hit me on AIM
tryin� flip me on some game Are you
coming are you going are you leaving are you
staying
You told me that your busy
Your loving makes me crazy I know that
you hear me Start acting like you want me
You told me that your busy Your
loving makes me crazy I know you can hear
me Start acting like you want me
Jimmy Aaja Jimmy Aaja Jimmy Aaja
TIme and time and time and time again
You keep pushing me, what you sayin You
hit me on AIM, flip me on some game But I
still don�t know what you�re sayin�
You told me that your busy Your
loving makes me crazy I know that you
hear me Start acting like you want me
You told me that your busy Your
loving makes me crazy I know you can hear
me Start acting like you want me
We do it cheap hide our
money in a heap Send it home
and make em study Fixing
teeth, I got family, a friend in
need A hand to throw the
gasoline A mobile phone
hooked up to the scene Hello
my frind yes it's me Dont be
scared there's somethin going on
Im gettin money since I grown
Could be dash go out and hussel
em But I hate money coz it
makes me numb
Hussel
hussel hussel Grind grind
grind Why has everyone got
hussel on their mind?
Hussel hussel hussel Grind
grind grind Why has everyone
got hussel on their mind?
(AFRIKAN BOY) You think its
tough now, Come to africa,
Out there we are grinding like
pepper, You can catch me on
the motorway, Selling sugar
water and pepper, I rep
Africa not Miami, Hustle
hustle with m.i.a, I'm broke
I've got indefinite stay, You
can't touch me like leprosy,
I hustle tough from here to sri
lanka, My mum told me to be
an accountant, Bun that I
wanna work in a corner shop,
Contact sugu he's got the
contacts mayne, I'm illegal I
don't pay tax tax, EMA yes
I'm claiming that that,
Police I try to avoid them,
They catch me hustling they say
deport them,
Hussel
hussel hussel (2x) Grind
grind grind Why has everyone
got hussel on their mind?
Hello my friend, hello my friend
Yes it's me 4 by 3 ,3 buy 3 ,
buy 1 song get 1 free Maybe
me, a bootleg cd colour tv or
dvd We got barrels in the sea
Its big enough to take a whole
family We drum on it Jun
cha cha gegujun cha Jun cha
cha gegujun cha
Come sit by me, let me tell
u we Don't do bling but we do
white tee Up some jungle up
some tree One second , my
phones ringing Its my friend
habibi He then went drop
called me Cheap moroccan got
no credit than me Ya'll got
less credit than me I keep
that tab at a shop like a gee
Coz without me there'll be no
chocolate hershey
Hussel
hussel hussel (6x) Grind
grind grind Why has everyone
got hussel on their mind?
When it's hot we go down the river and
swim When we go fishing we 're catching a
brim When the rivers high we jump off the
bridge And then we go home and play some
didge
First of all I wanna say I don't
even know why you act that way My name is
maya and people always say I act kinda
strange like a dooba weh I like fish and
mango pickle When I climb trees Them
feet them tickle I'm broke this month
didn't pay rent I had to jump town and my
money's all spent 2x
Rode the bmx we walked through the bush
The boys fight to ride it, but I just let em
push Keith stole an egg from a lil kookoo
Kept it safe in his mouth, while he danced
the jookoo jookoo
There's only one
ocean that got fish left One day we'll
have to be a really good chef And I don't
mean us in the bush making meth Boys if
you catch meth you catch your death When
I said that Keith sneezed and had a chick
Broke the little egg in his mouth in little
bits
When it's hot we go down the river and
swim When we go fishing we 're catching a
brim When the rivers high we jump off the
bridge And then we go home and play some
didge
War war war Talking bout ya'll 's such a bore Id rather talk bout
moi
Do you know that cost of a.ks Up in africa 20 dollars aint shit to
you But thats how much they r Of couse they gonna use it to kill a
little da
Is girls, diamonds Helpin ya? Dont you like my
bandana My stains hang low On my shirts like ay yai ay Monkey
brains and banana Ill hit you with my antana I put soap in my eye
Make it red so I look raa
Ra ra So I woke up with my holy quran and found out I like cadillac
So we shooting till the song is up Little boys are acting up Baby
mothers are going crazy And the leaders all round cracking up We goat
rich we fry Price of living in a shanty town jus seem to be high We
still look fly We still like t.i Dancing as we shooting up And
lootin jus to get by.
With your feet in the air and your head on the ground Try this trick
and spin it, yeah Your head 'll collapse if there's nothing in it And
you'll ask yourself "where is my mind?"
War war war Who made me like this Was it me and god in co
production My devils on speed dial Everytime I take the wrong
direction
All I want is one thing and that is what you got Sometimes I go lose
my mind then I feel numb
Theres 24 hours in a day I used to spilt
it 8, 8, 8 8 work 8 sleep 8 for play Now I give it all it takes
People on the internet A new life for the intellect People judge
me so hard Coz I dont floss my titty set I was born out of dirt like
im porn in a skirt I was a little girl who made good with all that I
blurt I put people on the map that never seen a map I show em somin
they aint never seen And hope they make it back!!!!
Sick of all the shit that's
keeping me down Dead from the
waist down It's easy staying down
I never thought about it twice
But you do pay the price It aint
your weekly cash that feeds my mum
the rice
Yo don't be calling
me desperate When I'm knocking on
the door Every wall you build
I'll knock it down to the floor
See me see me bubbling quietly
See me see me acting like you ain't
met me See me see me bubbling
quietly See me see me acting like
you ain't met me
Hands up
Guns out Represent the world town
Look at what you did, you done
it before Every little dollar
just keeps me down more I never
had you on my side bubbling on my
side Why they tell me different
When they make me explodified
Yo dont be calling me desperate
When i'm knocking on the door
Every wall you build i'll knock it
down to the floor See me see me
bubbling quietly See me see me
acting like you ain't met me See
me see me bubbling quietly See me
see me acting like you ain't met me
I don't read, yeah, I just guess As the
world turns Don't bother me with your
messs
I'm trying to do my best Get my head
up out the stress When the money turns
the world Your lovin' turns to less
I learn by mistakes Most of it is
yours and I'm done living life as a
criminal I thought I'd die young just to
please the old Now I teach the young, I'm
victorial
I'd rather go on, Go up and down
Turn myself all around Then to stay down
I'd rather go on, Go up and down
Turn myself all around Then to stay down
Picture this, a dull grey street in the
train Neon signs gonna shine though
Shorty you gonna shine though Come up on
ya treasure trove Like the sun explode
Check up in the paper In the mirror for
ya horoscope
Walking on a tightrope Go for
something, I don't even know
Where to get it from Sending out a
signal Smoke from a gun blow As I
knock off knock off Things that I don't
want.
This is how we
do in the xr2 The boyz look fine,
stereo's alpine 20/20 , thunderbird
at 12 0 9 Took a pill good time all
the time
Brick lane massive We were
like grime Labrynth, world dance
Bagleys time High top fades We
aint never paid Roll up jeans e 's
lucozade Versaci jeans shades and
chains We roll in there like we late
Dj mcs private raves Keep it secret ,
light it mate.
Whistle, whistle Blow, blow
Here we, here we Go, go
Some of them drink heineken
And some of them drink bacardi Some
of them talk a lot of shit And act
rowdy Some say people follow me
Some say people is the key When the
music's got a beat Then that's what
gets me
Some people think we r stupid
but we r not
Xr2 808 Mp3 mc8
Xox the mc5 Mtv has add Nbc n bet,
Bbc is oap Rem klf Iq up the icq,
Cb4 cpt Bbd n atl Pdd had big
Nyc had rnb Opp yrb Tlc swv Jo.
d. c Xxx I love u S l 2
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 down in a second if
you wait
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 down in a second if
you wait
Sometimes I feel sitting on
trains Every stop I get to I'm
clocking that game Everyone's a
winner now we're making that fame
Bonafide hustler making my name
Sometimes I feel sitting on
trains Every stop I get to I'm
clocking that game Everyone's a
winner now we're making that fame
Bonafide hustler making my name
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
Pirate skulls and bones
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs
Running when we hit 'em Lethal
poison through their system
Pirate skulls and bones
Sticks and stones and weed and bombs
Running when we hit 'em Lethal
poison through their system
No one on the corner has swag
like us Hit me on my banner
prepaid wireless We pack and
deliver like UPS trucks A radio
in hell just pumping that gas
No one on the corner has swag
like us Hit me on my banner
prepaid wireless We pack and
deliver like UPS trucks A radio
in hell just pumping that gas
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (BANG BANG
BANG BANG!) And (KKKAAAA CHING!)
And take your money
M.I.A. Third world democracy
Yeah, I got more records than the
K.G.B. So, uh, no funny business
Some some some I some I murder
Some I some I let go Some some
some I some I murder Some I some
I let go
Check my coat in and I paid a dollar,
Side-Kick Rings, what's up? holla! Text
the address i'll see you lata,
baby come down, come down,come down,
come down,
run down, run down, run down Run
,duck & run, duck & run, duck & run, duck &
run, duck & run down dun da da dun da da
dun da da dun etc.,
beat goes on A run dun da da dun da
da dun da da dun da da dun beat goes on
In a faraway land we got shit made,
RayBan shades, warheads laid babes
born in air-raids
My girls roam the Everglades, Indian
tribesman gamble spades,
Indian chicks, they get men laid.
Milk and honey smoke high-grade,
gold and diamond gems and jades,
ride up on our tanks, invade ,
blow out things to save our name and,
Mina, Rina, Tina, Sophina bein a
super Indian babe
We black market we black mane we hit
shit out when it rains
Would you come down and catch my train?
Would you run down and play this game?
Check my coat in and I paid a dollar,
Side-Kick Rings, what's up? holla! Text
the address i'll see you lata,
baby come down, come down, come
down, come down,
run down, run down, run down Run
,duck & run, duck & run, duck & run, duck &
run, duck & run down dun da da dun da da
dun da da dun etc.,
beat goes on A run dun da da dun da
da dun da da dun da da dun beat goes on
Baby girl, you and me need to go to your
teepee.
The moon is full, and I'm shining.
Baby, I know you see me.
Put a hump or two on your back just like
that, oh girl you're on fire. I don't
wanna be in love with you
I'ma just break you off and say goodbye.
The night is young. Don't make me wait,
you just might miss your chance. I'm
gon' tell you the truth
Timbaland, I'm the motherfuckin man.
Today's the day, girl, let me get that.
Don't get mad. In fact, let me hit
that.
I've been overkilling them, I break
backs.
Come down, run down, girl where your
place at?
Check my coat in and I paid a
dollar, Side-Kick Rings, what's up? holla!
Text the address i'll see you lata,
baby come down, come down, come
down, come down,
run down, run down, run down Run
,duck & run, duck & run, duck & run, duck &
run, duck & run down dun da da dun da da
dun da da dun etc.,
beat goes on A run dun da da dun da
da dun da da dun da da dun beat goes on
Time got me feeling
emotions Why you
always digging on my
nerve? I feel weak,
when I say "please" you
keep on Does breaking
me make you feel so
strong?
I go
give, show you how low I
go Playa boy go 'head
and be that macho
Power up that blade on
that chainsaw Go cut
me down and I'm still
gon grow
Ahh ahhh
ahh Yeah, he left me,
yeah To go far far
away
Coz yesterday I met
a girl from Warsaw
She walked like a turtle
with a saw paw Why
don't they make some
kinda new law That
stops making a religioon
out of war? Yeah,
happy you know lots of
useless info Keep
ticking like a brain on
a robot But I do know
some things you don't
know That people you
hate come back for more
Ahh ahhh ahh Yeah, he
left me, yeah To go
far far away
A tug of war with me
and he was called for
Like he was iced tea, I
was always pom more
But you broke me when
you act like you want
war Coz my strength
makes you feel insecure
Now here we go, we
bouncing like a pinball
I let him go so he can
go paint time gold
Why don't we live for
that love though? Or
does money still drive
you a whole lot more?
Big
bad wolf Came over to my ranch Took
all my land Left me with a branch
That's how I felt about the loving that I
had that's how I know about the girls he
had
Bring her to my door now Bring me
that ho I'll put her on the table and
I'll put her in my claw I'll put her down
my jaw to my belly to my toe I'll shit
on that ho and I'll drop her to the floor
Big-big-big-big big branch (repeat)
(hit'em with a motherfucking branch)
Men are like pearls They look good
with my curls I string 'em to get the
best necklace in the world In the state
of the world, all women wanna lay It's
a man's world but I keep 'em at bay You
can fucka man macka man Tell 'em that
you're gay Tell him real love ain't on
BET Sex is so cheap I get it at KFC
When it's meaningless why they do r&b
Bring her to my door now Bring me
that ho I'll put her on the table and
I'll put her in my claw I'll put her down
my jaw to my belly to my toe I'll shit
on that ho and I'll drop her to the floor
Big-big-big-big big branch (repeat)
(hit'em with a motherfucking branch)
I ate my chips and I washed that plate
Thought about women that take that bait
Men with stamina or money on the plate
Can get a woman thinking her period is late
Thank to jesus, I got my own estate If i
let you in will you run off with my maid
All men are just so fickle these days To
find a really good one, I keep on gettin
laid
Bring her to my door now Bring me
that ho I'll put her on the table and
I'll put her in my claw I'll put her down
my jaw to my belly to my toe I'll shit
on that ho and I'll drop her to the floor
Big-big-big-big big branch (repeat)
(Big big wolf, big big wolf)
I was bored I need a new drug
Everybody bitin' shit Gettin' fucked up
M.I.A. rollin' wit Blaqstarr Anyone
talking shit I'm gonna blow em all up
Who's mad, who's crazy, who's fucked up?
It's about time I rack em all up More
fire, more power, more wound up I'm the
queen of this shit Don't bother steppin'
up
Dance dammit dance I rule Dance
dammit dance I rule
What I got you can't get from ya mama
What I got you can't get from ya ho
I got alien aphrodisiacs I found
visiting planets of the zodiac Got a six
pack so you don't get side track I'll be
in Baltimore tonight on the amtrack
Got a Mac with PCP for ya lap Same
effects as LSD and smack Boom boom I'm
bringin you the new crack Like a club
track made from Iraq
What I got you can't get from ya mama
What I got you can't get from ya ho
Get to you in high tech pro tool Woop
woop chop screw in hotels Club cars in
the street front of people At home we can
play some scruples But tonite I'll wait
'til the nightfall Like a ninja glide
over waterfalls Get to you to give you a
lil rock and roll Tap tap that bed to the
wall Tap tap that bed to the wall
Mathangi
"Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil
activist-turned-revolutionary-guerrilla, Arul Pragasam, was
born in Hounslow, London. When she was six months old, her
family moved back to their native Sri Lanka. Motivated by
his wish to support the 
This
tape included the first track she had ever composed, "
More
than three years into his amorphous War on Terror, President
G-Dub is now apparently prepping a drive-by on tyranny,
telling the world's stepped-on in his inaugural harangue,
"The United States will not ignore your oppression or excuse
your oppressors." Nice thought and all, if we didn't
know how many people tend to die during Bush's
freedom-izing. 
dum
shella
Pull
up the people, pull up the poor
Growin
up, Brewin Up 
I
was missin' in action
8.
Arular:
Bingo
"M.I.A.
is hailed as one of the most freshly creative
artists to hit the scene, paving the way for
fierce and adventurous females to break the
mould. With KALA, she pulls even more
globe-trekking, and genre bending into her
musical mix. Recorded in India, Trinidad,
Australia, London, New York and Baltimore,
M.I.A. has crafted an international sound that
is as excitingly undefinable as it is
infectious. The first single from KALA, "Boyz"
was just listed at #1 Rolling Stone's Hot List,
and #1 song of the Month in Blender magazine!
"Electrifying" - The New York Times 
