M.I.A.

[eostre]

She´s amazing. One of my favourite musicians right now, and quite the cutie too

 

[Gincat]

Yay! She's back . Her new album is called Kala and it's is coming out soon (Aug. 21 I heard, could be mistaken though). I've heard some new tracks and it's even better than Arular. I saw caught her show when she was on tour in the Fall of '05, but after that she went m.i.a. (I know that was bad, but I had to ). The reason was the U.S. had been denying her entry into the country, so she's worked on her album in Liberia, Jamaica, Trinidad, and India. A couple of her new videos are up on YouTube.

Here's a link to the video for Boyz. The beat is so dope and it was shot in Jamaica with some of the best known dancers on the island (One of the things I love about her, she reps places like the Caribbean, and South Asia in her vids). You can't help but move when you hear it, it reminds of an old house music party or something.

I like the new haircut too.

 

[jennifer~]

^ Have you heard Bamboo Banga? Totally awesome.

 

[wheneveriwakeup]

I think she's really cute.

Haven't heard the new album completely but from the few tracks I've heard, it's a drowner.

 

[robot_hearts]

i LOVE boyz and cannot wait for the new album next week!

love the blue wig she wears in the 'myspace featured' photo too...

 

[Gincat]

Seriously, the more tracks I hear, the more I cannot WAIT for this. Paper Planes is my favorite, and the beat for Mango Pickle Down River is so dope. I wish Tuesday would hurry up and get here.

 

[ckashie]

I bought the CD today! Have only listened to it a few times though. I wish I had the immediate LOOOOVE feeling I got with Arular, but I just don't. It's still good, very different sound- less playful.

 

[Gincat]

You lucky dog, how did you get it so early? CD's come out on Tuesdays.

 

[angeldreamz]

I loveee herrrr! Can't wait for the new album. Her songs are awesome, I love how she mixes tamil beats to other ones to make a whole new sound. I am a Sri Lankan as well and I'm so glad that someone like her is representing our country. Like someone said in the earlier pages, its nice to see her not portraying the whole bollywood typical south asian image.
On an other note...even my mom is in love with her. She always sings the first part of "10 dollar" which is in tamil. My mom doesnt know the rest of the song cuz she doesnt speak english very well, but its so funny when she sings the tamil part.

 

[kahlilg]

Man I searched for her and couldn't find her. Glad I didn't make a post!

I LOVE HER TO DEATH. Marry me M.I.A.

 

[kahlilg]

^ Have you heard Bamboo Banga? Totally awesome.

one of my favorite tracks on KALA

 

[Gincat]

I loveee herrrr! Can't wait for the new album. Her songs are awesome, I love how she mixes tamil beats to other ones to make a whole new sound. I am a Sri Lankan as well and I'm so glad that someone like her is representing our country. Like someone said in the earlier pages, its nice to see her not portraying the whole bollywood typical south asian image.

I know exactly what you mean, I'm South Indian myself (my grandmother was from Madras and spoke Tamil) and I certainly don't dress and look like what is stereotypically shown. It's nice to see others out there balancing the image.

But M.I.A. is not only different from the bollywood stereotype, she's different from everyone. When I look at her videos I really do feel like she represents the whole 'third world', she's shot them everywhere and they highlight the fact that most of the world lives through the same things. I also love the way she's mashed up Indian music, African music, hip-hop and baile funk and all that to come up with something that reflects what the world is becoming. And I love that she's outspoken about things that people might be too afraid to say these days. She's not scared of offending anyone but she's not mean spirited either. These are just her experiences and despite some of the serious topics she talks about, her music is so full of life.

 

[BerlinRocks]

seeing her tonight she's doing the first party of Björk...

 

[Salvatore]

Jimmy is such an ear bug that I cannot get out of my mind yet.

 

[Gincat]

I got the album a couple of days ago, and I really really like it much better than Arular. It's a bit darker, and more direct, but seems much more like her vision.

 

[unipine]

i-D November 2007
Styled by Francesca Burns
Photographed by Shawn Mortensen



my scans

 

[MeMe7]

gosh she dresses like such a freshie she pulls it off though . I just recently got into her music shes amazing.

 

[WheresMyUmbrella]

Her style is so goofy ... I love her. Her vibe is like a political Kelis. My favorite shot is the one with the monster (?) claws. Thanks for posting those, unipine!

 

[Kawari]

I just bought her Kala album today! I'm so pumped up!

 

[jennifer~]

Kala brings the house down! That's all I have to say.