M.I.A.

Released: September 2, 2016

Featuring: ZAYN

Songwriter: M.I.A. ZAYN Kesia ‘XO’ Hollins Polow da Don

Producer: Polow da Don

[Intro: M.I.A.]
Bass bass, bass bass
I'm a swagger man
Rollin' in my swagger van
From the People's Republic Of Swaggerstan
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
I'm M.I.A., ayy

[Verse 1: M.I.A]
I don't need any audition
I just got my own little mission
It grew bigger than a politician
Yeah, history is just a competition
Do you wanna sign my petition?
It's for the people with dedication
Some people fuck it up, take vacations
Refugees learn about patience
Sometimes I have many visions
I don't even need a religion
I'm a new frontier, horizons
Yeah, I sail this ship to the thousands
Even aliens see the presentation
Yeah, tune up the dial on the station
And think of me sort of like Tarzan
And I'm swingin' this beat, salvation

[Chorus: ZAYN]
All the stars are still shining
But you're the only one I see
I can feel when your heart beats, yeah
Babe, you can't keep your eyes off me

[Post-Chorus: M.I.A.]
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum

[Verse 2: M.I.A.]
Download it on the DVD, download it on the phone
If you don't catch it, then, baby, I'm gone
Send me your money and I'll send you my song
What you get is perfect, it took me lifelong
Lara Croft is soft when it comes to my stuff
She's made up, I'm real, that's enough
Dinosaurs died out and I'm still strong
A little bit of fun, yeah, I don't see it wrong
For something so good, yeah, I've waited too long
I rate that button just to play you this song
Whose world is this? The world is mine, so bring it on

[Chorus: ZAYN]
All the stars are still shining
But you're the only one I see
I can feel when your heart beats, yeah
Babe, you can't keep your eyes off me

[Post-Chorus: M.I.A.]
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-da-dum
Freek-da-da-dum, free-dum
Freek

[Bridge: M.I.A.]
Are you gonna sing my song?
Are you gonna sing my song tonight?
Tonight, you're gonna sing my song
Are you gonna sing my song tonight?

[Outro: M.I.A.]
Ee-ah-ah-ah, ee-ah-ah
Ee-ah-ah-ah-ah, ee-ah-ah (It's M.I.A.)
Ee-ah-ah-ah, ee-ah-ah
Ee-ah-ah-ah-ah, ee-ah-ah
Ah, oh, I'm M.I.A., ayy
Are you gonna sing my song? Oh, oh
Oh, oh
Oh, oh (Bass bass, bass bass)
Are you gonna sing my song (Bass bass, bass bass) tonight?

One of the most musically-diverse and perplexing artists of the 2000s, Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam is arguably the decade’s best representation of Hip-Hop in its truest form and artistry in its broadest, most diverse format. Her lyrics are as political as Public Enemy, her sound is more eclectic than Stankonia-era Outkast, and she is as aesthetically-driven as Kanye West.

The road that M.I.A. was forced to travel to international stardom was not an easy one. Born on July 18th, 1975 in Hounslow, West London to Sri-Lankan Tamil immigrants, she moved to her parents' homeland when she was only six months old. However, it was the Sri Lankan Civil War which came to shape her childhood. During her formative years, she witnessed many her father was hunted as an enemy of the state, her schools were bombarded, and her impoverished family was constantly in hiding. In 1986, her family moved back to London to find stability and a sense of relative peace.

In England, she discovered her artistic talents and completed several years of secondary education in fine art – eventually gaining attention as a visual artist, painter, and musician. In the early-2000s, Maya began to seriously explore her musical talents and used the internet and underground radio as the means to build her reputation as a unique and talented firebrand. Amidst her no-nonsense politics, however, critics from around the world heard a talent in the making.

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