Released: October 31, 2004

Producer: Diplo M.I.A.

Yeah, can she sing
What is that shit she’s singing
It went from being one one thing thing
To a Bollywood Sing-Sing
And does it sting, I run things
Time to stick the needle in
Feeling, feeling adrenaline, adrenaline
I'm ranting like Mr. Sting


I am the lady killa
For rilla the ill man thrilla
To the bon to the bon get bigger
I’m a girl who keeps getting better

You feel it in your system
Well, I did it in the bedroom
First comes working on my groove
Then I leave the room to find a groom

Universal badass
I kick so hard I get a red card
Killa on the Red Bulla
Like Ike and Tina Turner

I am the lady killa
For rilla the ill man thrilla
To the bon to the bon get bigger
I’m a girl who gets better

[Rap: Bashy]
Ain’t nobody touch this dice, ain’t no shit bodies dropping like flies
Not wearing no camouflage or disguise
Murder in the day whatever, murder in the dark
This murder is a mystery, she didn’t leave a mark
Murder is a martial art when she’s got murder on her mind
Drop nine murder killing machine
She killed all competition yeah she ruined this thing
And we come through killing the scene
I’ll kill you in your sleep, gonna kill you in your dreams
She’s a killa with a cold streak
I know you won’t be leaving here in one piece
So don’t get it twisted, looks are deceiving, she’s deadly
She will have your family greiving

My crew's getting better
My crew's getting bigger
I keep getting better
I keep getting gooder
I’m the universal badass
I kick so hard I get a red card
Close but no cigar, I got my guards
An accidental hero
A tropical Indiana Jones
Raised to fight for the underdogs
My dad's a freedom fighter dog

I'm a real G fuck a trilogy

M.I.A.

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.