M.I.A.

Released: January 31, 2012

Featuring: Missy Elliott Azealia Banks

Songwriter: Missy Elliott M.I.A. Azealia Banks

[Intro: M.I.A.]
When I'm, when I'm, when-when-when I'm
Banging on the radio
B-b-b-banging on the radio
When I'm banging on the radio
B-b-b-banging on the radio
Chain hits my chest
When I'm banging on the dashboard
My chain hits my chest
When I'm banging on the radio

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls do it well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad

[Refrain: M.I.A.]
Get back, get down
Pull me closer if you think you can hang
Hands up, hands tied
Don't go screaming if I blow you with a bang

[Verse 1: M.I.A]
Ah, Suki, suki
I'm coming in the Cherokee gasoline
There's steam on the window screen take it, take it
Wheels bouncing like a trampoline
When I get to where I'm going, gonna have you trembling

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well

[Verse 2: Missy Eliott]
Okay, okay
They call me, Missy Miss, bad bitch
No I'm not like the average
Don't you ever try to confront me
You get smashed like ham sandwiches
Scandalous, vandalous
M.I.A. they can't handle this
We on fire like candlestick
And get the crowd pumped up like asses
Money in my pocket
And I'm bouncing like a hydraulic
And the beat be so retarded
Bass be kicking like karate
Roll, got that flow
Make that freaks wanna get down low
Get down low, make 'em touch them toes
I got them flows ain't you worry foe
Grab your dick, grab your titties
DJ's, play the hit
Classical, epicness
Me and M.I.A. we too legit

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well

[Verse 3: Azealia Banks]
Late night, coming down Broadway
Niggas ain't stuntin',they riding the four train
These niggas ain't fly, got wings like always
You’re finger-fuckin' the pussy, lickin' it all day
Niggas on me 'cause my position is boss made
Niggas on me 'cause all my fabrics they cost change
He ain't stylin' enough to be ballin'
Kobe Bryant, Odom, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce
Combined in one frame, Pardon my water, but
This my wave you take orders like my chicken sautéed
Tartar sauce on the fried fish, I ate
Bitches tried to shimmy my shake
Bitches try to Diddy my Ma$e
Who runs the city? I'll break both legs
Best thing going, y'all bitches is okay
Bitches on the wrong course, this my lane
Proper, proper all my propaganda
Puffin with some Rastas, puffin' better puff a shot
Whistle for my masters, coke headed models
Dope on arrival, Visa is en casa
Been in Bahamas, eating all this chocolate
Tell me Willy Wonka-Wonga
I'm a Mack Truck and you niggas are Tonkas
Niggas act up then it's gorillas and their armours
Get clapped up nigga you can get applauded
Stitch you back up, get you fitted in your garments
It will be me on the roof with the harness
Just AZ I don't need no accomplice
Better roll deep with little GG, CC, we we
I'm a bust a nigga and then gun him in the pee pee
Niggas better hide their little brother when they see me
All these niggas riding with they cholos till the heat squeeze

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Live fast, die young, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well
Bad girls—well, bad girls do it well

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.

more tracks from the album

Bad Girls (The Remixes)

From the album

Bad Girls (The Remixes) (2012)

M.I.A. popular songs

Bad Girls (N.A.R.S. Remix)M.I.A.

M.I.A.

Bad Girls (The Remixes)