M.I.A.

Released: August 8, 2007

Songwriter: Frank Black Switch M.I.A.

Producer: Switch

[Verse 1]
War! War! War!
Talking about you's such a bore
I'd rather talk about moi
Like do you know the cost of AK's up in Africa?
20 dollars ain't shit to you
But that's how much they are
So they're gonna use the shit just to get far
Is gold diamonds helping ya?
Don't you like my ban-dan-na? (bandana)
My stains hang low, on my shirt's like "Ay-ya-ya!"
Got monkey brains and banana
I'll hit you with my antenna
I put soap in my eye
Make it red so I look rawr-rawr-rawr!
So I woke up with my Holy Quran
And found out I like Cadillac
So we're shootin' until the song is up
Little boys are acting up
And baby mothers are going crazy
And the leaders all around cracking up
We goat-rich, we fry
Price of livin' in a shanty town just seems very high
But we still like T.I
But we still look fly
Dancin' as we're shootin' up
And lootin' just to get by (Huh?)

[Hook]
With your feet on the air
Your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it - yeah!
Your head'll collapse, when there's nothin' in it
And you'll ask yourself
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
(Huh?)

[Verse 2]
War! War! War!
Who made me like this!
Was it me and God in co-production?
My Devil's on speed-dial
Every time I take the wrong direction
All I want is one thing and that is what you got
Sometimes I go and lose my mind, then I feel numb
There's 24 hours in a day
I used to spilt it 8, 8, 8
8 - work! 8 - sleep!
And 8 for play!
Now I give it all it takes
Now people on the Internet
A new life for the intellect
People judge me so hard cause I don't floss my titties out
I was born out of dirt like I'm porn in a skirt
I was a little girl who made good, well au revoir, adieu
I put people on the map that never seen a map
I've showed 'em something they've never seen
And hope they make it back!

[Hook]
With your feet on the air
Your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it - yeah!
Your head'll collapse, when there's nothin' in it
And you'll ask yourself
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
Where is my mind?
(Huh?)
With your feet on the air
Your head on the ground
Try this trick and spin it - yeah!
Your head'll collapse, when there's nothin' in it
And you'll ask yourself
Where is my mind?

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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