M.I.A.

Released: June 11, 2007

Songwriter: Switch M.I.A.

Producer: Switch M.I.A.

[Intro]
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—

[Pre-Chorus]
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)

[Refrain]
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—

[Verse 1]
How many tequilas in the place?
How many beers are in the case?
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
How many dutty wine swing it away?
How many shots without a chase?
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
How many mash up and in a haze?
How many wacky dip fall the head?
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)

[Chorus]
How many—How many boys are crazy?
How many boys are raw?
How many—How many boys are rowdy?
How many start a war?
How many—How many boys are crazy?
How many boys are raw?
How many—How many boys are rowdy?
How many start a war?

[Refrain]
How many, how many, h—
(Hey, Hey)
How many, how many, h—
(Hey, Hey, Ha!)
How many, how many, h—
(Hey, Hey)
How many, how many, h—
(Hey, Hey, Ha!)

[Verse 2]
Hey now, let me go, hey now
Can we go ridin' up a dirty track up in Laventille?
Will you show me 'fore I make it back somewhere I can chill?
Hey now, let me go, hey now
Can we go riding up a motor bike up to sugar hill?
Cooking chicken on the wall with the system up on full?

[Bridge]
What we do now? Duppa bounce
Dem der, duppa bounce
What we do now? Duppa bounce
Dem der, duppa bounce
What we do now? Duppa bounce
Dem der, duppa bounce
What we do now? Duppa bounce
Dem der, duppa bounce

[Refrain]
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
(Oh gosh, it's the new warlord)

[Pre-Chorus]
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Boys there! (How many?)
Boys there! (How many?)

[Chorus]
How many—How many boys are crazy?
How many boys are raw?
How many—How many boys are rowdy?
How many start a war?
How many—How many boys are crazy?
How many boys are raw?
How many—How many boys are rowdy?
How many start a war?

[Refrain]
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
How many, how many, h—
(Oh gosh, it's the new warlord)

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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