M.I.A.

Released: February 11, 2008

Songwriter: M.I.A.

[Verse 1: M.I.A.]
I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name
If you come around here, I make 'em all day
I get one done in a second if you wait
I fly like paper, get high like planes
If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name
If you come around here, I make 'em all day
I get one done in a second if you wait
Sometimes I think sittin' on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame
Bona fide hustler making my name
Sometimes I think sittin' on trains
Every stop I get to I'm clocking that game
Everyone's a winner, we're making our fame
Bona fide hustler making my name

[Chorus: M.I.A. + Rye Rye]
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money

[Verse 2: Rye Rye]
She's fly like paper, gets high like planes
Try to keep her from the U.S. but shes stronger than a gang
Well she's got a lot of fame, messing with the wrong name
I'm following her footsteps from the hood to the music game
My city on fire, ain't no need to put it out
Ain't about to set it up, 'cause I got fire in my mouth
And about to bring it out to the world
I want to touch the clouds, want to be a nature girl
I feel the rain and it's telling me to go far
I feel the pain and it's telling me the music calls
Should I stay? Should I go? I don't know, I'm kind of lost
But I'm aiming for success, I'm really sorry if you lost
Never take drugs but I'm highed up
All the music from my MC in the hood, growing up
It gets hard when you try to blow it up
So stressful, you say fuck it, you be like "I'm giving up"

[Chorus: M.I.A. + Rye Rye]
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money

[Verse 3: Afrikan Boy]
I was at home, making my visa
Slipping on my government, yeah you know how it goes man
I'm fresh from Lagos, fresh from Nigeria
If I look angry it's 'cause someone stole my visa
If you walk into my kitchen you will see the white powder
I'll be by the cooker, whipping at you harder
Don't be alarmed I'm just cooking pounded yam
Afrikan Boy, I'll never be a drug dealer
I wrap and sell pepe in the markets of Abuja
I'm a legend, something like Jay Jay Okocha
My name is Olushola, I just set up my visa
I live every day like it's the first of October
The greatest hustler on earth I know is my mother
Like mother, like son, familiar like my father
Birds of the same flow share the same feather
I just want to make my dollar and my Naira

[Chorus: M.I.A. + Rye Rye]
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money
All I wanna do is (gunshot, gunshot, gunshot, gunshot)
And a (click, ka-ching)
And take your money

[Outro: M.I.A.]
M.I.A
Third world democracy
Yeah, I've got more records than the K.G.B
So, uh, no funny business
Are you ready all?
Some, some, some I, some I murder
Some I, some I let go
Some, some, some I, some I murder
Some I, some I let go

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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