M.I.A.

Released: May 27, 2011

Featuring: Afrikan Boy Rye Rye

Songwriter: Rye Rye Afrikan Boy M.I.A.

Producer: Diplo Blaqstarr M.I.A.

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

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
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 fly like paper get high like planes
Tryna keep her from the US but she stronger than a gang
Cause she got a lot of fame messin' with the wrong name
I'm following the footsteps from the hood to the music game
My city on fire ain't no need to put it out
And I'm bout set it off its like I power in my mouth
And I'm bout to bring it out to the world
I want to touch the clouds, want to be your nature girl
I feel the rain and it's tellin' me to go far
I feel the pain and it's tellin' me the music hard
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 don't
Neva take drugs but I'm highed up
All the music from my MC in the hood growin' up
It gets hard when you're tryna blow it up
So stressful, you say fuck it, you be like "I'm givin' up"

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
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 visas
Slippin' on my government, yeah you seen how we does 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 cookin' pounded yam
Afrikan Boy, I 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 got off my visa
I live everyday 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 Niara

[Chorus: M.I.A.]
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

[Bridge: M.I.A.]
M.I.A., third world democracy
I got more records than the KGB
So, uh, no funny business (you already are)
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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