M.I.A.

Featuring: Reds

[Verse 1]
So you wanna know about my politics?
Yeah I could show you things that could make you sick
There's a satellite above me that's taking pics
And an army from the west have started sending mix
And I'm sat in America doing tricks
So the army's looking on me like I'm a bitch
And I'm thinking bout the babies lying in the ditch
Thinking if they had a kite phone you'd see this shit
And what you see on MySpace just a little bit
And the stories always fucked by the time it hits
Why the hell would journalists be thick as shit?
Cause lies equals power equals politics

[Chorus]
I'm a sinner, never said anything else
I didn't lie to you, thinking of somebody else

[Hook]
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that

I'm a—

[Verse 2]
Your ego and hate is your burning brick
You live in your mansions, stealing from the sick
Did my tsunami money go to your chicks?
For her Bentley, is she riding your dirty dick?
Your son can go to Harvard to learn the tricks
Like economics eats the poor like a Twix
In the third world sticks would sniff you out like Vicks
You write your own reviews to get away with it
You can talk shit to me, I'm used to it
You make me hard with the wounds that I have to lick
You can pick on me and I can see it at a click
You're a racist, I wouldn't trust you one bit

[Chorus]
I'm a sinner
(by their self, by their self, I live by the river)
Never said anything else
(make and take and you take a chance and you know that I'm a winner)
I didn't lie to you
(by their self, by their self, I live by the river)
Thinking of somebody else
(make and take and you take a chance and you know that I'm a winner)

[Hook]
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that

[Outro]
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that
Hater, ain't time for that

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

Unreleased Songs

From the album

Unreleased Songs

M.I.A. popular songs

HaterzM.I.A.

M.I.A.

Unreleased Songs