M.I.A.

Released: December 31, 2010

Producer: M.I.A.

[Refrain]
You think you're bad
You think you're so fucking cool
Generation N-E-Y, we're already dead
If you don't give a fuck then I don't give a damn
But down with the scene that makes it so numb

[Verse 1]
I'm in the parking lot there's not a lot I've got
Some pig on a Harley trying to sell me pot
I come and shut the doors their tinted glass door
Another stupid chore as I'm on the wet floor

[Hook]
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me

[Verse 2]
Show me, buy me, tune me, ship me, tell me, wind me, store me
You can have my money but you can't have me
Here's my money give me shit I don't need
To me what you say I need is just so unnecessary

[Hook]
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me

[Refrain]
You think you're bad
You think you're so fucking cool
Generation N E Y we're already dead
If you don't give a fuck then I don't give a damn
But down with the scene that makes it so numb
You think you're bad
You think you're so fucking cool
Generation N E Y we're already dead
If you don't give a fuck then I don't give a damn
But down with the scene that makes it so numb

[Bridge]
Gas stop party shop any kind of cake shop
Gold shop cheese shop any kind of clothes shop
Alkie pop pizza pop any kind of pill shop
You could bring me anything but nothing's really gonna top
Gas stop party shop any kind of cake shop
Gold shop cheese shop any kind of clothes shop
Alkie pop pizza pop any kind of pill shop
You could bring me anything but nothing's really gonna top

[Hook]
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me

[Verse 2]
Show me, buy me, tune me, ship me, tell me, wind me, store me
You can have my money but you can't have me
Here's my money give me shit I don't need
To me what you say I need is just so unnecessary

[Hook]
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me
You can have my money but you can't have me

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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