M.I.A.

Released: December 31, 2010

Producer: Munchi

To my bedroom to the hallway
To the hallway to the alleyway
To the alleyway to the freeway
To the freeway to the highway

But here's something from me
It's music
It's music
It's music

That's, that's why we like that
That's, that's why we like that
That's, that's why we like that
That's, that's why we like that
That's, that's why we like that
That's, that's why we like that

The future backwards spells "er u tuf"
The future backwards spells "er u tuf"
That's why we do this, we do that
That's why we do this
It's the music

Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
With my
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
With my
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
With my
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats, beats
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, pump up on the beats
With my
Pump up on the beat
Pump up, beat, beat, beat, beat, beat, bear

I'm not saying be free
I'm saying it should it be freer
I'm not saying it should be freer
I'm saying the music should be free

[Chopped vocals]

[Outro]
Overdrive
O-o-overdrive
O-overdrive
O-o-overdrive
O-overdrive
O-o-overdrive

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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