M.I.A.

Songwriter: M.I.A.

Producer: Cadenza

[Prelude 1: Cadenza]
Ooh, ah, ooh
Ooh, ah, ooh, ye-ye-yeah!
Ooh, ah, ooh
...BLAZERS BLAZERS!

[Verse 1: M.I.A.]
If I talk too much, I say less
I'll give you my word, I play less
So forget about you, I'm careless
When I put you through my sight, I'm fearless
When I offer you flowers like a florist
I know my intentions not the purest
I'm new to this, not a tourist
For the judgment, I don't need a tourist

[Pre-Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
If you got the key, show me where the door is
And I'm going through something, hope you notice
You might not see it on the surface
But I'm tryna live my life with a purpose (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
Oh, amen, ball again
My body is my temple, my mind I keep it zen
Oh, amen, here we go again
I'm praying for my sins, and I won't cheat again (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Verse 2: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
These modern day prophets
Ain't no matter what they promise
I been the richest and the poorest
Here living in this concrete forest
I know what it is to have sex
And it ain't all about the ways that I can flex
And I try to live my life with no stress
Living in the light that's my address (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Pre-Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
If you got the key, show me where the door is
And I'm going through something, hope you notice
You might not see it on the surface
But I'm tryna live my life with a purpose (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
Oh, amen, ball again
My body is my temple, my mind I keep it zen
Oh, amen, here we go again
I'm praying for my sins, I hope we meet again (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Verse 3: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
They say we're lustful creatures, and I'm hunting gods off till we [?]
Can you forgive me like Jesus, from the feeling insecure or jealous
In my baggy jeans and the headdress, on my knees begging, I'm tryna confess
Is there a certain set of things to tempt us?
Is the heat always relentless?

[Pre-Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
If you got the key, show me where the door is
And I'm going through something, hope you notice
You might not see it on the surface
But I'm tryna live my life with a purpose (*BLAZERS BLAZERS!)

[Chorus: M.I.A. & *Cadenza]
Oh, amen, ball again
My body is my temple, my mind I keep it zen
Oh, amen, here we go again
I'm praying for my sins, I hope we meet again

[Prelude 2: Cadenza]
Ooh, ah, ooh
Ooh, ah, ooh, ye-ye-yeah!
Ooh, ah, ooh, ye-ye-yeah!

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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