M.I.A.

Released: January 11, 2011

Songwriter: Smith M.I.A.

Producer: Blaqstarr M.I.A.

[Intro]
When I'm on the phone
I get no reception here

Miss, would you be interested in switching your
Internet service providings to a provider that provides
A better service of internet service
Providing than your current provider?

...Uh

[Verse 1]
I was walking down the street
And the billboards seemed to stare
And then the purses seemed to date
With dated what they did wear
And the buildings on the bankquet
You dresses it so here
When I'm on the phone
There's no reception here

[Pre-Chorus]
You don't understand me
You don't know my game
I say "What's the malfunction?"
You say "Internet connection!"

[Chorus]
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down

I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind
I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind

[Verse 2]
The system shutted down
They tried to take what I found
I'm holding shit around town
Trying to hold me down
I'm standing at the station
In need of education
It's the medicated nation
We can't be more patient

[Pre-Chorus]
You don't understand me
You don't know my game
I say "What's the malfunction?"
You say "Internet connection!"

[Chorus]
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down

[Post-Chorus]
I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind
I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind

[Verse 3]
Do something
Do something
Do something, do
Do something
I'll date you
I'll take you while I'll peck him on the lips
I'll take him on my hips
These geeks are just freaks
And I got 'em on my flip
I'm getting off the computer
I'm going to do something
Yeah, something

[Chorus]
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down
I'm down like my internet connection
I'm down

[Post-Chorus]
I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind
I crashed again last night
I was on there surfing out of my mind

[Outro]
You got the beat, turn it up
You got to give it to me
You got the beat, turn it up

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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M.I.A.

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