M.I.A.

Released: July 7, 2010

Songwriter: M.I.A. Sekou Davis Sheldon Pennicot Opal Josephs John Hill Dave Taylor

Producer: John Hill Switch M.I.A.

[Intro]
They told me this is a free country
But now it feels like a chicken factory
I feel cooped up, I wanna bust free;
Got nothing to lose if you get me

[Verse 1]
Like a Taliban trucker eating boiled-up yucca
Get my eyes done like I'm in a black burka
Been through shit, yeah it's a fucka'
But now I make tunes, say "shuck-a-lucka-lucka"

Shuck-a-lucka-la
Shuck-a-lucka-lee
Shuck-a-lucka-lucka-lucka-lucky, lucky me

If you check me, I check you
If they kick you then I'll back you
Say something new, say something cool
Give you my time, but I ain't no fool

Eck-a-eck-a I, break-a-break-a jaw
Every-every time someone steps on my toe

[Hook]
I fight the ones that fight me
I really love a lot, I really love a lot
I really love a lot, I really love a lot
But I fight the ones that fight me
But I fight the ones that fight me
I fight the ones that fight me
But I fight
(Tell me fi 'quint, me nuh 'quint my eye
Nookie clean, nookie tight, and that's no lie)
But I fight
(Tell me fi 'quint, me nuh 'quint my eye
Nookie clean, nookie tight, and that's no lie)
But I fight
But I fight the ones that fight me

[Bridge]
Who's in town?
Them no like me, me no like them
Like Hu Jintao
Instead of them I got a new-found gem
Someone I can love up like men
Like Obama needs to love up Chen

[Verse 2]
Like a hand-me-down sucker throwing bombs out Mecca
Call the good will, get money to get better
Keep your head down like a Unicef worker
If you get hit you can't question the fucker

How come how come I? Yeah but yeah but why?
If I be the F, who the F be the I
If you met me then you'd get me
But if you get me will you get a fee
Shit's meant to be free, where's Bob Marley?
Cause I won't turn my cheek like I'm Gandhi

[Hook]
I fight the ones that fight me
I really love a lot, I really love a lot
I really love a lot, I really love a lot
But I fight the ones that fight me
But I fight the ones that fight me
I fight the ones that fight me
But I fight
(Tell me fi 'quint, me nuh 'quint my eye
Nookie clean, nookie tight, and that's no lie)
But I fight
(Tell me fi 'quint, me nuh 'quint my eye
Nookie clean, nookie tight, and that's no lie)
But I fight
But I fight the ones that fight 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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