M.I.A.

Released: February 8, 2017

Songwriter: Norman “Bulpus” Bryan Lorenz Hart Richard Rodgers M.I.A.

Producer: Kid Kamillion

[Intro]
Kid Kamillion

[Chorus]
Don't you wanna tell me if you're gonna
Put down your armor, promise no more drama

[Verse 1]
Throw up my hands I say, "I'm not Dalai Lama"
Throw up my hands say, "I'm not Obama"
I'm not Osama, Monsanto farmer
I don't drink no soda, I believe in Karma
They try to shut me down, I've still got the power
They try to hate me but I still be that lover
I know my mind, in me I'm gonna find
This is my time and I'm searching for the signs
Throw up my hands, say "this is people power"
Throw up my finger and I'm taking on the Tower

[Chorus]
Don't you wanna tell me if you're gonna
Put down your armor, promise no more drama

[Refrain]
Power
Pow-pow-pow-power
Power
Pow-pow-pow-power

[Verse 2]
You know me, I don't watch TV
People watching me are only gonna see
I'm not your enemy, FBI checking me
Curbing my money, but that don't bother me
I'm much tougher, I don't need the buffer
I keep it light, keep my head out the gutter

[Refrain]
Power
Pow-pow-pow-power

[Interlude]
I'mma do it now, I'mma do it—
I'mma do it now, I'mma do it—
I'mma do it now, I'mma show you how
Pop-pop-pa-pa-pop-pop-pa-pa
Pop-pop-pop-pop-pow

[Verse 3]
Put your hands up, put your middle fingers in the air
M.I.A. make it spray, like it's raining up in here
Think you're getting baptized, with the sweat on your tee
Where, where, where, you say where my water there
Wa-wa-wa-wa-wa, I say pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
You say wa-wa-wa-wa-wa, I say pa-pa-pa-pa-pa
Supa-Kala fascist, racist, espi-ala-tazers
Posers with cases, they better not erase us
Better come face us

[Bridge]
Hey
I'm not Rihanna, I'm not Madonna
I'm not Mariah, or Ariana
I've been around in this world causing drama
The real spice girl, hot girl power

[Outro]
Don't you wanna, tell me if you're gonna
Put down your armor, promise no more drama
Throw up my hands, say "this is people power"
Throw up my finger and I'm taking on the Tower

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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