M.I.A.

Released: July 6, 2010

Songwriter: M.I.A.

Producer: Diplo

[Pre-Chorus]
You won't give me no more
You won't give me no more
You won't give me no more
You won't give me no more
You won't

[Chorus]
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?

[Verse 1]
I've been comin' up for a while on ya radar
I know I made it just by countin' up my haters
I got a speedboat, get away, like later
You better have a load of chedder if you ain't got data
(Give me no more, you won't)
Cause you can live it up, pull it up, start reelin'
Start throwin' hands up like you're mad at the ceilin'
You can make a killin' but don't forget the feelin'
People stealin' money and down with double dealin'

[Pre-Chorus]
You won't give me no more
You won't give me no more
You won't

[Chorus]
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?

[Verse 2]
You can take me Courthouse
You can take me Jail
You can take me anywhere
But you can't get me there
You can ask me where I'm goin' and I'll tell you, crazy
But when I get to where I'm goin', you should come with me
You've been stayin' up, pull me up, start reelin'
I'm throwin' up my hands like I'm mad at the ceilin'

[Chorus]
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?

[Bridge]
I got roof on my head
I got food in my pot
And the old ways are dead with the new ones we got
There's water in my pot and I'm half and half not
And the old kind is broke
With the new kind we bought
I drink alcohol, know the words to Wonderwall
I rewrite the code while I do my time on road
Ohhhh
Ohhhh
Ohhhh

[Chorus]
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?
Tell me why
Things change but it feels the same
If life is such a game
How come people all act the same?

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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