Album: Kala
Artist: M.I.A.
Born: Hounslow, London
Released: August 2007
Genre: Hip Hop
After hearing Sunshowers for the first time in 2004, a single that also appeared on her debut LP, Arular (2005), it was pretty obvious to me that M.I.A. was one of the more original pop voices to emerge in recent times. As well as the political edge, the music also contains a boundless mix of hip hop, dance and electronica, while also incorporating elements of "world" music and nods to rock music's past. On her second record, Kala, her sonic palette expanded even further but the hip hop sensibility of crate digging remained, with references to Jonathan Richman's Roadrunner (Bamboo Banga), The Pixies' Where Is My Mind? (20 Dollar) and The Clash's Straight To Hell (Paper Planes). On the back of the success of Arular, M.I.A. was hoping to record much of Kala in America, with superstar producer Timbaland lined up for the sessions, but she was denied entry -- no doubt because of her explicit support for The People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Though born in London, M.I.A. was relocated to Jaffna in Sri Lanka with her family and spent the first 11 years of her life moving around as a result of her father's activities in the Sri Lanka Civil War. While her mother (Kala) looked after the family, her father (Arular) was an active part of the Tamil insurgency. A sign that M.I.A. retained the same rebel spirit, she apparently ignored her father's request to not name her debut LP after him.
Released as a single in early 2008, Paper Planes became a huge global success, despite containing similar political themes (to the similarly censored) Sunshowers. The song was used in various films and TV programmes, most notably Danny Boyle's successful Bollywood homage Slumdog Millionaire, and is a musically inspired reworking of a haunting Clash song. I couldn't get that couplet, "Fly like paper, get high like planes / if you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name", out of my head for some time. It's an apt description of M.I.A. as a musician, operating without any respect for geographical boundaries, moving from indie rock to Aboriginal rap, Bollywood music and bhangra. Jimmy is another highlight on Kala, containing some of M.I.A.'s best singing, as well as a mix of old school disco and Bollywood drama. Although I like the album's opening track Bamboo Banga, I'm not so keen on single Bird Flu, its clutter of urumee drums not so well-suited to a pop context, but it fits with M.I.A.'s desire to give expression to lesser-known musical forms and voices. Mango Pickle Down River features a crew of school-age Aborigines, known as the Wilcannia Mob (Keith Dutton's cameo is especially inspired), while grime MC Afrikan Boy appears on Hussel. Other highlights are single Boyz, full of rhythmic intensity, and 20 Dollar, which borrows New Order's Blue Monday bass line and layers it with menacing melodies and rapping. A true original.
After hearing Sunshowers for the first time in 2004, a single that also appeared on her debut LP, Arular (2005), it was pretty obvious to me that M.I.A. was one of the more original pop voices to emerge in recent times. As well as the political edge, the music also contains a boundless mix of hip hop, dance and electronica, while also incorporating elements of "world" music and nods to rock music's past. On her second record, Kala, her sonic palette expanded even further but the hip hop sensibility of crate digging remained, with references to Jonathan Richman's Roadrunner (Bamboo Banga), The Pixies' Where Is My Mind? (20 Dollar) and The Clash's Straight To Hell (Paper Planes). On the back of the success of Arular, M.I.A. was hoping to record much of Kala in America, with superstar producer Timbaland lined up for the sessions, but she was denied entry -- no doubt because of her explicit support for The People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam (PLOTE). Though born in London, M.I.A. was relocated to Jaffna in Sri Lanka with her family and spent the first 11 years of her life moving around as a result of her father's activities in the Sri Lanka Civil War. While her mother (Kala) looked after the family, her father (Arular) was an active part of the Tamil insurgency. A sign that M.I.A. retained the same rebel spirit, she apparently ignored her father's request to not name her debut LP after him.
Released as a single in early 2008, Paper Planes became a huge global success, despite containing similar political themes (to the similarly censored) Sunshowers. The song was used in various films and TV programmes, most notably Danny Boyle's successful Bollywood homage Slumdog Millionaire, and is a musically inspired reworking of a haunting Clash song. I couldn't get that couplet, "Fly like paper, get high like planes / if you catch me at the border, I got visas in my name", out of my head for some time. It's an apt description of M.I.A. as a musician, operating without any respect for geographical boundaries, moving from indie rock to Aboriginal rap, Bollywood music and bhangra. Jimmy is another highlight on Kala, containing some of M.I.A.'s best singing, as well as a mix of old school disco and Bollywood drama. Although I like the album's opening track Bamboo Banga, I'm not so keen on single Bird Flu, its clutter of urumee drums not so well-suited to a pop context, but it fits with M.I.A.'s desire to give expression to lesser-known musical forms and voices. Mango Pickle Down River features a crew of school-age Aborigines, known as the Wilcannia Mob (Keith Dutton's cameo is especially inspired), while grime MC Afrikan Boy appears on Hussel. Other highlights are single Boyz, full of rhythmic intensity, and 20 Dollar, which borrows New Order's Blue Monday bass line and layers it with menacing melodies and rapping. A true original.
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