M.I.A.

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M.I.A.
Background information
Birth name Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam
Also known as M.I.A.
Born July 17, 1977
Origin Hounslow, London, England
Genre(s) Other
Occupation(s) Artist, rapper, singer
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) XL Recordings
Showbiz
Associated
acts		 Diplo
Website Official Site
This article is about the singer M.I.A. For other uses, please see MIA.

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born on July 17, 1977 in Hounslow, London, England)[1] is a rapper, singer and artist of Sri Lankan origin. She is best known by her stage name, M.I.A.. Her style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, reggaeton and baile funk.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil activist-turned-revolutionary-guerrilla, Arul Pragasam,[2] was born in Hounslow, London. When she was six months old, her family moved back to their native Sri Lanka. Motivated by his wish to support the Tamil efforts to win independence from the majority Sinhalese population, her father became politically known as Arular [1] and was a founding member of The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), a militant Tamil group. Her alias, "M.I.A." stands for "Missing in Action". She says her alias references both her London neighborhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous youth.[3]

While residing in Sri Lanka, Maya lived with her family on her grandparents' remote farm, a collection of huts without electricity or running water. After a year, as her father's involvement in militant activities increased, Maya, her older sister Kali, and their mother moved to Jaffna in the far north of the island, where Maya's younger brother Sugu was born. Contact with her father was strictly limited, as he was in hiding from the Sri Lankan Army (which is reported to engage in the torture of Tamil males).[4] He occasionally visited in secret, slipping through the window at night and being introduced to the children as "an uncle" so that his identity and whereabouts would not be given away to the army when they regularly came to question the family.

Eventually, as the civil war escalated, it became unsafe for the family to stay in Sri Lanka, so they were forced to relocate to Madras, India. They moved into an almost derelict house, surviving there for a while with sporadic visits from Maya's father. However, financial struggles, illness as well as limitations of food and water meant moving back to Sri Lanka, with the help of an uncle, where they settled in Jaffna again.

By now, the violence of the civil war was at its peak, and the family once again tried to flee the country. The army regularly shot Tamils seeking to move across border areas and bombed roads and escape routes. After several failed attempts to leave, Maya’s mother successfully made it out with the three children, arriving first in India before finally returning to Maya's birthplace in London, where they were housed as refugees.

It was in the late 80s, on a council estate in Mitcham, Surrey, that an eleven-year-old Arulpragasam began to learn the English language. Here she was exposed to Western radio for the first time, hearing broadcasts emanating from her neighbors' flats. Her affinity for hip-hop and rap began from there. The uncompromising attitudes of Public Enemy, Big Daddy Kane, Roxanne Shante and N.W.A. clicked with a frustrated, energetic war-child trying to relate to grey and foreign surroundings.[1] "Those records were rhythmic, so whether you understood the language or not, you could understand the music," she now says.

[edit] Art and film

Maya's Pocko Editions Art book cover. The book was published in 2002, titled M.I.A.
Maya's Pocko Editions Art book cover. The book was published in 2002, titled M.I.A.

Maya was a talented and creative student, eventually winning a place at London's Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, where she studied fine art, film and video. Here, for the first time, she began to piece together some of the different strands of her life experience. In an early incarnation of what was later to become M.I.A., she learned how to play off her different cultural personae against each other; layering rap iconography with the warfare pictures from her youth, Asian Britain with American new-wave film making style and St. Martin's fashion sense with refugee outlooks.

A successful art career beckoned and, for a while, seemed to be Maya's destined path. Her first-ever public exhibition of paintings in 2001 at the Euphoria Shop in Portobello, London, featured candy coloured spray-paint and stencil pictures of the Tamil rebellion movement. Graffitied tigers and palm trees mixed with orange, green and pink camouflage, bombs, guns and freedom fighters on chip board off-cuts and canvases. The show was nominated for the Alternative Turner Prize,[1] every painting sold (Jude Law is a patron of her art)[5] and a monograph book of the collection was published by Pocko 1 (which was simply entitled M.I.A.).

The Publication's back cover reads:

“ From a long-forgotten region of endemic conflict comes a project to challenge your ethical core. The art of warfare is sprawled across these pages transforming bloodshed into beauty and raising the phoenix of forbidden expression - The real war is in us.[6] ”

[edit] Music beginnings

A commission from Elastica's Justine Frischmann to provide the artwork and cover image for the band's second album, The Menace, led to Arulpragasam following the band on tour around forty American states, video-documenting the event, and eventually directing the music video for Elastica's single, "Mad Dog". The support act on the tour, electro-clash artist Peaches, introduced Arulpragasam to the Roland MC-505 sequencing machine and gave her the courage to take on the one artform she felt least confident in: music. Back home in London, Arulpragasam and Frischmann got hold of their own 505 and, working with the simplest of set-ups (a second-hand 4-track, the 505 and a radio microphone), Arulpragasam worked-up a series of six songs onto a demo tape which became her calling card to the industry. This tape included the first track she had ever composed, "M.I.A.", the second track she had ever composed, "Galang", and "Lady Killer". The tape found its way into the hands of Steve Mackey and Ross Orton who then re-worked the track "Galang" into the diverse meld of influences that would eventually propel M.I.A. into the limelight. (sample (help·info))

A mix of dancehall, electro, grime and world music, Showbiz Records only pressed 500 copies of the independent vinyl single "Galang", but that was enough for her to win the widespread and immediate support of DJ's and the media. Numerous major record labels caught onto the underground success of "Galang" and M.I.A. eventually signed to XL Recordings home to Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx and the White Stripes, embracing them as they were the only label to offer her complete creative control. She also chose them because it was the closest to her house, telling the label, "Trust me, you've been looking for me",[7] before dropping off the "Galang" tape. They called her back 20 minutes later.

Maya Arulpragasam in the video for her song "Sunshowers"
Maya Arulpragasam in the video for her song "Sunshowers"

"Galang" was re-released. The accompanying music video for "Galang", featuring multiple M.I.A.’s amid a backdrop of her graffiti artwork animated and brought to life, was directed by Ruben Fleischer and art directed by M.I.A. herself. Scenes of urban Britain and the war in Sri Lanka are depicted and delivered with a wry sense of humour. For her next single release, "Sunshowers", Arulpragasam again hooked up with Ross Orton and Steve Mackey who had worked with her successfully on the beats on "Galang". Together they worked to push boundaries even further with minimalist production and a reworked chorus from Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band’s track of the same name, this time about guerrilla warfare and the Sri Lankan war. A video was made for the track, which she filmed in the jungles of South India with acclaimed director Rajesh Touchriver. MTV initially refused to play the video until a reference to the Palestine Liberation Organization was removed from the song. Maya refused to comply with their requests, although she did appear on an MTV Live spot online where this reference was uncensored.

[edit] Meeting Diplo

After hearing his single, "News Flash", and loving it, Arulpragasam tracked down and met with Diplo, the Mississippi-born DJ originally named Wesley Pentz, to work on some material. She says of his song now: "It had that same homelessness about it. It didn't have a particular genre, which is what people always say to me: Your song doesn't fit anywhere. So I went on a mad mission to find other people like that, because then we could make a home."

Arulpragasam approached Diplo when he was DJing one night at the Fabric Club, London. "Besides me being a white dude from Florida and her being a Sri Lankan girl in England, everything else was the same: [We were both] film graduates, [listened to] all the same music when we were kids, were going in the same direction right now in music, it was amazing."[8] he said of their meeting. Coincidentally, Diplo was playing "Galang" as she entered the club.

The next month, Arulpragasam left for Philadelphia to work on the production of her first composition and the hidden track on her album, "M.I.A.," with Diplo, and to also collaborate on new material. Nothing worthwhile came of it, until Diplo began experimenting with a capellas of the tracks on Arular, remixing, sampling and mashing them up with already famous rappers and musicians, eventually using the material created during the sessions to build the mixtape Piracy Funds Terrorism.

Piracy Funds Terrorism was initially only given to the press and handed out at early live shows, but because of the album's huge underground success, Turntablelab.com began releasing the mixtape exclusively through their website around December, 2004. The mixtape added to the already building hype of Arulpragasam's debut album and also forced people to acknowledge the mixtape subculture in general. It also established M.I.A.'s growing fanbase within the music and MP3-sharing blogosphere.

Diplo later produced the third track on Arular, "Bucky Done Gun," which mixes the popular baile funk sound from Rio de Janeiro with a sample from the "Theme From Rocky". The two were romantically involved and briefly toured together. In September 2005, after rumours of a breakup, M.I.A. confirmed the two were still together during her appearance on MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand. In late 2006, M.I.A. posted news of their break-up on her MySpace.

[edit] Arular

Fresh off the response to the mixtape's circulation in late 2004, and prior to the release of her debut LP, Arulpragasam made her North American debut at the Drake Hotel in Toronto in February, 2005. According to organiser Jacob Smid the “Response was phenomenal”.[9] She followed this with a sold out performance at New York City’s Knitting Factory club the next day. “She brings out such a diverse crowd…At the time, it seemed like she was still under the radar; the record wasn't out but people were singing along to every song", Smid recalled to Pollstar Magazine. "It was really cool to see.”[9]

M.I.A. on the cover of the 2005 US Pollstar magazine, performing at Summerstage.
M.I.A. on the cover of the 2005 US Pollstar magazine, performing at Summerstage.

On the heels of months of anticipation, Arulpragasam’s debut album Arular was finally released in March 2005 in North America, and was simultaneously released around the world to success and critical acclaim.[10][11] Titled in acknowledgment of her father's past, and with topics ranging from identity and poverty to revolution and war, the album was praised for its originality, cut and paste philosophy, and bold outlook. Co-produced and written mostly by M.I.A., Arular featured a fusion of genres, experimentation with different sounds, her hand-sprayed artwork on the record sleeves and lyrics that mixed Tamil, Spanish, and Jamaican slang. With tracksuits and hoodies specially sewn from African and Ceylonese print fabrics, or Mowgli dance moves for ragga beats, Arulpragasam showcased culture clashes that worked; being described as “a unique voice unafraid to mix big issues with cool sounds.”[12] It also featured exploration of new territory for its co-producers Steve Mackey and Richard X who worked with dancehall and Tamil nursery rhymes. Maya followed the release of the album with performances at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, the Manhattan club S.O.B.s, at Central Park Summerstage, the Glastonbury Festival, Reading Festival and Japan's Summer Sonic Fest as well as at other venues.[13][14] She also toured with LCD Soundsystem.[15] She appeared on the track “Bad Man” on Missy Elliott’s 2005 album The Cookbook.

On July 19, 2005, M.I.A. was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize for Arular.[16] Commercially successful, Arular remains one of the best selling independent albums in Canada, having stayed on the Nielsen SoundScan Electronic Top Ten Chart for 27 weeks, peaking at number 3.[17] In December, Arular was the second most featured album in music critics’ Year-End Top 10 lists for 2005.[18] It was placed number two on The Village Voice's 33rd annual Pazz & Jop poll for the Best Album of 2005[19] and gained glowing reviews from several publications worldwide.[10][11][17]

Eye Magazine remarked "We knew when we put Maya Arulpragasam on our cover last January that she would spend 2005 blasting out of bass-bins in basement parties around the world to the delight of dancers with diagonal haircuts... But M.I.A.'s appeal proved as universal as her approach, mixing riddums and rhymes that spanned Kingston to London, Brooklyn to Brazil. And if her use of militaristic imagery was willfully ambiguous - though no more flagrant than that of The Clash or Public Enemy - it was the appropriate fatigues for a new form of combat-rock for life during wartime."

[edit] 2006 – present

M.I.A. ended 2005 joining Gwen Stefani on her Harajuku Lovers Tour. The arrival of 2006 saw her returning to the studio to work on her upcoming album, titled KALA. The album was recorded in several countries, and producers on the album are said to include M.I.A., as well as Switch, Diplo and Timbaland. M.I.A. is also working with Three 6 Mafia on two songs for her next album.[20] Two tracks, "XR2" and the tentatively titled "Talk About Moi" premiered on her Myspace and fan forum site, repectively. Arulpragasam visited Liberia in December 2006 to meet war-affected people there including ex-child soldiers and film a documentary on the post war situation in the country with activist Kimmie Weeks.[21][22] "Bird Flu" was released via her Myspace on February 5, 2007. According to a message posting by Diplo, Maya had funded the music video for the single "Bird Flu" herself,[23] images of which had been released on her Myspace account in August of 2006.[24] The video can be found on her official site, or on her Youtube account. In 2007, M.I.A. featured in the song "Come Around", a bonus track on the Timbaland album Timbaland Presents Shock Value.

[edit] Censorship

The nature of M.I.A.'s art work and lyrics has led to increased curiosity into her career and levels of censorship of her work. MTV refused to play the video of her single "Sunshowers" until a reference to the PLO was removed from the song, and the artist was denied a visa to enter the US around April/May 2006. The reasons for the denial of a visa remain unclear.[25] M.I.A. has however previously stated in an interview about censorship of her work:

“ From Day One, this has been a mad, crazy thing: I say the things I'm not supposed to say, I look wrong, my music doesn't sound comfortable for any radio stations or genres, people are having issues with my videos when they're not rude or explicit or crazy controversial. I find it all really funny.[7] ”

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Singles

[edit] Guest appearances

  • Cornershop's "Topknot", single, 2004 - "Topknot [Cavemen's Mix]" featuring Bubbley Kaur & M.I.A.
  • Ciara's "Goodies", single, 2005 - "Goodies [Richard X's Remix]" featuring M.I.A.
  • Missy Elliott's The Cookbook, album, 2005 - "Bad Man" [featuring Vybez Kartel & M.I.A.]
  • Jamesy P's "Nookie", single, 2005 - "Nookie [Featuring M.I.A.]", "Nookie [M.I.A. & Jabba Remix]"
  • Nump's "I Got Grapes", single, 2006 - "I Got Grapes [M.I.A.'s Remix]"
  • Amanda Blanks' "Take It Easy", myspace single, 2007 - "Take It Easy" with M.I.A.
  • Timbaland's Timbaland Presents Shock Value, album, 2007 - "Come Around" feat. M.I.A.

[edit] Awards and nominations

Some awards and nominations M.I.A. has received are listed below.

[edit] Art

[edit] Music

[edit] Trivia

  • Frequently performs on stage with her backup singer Ms. Cherry, from the Caribbean, and her ex-boyfriend DJ Diplo.
  • In 2004, New York's Fader Magazine made her their cover star with the head line "This is M.I.A. - Music's Now Thing." She flew out to New York to headline a live show to coincide with the launch of the issue, and stayed to see designer Matthew Williamson open and close his fashion week runway show with the song Sunshowers.[1]
  • Whilst at film school in London, she idolised director Spike Jonze, wrote a script, and was approached by another director John Singleton to work on a film in LA, and move to Hollywood.[26] She never ended up going, stating "I was more into Harmony Korine and Dogme 95, radical cinema."[27]
  • Returned to Sri Lanka in 2001 as a documentary filmmaker to chart the oppression of the Tamil youth in the North East.[28] Much of the footage could not be used, as restrictions were imposed by the state.
  • In 2000, she was a roommate of friend and fashion designer Luella Bartley. The two were featured in an article for Fashion Rocks Magazine in September 2006.[29]
  • The song “Fire Fire” was used in an episode from season 3 on The O.C..
  • Designs and makes her own clothes,[30] and is also dressed by friend and designer Carri Mundane.
  • The songs "10 Dollar" and "Galang" were used in episodes on the TV show Entourage.
  • Named Spin and URB magazines' "Artist of the Year" in 2005.
  • There is a song named after her called "Arulpragasam" on the nerdcore rapper mcchris' 2006 release, Dungeon Master of Ceremonies.

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c d e Loveridge, Steven (November 2004). M.I.A.: Short Biography. Isfm.net. Retrieved on 30 March 2006.
  2. ^ Lynskey, Dorian (22 April 2005). Fighting Talk. The Guardian. Retrieved on 19 April 2006.
  3. ^ Wheaton, Robert (6 May 2005). London Calling - For Congo, Columbo, Sri Lanka.... PopMatters.com. Retrieved on 19 April 2006.
  4. ^ Harrison, Frances (26 June 2001). Sri Lanka's Torture Shame. BBC. Retrieved on 3 May 2006.
  5. ^ Weiner, Jonah (Jan/Feb 2005). The Next Best Thing! M.I.A.. Blender Magazine. Retrieved on 25 February 2007.
  6. ^ M.I.A.: The Pocko Art Collection. Pocko Editions (30 October 2002). Retrieved on 30 March 2006.
  7. ^ a b Pytlik, Mark (14 March 2005). Interview: M.I.A.. Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved on 12 April 2006.
  8. ^ Pytlik, Mark (4 April 2005). Interview: Diplo. Pitchforkmedia.com. Retrieved on 18 April 2006.
  9. ^ a b Peters, Mitchell (5 September 2005). M.I.A.. Pollstar Magazine. Retrieved on 30 March 2006.
  10. ^ a b Acclaimed Music.net (31 December 2005). Acclaimed Music - Arular. Acclaimed Music.net. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  11. ^ a b Metacritic (31 December 2005). M.I.A.: Arular (2005): Reviews. Metacritic Database. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  12. ^ Release – Arular by M.I.A.. GiantStep.net. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  13. ^ XL: M.I.A. Mini-Biography. XL Recordings (Summer 2005). Retrieved on 30 March 2006.
  14. ^ Shapiro, Peter (17 June 2005). Talking about her revolution. The Times. Retrieved on 19 April 2006.
  15. ^ M.I.A. Radio Interview (audio). KEXP.org (11 May 2005). Retrieved on 25 February 2007.
  16. ^ Forrest, Emma (4 September 2005). MIA, Myself and I. Guardian Unlimited Arts. Retrieved on 19 April 2006.
  17. ^ a b Beggars Group Canada (31 December 2005). M.I.A. Closes 2005 in Grand Style. Beggars Group Canada. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  18. ^ Metacritic (31 December 2005). Metacritic: Best Albums of 2005. Metacritic Database. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  19. ^ The Village Voice (31 December 2005). The 33rd Annual Village Voice pazz&jop critics’ poll. The Village Voice. Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  20. ^ M.I.A. in Ardent. mixonline.com (9 December 2006). Retrieved on 6 March 2007.
  21. ^ Arulpragasam, Maya: Crack Guns in Africa, Crack in America. M.I.A. Myspace. 2 December 2006. Retrieved 24 February 2007.
  22. ^ Top Singer M.I.A. in Liberia, MTV Crew in town. Analyst Liberia.com (7 December 2006). Retrieved on 24 February 2007.
  23. ^ M.I.A.FansForum. M.I.A.'s new album. M.I.A.FansForum post. Retrieved on 9 August 2006.
  24. ^ Arulpragasam, Maya. On the set of M.I.A.'s new video. M.I.A. Myspace. Retrieved on 9 August 2006.
  25. ^ MIA Denied Entry To the US. The Spacelab (Spring 2006). Retrieved on 22 May 2006.
  26. ^ Robert Epstein, Daniel (29 December 2005). Interview: M.I.A.. Suicidegirls.com. Retrieved on 20 August 2006.
  27. ^ John Singleton - M.I.A. once eyed a career as a film-maker. Contactmusic.com (4 October 2005). Retrieved on 20 August 2006.
  28. ^ Binielli, Mark (15 December 2005). Guerrilla Goddess. Rolling Stone. Retrieved on 20 August 2006.
  29. ^ Luella Bartley & M.I.A.. Nirali Magazine (11 August 2006). Retrieved on 19 December 2006.
  30. ^ Frere-Jones, Sasha (22 November 2004). Bingo in Swansea. The New Yorker. Retrieved on 10 February 2007.

Books:

[edit] External links

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Interviews:

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