Kala (album)

Kala
Studio album by M.I.A.
Released 8 August 2007 (2007-08-08)
Recorded 2006–2007
Genre Worldbeat, dancehall, electroclash[1]
Length 47:32
Label XL, Interscope
Producer M.I.A., Switch, Blaqstarr, Timbaland, Morganics, Diplo
M.I.A. chronology
Arular
(2005)		 Kala
(2007)		 Maya (/\/\ /\ Y /\)
(2010)
Singles from Kala
  1. "Bird Flu"
    Released: 23 November 2006
  2. "Boyz"
    Released: 11 June 2007
  3. "Jimmy"
    Released: 1 October 2007
  4. "Paper Planes"
    Released: 11 February 2008

Kala is the second studio album by British musician M.I.A., released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music to alternative hip hop and makes extensive use of South Asian music such as that of the urumee, a drum used in gaana music native to Tamil Nadu, India. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob.

M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. She began recording the album in early 2006 and worked on the tracks in various locations around the world, including India, Jamaica, Australia, Liberia and Trinidad. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur, after M.I.A. was refused a long-term work visa to enter the country.

Kala was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart, 172 places higher than Arular, and topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart. In the United Kingdom it reached number 39 on the UK Albums Chart, 59 places higher than her debut album. Kala has spawned the singles "Boyz", "Jimmy" and "Paper Planes".

Contents

Composition and recording

M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) had released her debut album Arular in 2005, which achieved critical acclaim and sold 130,000 copies.[2] Plans for a second album were first revealed when she spoke later that year of her intention to work with American producer Timbaland. At one point it was anticipated that he would produce the bulk of the album.[3][4] However, she was unable to gain a long-term work visa to enter the U.S., reportedly due to her family's connections with guerrillas in Sri Lanka.[2] This led to conflicts between the two artists' schedules and meant that Timbaland's involvement was restricted to a poorly received guest verse on the track "Come Around".[3] M.I.A. instead opted to record the album at a variety of locations around the world,[2] beginning by travelling to India following the last date of her Arular Tour in Japan in February 2006.[5]

She initially travelled to India to meet A. R. Rahman, but found it hard to communicate her ideas to him and the planned musical collaboration did not take place.[6] Rahman did, however, provide M.I.A. with a number of contacts and allow her to use his studio, where 22 members of drumming group The Tapes were recorded for Kala.[7][8] Producer Switch, who had initially travelled to India purely to engineer the planned sessions, ultimately became involved in the composition of several tracks for the album.[6] A visit to Angola to work with DJ Znobia was cancelled after Znobia was involved in a car accident,[6] but M.I.A. was able to record in Trinidad, Liberia, Jamaica and Australia.[9][10] She and Switch relied heavily on Logic Pro, a digital audio workstation produced by Apple, and were able to capture vocals and background sounds outside the traditional studio environment, using a microphone and a Macbook Pro.[7][8] The album features guest vocals from Afrikan Boy, The Wilcannia Mob, and Timbaland, and further collaborations with Switch, Blaqstarr, Morganics and Diplo.[1] She likened the process of recording the album to "making a big old marble cake with lots of different countries and influences. Then you slice it up and call each slice a song".[6]

Music and lyrics

Kala is named after M.I.A.'s mother, in contrast to her previous album, Arular, which was named after her father.[11] She contends that Arular was a "masculine" album, but that Kala "is about my mum and her struggle–how do you work, feed your children, nurture them and give them the power of information?"[5][12] She further summed the album up as "shapes, colours, Africa, street, power, bitch, nu world, and brave."[13]

The tracks "Boyz" and "Bird Flu" use urumee drums, a signature instrument of Gaana, a Tamil genre of music, with which M.I.A. was familiar from her time spent living in Sri Lanka. She later worked on these tracks in Trinidad, where she absorbed influences from the country's love of soca music.[6][14][15] The lyrics of "Boyz" deal with the artist's time in Jamaica, and reference Jamaican dance moves.[6] The song "Hussel" began as an image in M.I.A.'s head of refugees being smuggled in boats, which she expressed musically by imagining how "if they banged that beat on the side of a boat, what would it sound like? That's why it's all echo-y and submarine-y". The sounds on the intro were recorded from Keralan [sic] fishermen chanting as they pull their fishing boats into the water.[6] "World Town" used instrumentation from the temple music she recalled waking up to as a child in Sri Lanka.[6] After playing the track to children in Liberia, she expressed a desire to record a video for the song there.[6] M.I.A.'s "flat, unaffected vocals and delivery of lyrics" on some songs drew comparisons to British post-punk bands such as Delta 5 and The Slits. She says it "was just what was happening to me naturally...I wanted it to be difficult and raw and not get into it so much".[14]

Afrikan Boy, an exponent of grime, a UK-based genre of urban music, provided vocals on the song "Hussel". M.I.A. opted to work with him because she felt that he seemed comfortable with his identity as a "real immigrant" and because his background was different to that of most MCs in the genre.[15] She had originally planned to include "Mango Pickle Down River"—her remix of The Wilcannia Mob's song "Down River"[16]—on a mix-tape, but chose to include it on the album because she felt it was rare to hear the "aboriginal voice" in recorded music,[15] and described opening track "Bamboo Banga" as having a "bamboo-stick beat, house-y feel".[15] The song "Jimmy" was included as a tribute to her mother and is M.I.A.'s version of an old Bollywood film track to which she used to dance at parties as a child.[14] Despite the involvement of Baltimore club musician Blaqstarr, "The Turn" turned out to be the album's only ballad, and the track has been described as the least like club music.[15] "20 Dollar" was written about the relative ease of buying AK-47s in war-torn Liberia.[17] "XR2" recalls part of the artist's life growing up with rave music in early 1990s London,[15] while the song "Paper Planes" jokingly plays on M.I.A.'s problems with visas and certain perceptions of immigrants.[18]

Release and artwork

In April 2007 Rolling Stone reported that Kala would be released on 26 June of that year.[19] After being delayed for unknown reasons, the album was eventually released by XL Recordings on 8 August 2007 in Japan and on 20 August in the UK, and by Interscope Records on 21 August in the United States.[20] The Japanese edition featured three extra tracks not included on the versions released in other countries.[21] Following the unexpected commercial success of "Paper Planes", Kala was re-issued in the United Kingdom in October 2008.[22] A 4 November 2008 U.S. re-release was announced,[23] but as of late 2009 the album had not been re-issued in the United States.

The album's packaging includes photographs taken by M.I.A. and others in Liberia and Jamaica.[24] The cover artwork to Kala, designed by M.I.A., features neon fractal patterns and repeated slogans, including "Fight On! Fight On! Fight On!", which surrounds her image on the front cover.[25] The cover was considered garish, prompting The Village Voice to comment "Maybe one day [she'll] make an album cover that it doesn't hurt to look at".[14] Additional graphics for the album were provided by English fashion designer Carri Mundane (a.k.a Cassette Playa) and Steve Loveridge.[24] The album's artwork was inspired by African art, "from dictator fashion to old stickers on the back of cars," which M.I.A hoped, like her artwork extended "Okley Run" clothing range, would capture "a 3-D sense, the shapes, the prints, the sound, film, technology, politics, economics" of a certain time.[26]

Promotion

M.I.A. began her promotion of the new album with a live appearance at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Preston in May 2007, where she performed six songs from Kala.[27] In July she began the full KALA Tour with dates in the United States before going on to play a number of festivals in Europe and America.[28] After dates in Asia,[29] she returned to America for a series of shows in October and November,[30] before ending the year with concerts in the UK.[31] The tour continued during the first half of 2008 under the banner of the People Vs. Money Tour with further dates in North America,[20] although the planned European leg of the tour was eventually cancelled.[32]

The first track from the album to be made available to the public was "Bird Flu", which was made available as a downloadable promotional single in November 2006.[33] The first official single to be lifted from the album, "Boyz", was released on 11 June 2007.[20][34] The second single was "Jimmy", which was released on 1 October 2007.[35] The EP Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP, featuring various mixes of "Paper Planes", was released digitally on 11 February 2008 and physically three weeks later.[36] A new physical single version was released in the UK on 13 October 2008.[37] Also in October 2008, How Many Votes Fix Mix EP was released, containing a remix of "Boyz" with Jay-Z and the tracks "Shells" and "Far Far".[38]

Reception

Commercial performance

As of March 2010, Kala was certified Gold for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[39] The album debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling about 29,000 copies in its first week.[40] It failed to rise above this position but still significantly outperformed the peak position of 190 attained by M.I.A.'s previous album.[41] It also topped the Top Electronic Albums chart.[42] In the UK Albums Chart it debuted at number 39,[43] and again did not rise above this position, although as in the US this represented an improvement on the chart performance of Arular, which had peaked at number 98.[44] The album was certified Silver with sales of 60,000+ in the U.K. by the British Phonographic Industry.[45] In Canada, Kala was certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA).[46] The album also reached the top 40 in a number of other countries.[47]

Critical reaction

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
Allmusic [1]
Entertainment Weekly (B)[48]
The Guardian [49]
Los Angeles Times [50]
NME (8/10)[51]
Pitchfork Media (8.9/10)[52]
PopMatters (9/10)[53]
Robert Christgau (A+)[54]
Rolling Stone [9]
Stylus (A)[55]

Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported an average score of 87 based on 37 reviews, described as "universal acclaim".[56] Christgau, reviewing the album for Rolling Stone, said that Kala "strikes deep. There's a resolute sarcasm, a weariness and defiant determination, a sense of pleasure carved out of work – articulated by the lyrics, embodied by the music."[9] Eric R. Danton of The Hartford Courant called Kala "pop music without the vapidity, and political music without the condescension."[57] Under the Radar, in a positive review, noted that Kala "not only doesn't disappoint, it renews faith in M.I.A. and confirms her commitment to the individualistic sound she has created."[58] Conversely, Dusted's Ben Tausig described the album as "inconclusive" and said it "plays as mixed media pastiche".[59] Vibe said "the majority of Kala...is limp and unfocussed."[60] Writing in NME, Alex Miller acknowledged that M.I.A.'s music polarised opinion, claiming that some members of the magazine's staff had "fed several copies [of the album] into the shredder claiming aural abuse", but went on to praise the album for its innovation and refer to it as the artist's masterpiece.[61] Eddy Lawrence of Time Out commented how the album helped make the singer a carnival queen and everyone's favourite multi-genre artist – "beloved of the broadsheet fashionistas yet simultaneously patron saint and pin-up for the Day-Glo nu-rave kids."[62] Eric Grandy of The Stranger noted that although the album cemented M.I.A.'s status as an international indie pop icon, it made her no less easy to parse, and that what excited him was her artistic efforts and the album's tackling of themes such as identity theory and globalisation, concluding "M.I.A. (born Maya Arulpragasam) is too big to contain; there's entirely too much going on in her art".[63] Kim Gordon of the alternative rock band Sonic Youth appreciated the album's colour, multiple textures and density, noting that the lyrics and genre-less feel to M.I.A.'s music appealed to her and that her "rhythms aren’t generic. They’re intuitive and organic."[64]

Accolades

Kala achieved a high placing on most publications' end of year "best of 2007" lists, including placings at number eight (Stylus[65]), number seven (NME[66]), number six (Paste,[67] The A.V. Club[68] and Entertainment Weekly[69]), number four (The Guardian[70] and Drowned in Sound[71]), and number three (Pitchfork Media[72]). The album was also listed at number three on The Village Voice's 35th annual Pazz & Jop poll.[73] Blender and Rolling Stone both named Kala as their number one album of 2007.[74][75] "Boyz" was number nine and "Shells" number 67 on the same magazine's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007 and 2008 respectively.[76][77] The album was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize.[78] In 2009 NME placed the album at number 72 in its list of the 100 greatest albums of the decade,[61] Rolling Stone named it the ninth best album of the same period,[79] and veteran critic Robert Christgau named it the best album of the decade.[80]

Track listing

# Title Songwriter(s)[24] Other[24] Time[24]
1 "Bamboo Banga" Mathangi Arulpragasam, Ilaiyaraaja, Jonathan Richman, Dave Taylor Incorporates elements of "Roadrunner" by Jonathan Richman (1976) and "Kaattukkuyilu", written and performed by Ilaiyaraaja from the 1991 Tamil film Thalapathi. 4:58
2 "Bird Flu" Arulpragasam, R. P. Patnaik, Taylor Incorporates elements of "Thirvizha Na Vantha" written and performed by R. P. Patnaik from the Tamil film Jayam. 3:24
3 "Boyz" Arulpragasam, Taylor 3:27
4 "Jimmy" Arulpragasam, Bappi Lahiri, Taylor Incorporates elements of "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" composed by Bappi Lahiri from the 1982 Bollywood film Disco Dancer. 3:29
5 "Hussel" (ft. Afrikan Boy) Arulpragasam, Wesley Pentz, Taylor 4:25
6 "Mango Pickle Down River" (ft. The Wilcannia Mob) Brendan Adams, Arulpragasam, Buddy Blair, Keith Dutton, Walter Ebsworth, Roy Johnson, Lendal King, Morgan Lewis, Daniel M. Wright Remixed from the original recording by the Wilcannia Mob ("Down River"). 3:53
7 "20 Dollar" ("$20" on iTunes) Arulpragasam, Charles Thompson, Taylor Incorporates elements of the Pixies' song "Where Is My Mind?" and New Order's "Blue Monday" (the latter not listed on the album).[52] 4:34
8 "World Town" Arulpragasam, Blaqstarr, Taylor Incorporates elements of "Hands Up, Thumbs Down" written by Blaqstarr. 3:53
9 "The Turn" Arulpragasam, Blaqstarr 3:52
10 "XR2" Arulpragasam, Pentz, Taylor 4:20
11 "Paper Planes" Arulpragasam, Mick Jones, Topper Headon, Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer Incorporates elements of The Clash's 1982 song "Straight to Hell". 3:24
12 "Come Around" (ft. Timbaland) Arulpragasam, Timothy Clayton, Timothy Mosley 3:53
13 "Far Far" (Japanese bonus track) Arulpragasam, Taylor 3:24
14 "Big Branch" (Japanese and iTunes bonus track) Arulpragasam, Pentz 2:44
15 "What I Got" (Japanese bonus track) Arulpragasam, Charles Smith, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith Incorporates elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers 1991 song "Give It Away". 3:24
16 "Bird Flu (Cavemen Remix)" (Best Buy bonus track) Arulpragasam, Patnaik, Taylor 3:18

Reissue bonus disc

# Title Songwriter(s)[81] Other[81] Time[81]
1 "Paper Planes (Afrikan Boy and Rye Rye Remix)" Arulpragasam, Jones, Headon, Pentz, Simonon, Strummer Incorporates elements of The Clash's 1982 song "Straight to Hell". 4:01
2 "Shells" Arulpragasam 2:36
3 "Far Far" Arulpragasam, Taylor 3:25
4 "Big Branch" Arulpragasam, Pentz, Taylor 2:46
5 "What I Got" Arulpragasam, Smith, Anthony Kiedis, Flea, John Frusciante, Chad Smith Incorporates elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers 1991 song "Give It Away". 3:15
6 "Sound of Kuduro" (ft. Buraka Som Sistema) Arulpragasam, Buraka Som Sistema 3:40

Personnel

The following people are credited on the album:[24][81]

  • Vocals – M.I.A.
  • Featured vocals – Afrikan Boy, The Wilcannia Mob, Timbaland, Rye Rye
  • Producers:
    • M.I.A. (tracks 1 to 6, 8, 9, bonus disc tracks 2, 3)
    • Switch (tracks 1, 3 to 5, 7, 8, 10, bonus disc track 1, 3, 4)
    • Diplo (tracks 5, 10, 11, bonus disc tracks 2, 4)
    • Timbaland (track 12)
    • Morganics (track 6)
    • Blaqstarr (track 9, bonus disc tracks 1, 5)
    • Conductor, Riot, Lil' John (bonus disc track 6)
  • Assistant engineers – Larry "Live" Lyons (track 12), Marty Green (track 12)
  • Mixing – Mark "Spike" Stent (track 3), Switch (track 11)
  • Digital editing – Ron Taylor (track 12)
  • Vocal producer – M.I.A. (track 6), Diplo (track 6), Jim Beanz (track 12)
  • Graphic design – Carri Mundane, Steve Loveridge
  • Artwork – M.I.A.
  • Photography – M.I.A., Janette Beckman, Liz Johnson Artur, Michael Kamber
  • Cut – DJ Ability (track 6)

Charts and certifications

Charts

Chart (2007) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[47] 46
Austrian Albums Chart[47] 74
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[47] 22
Canadian Albums Chart[82] 16
Dutch Albums Chart[47] 44
Finnish Albums Chart[47] 38
French Albums Chart[47] 117
German Albums Chart[83] 93
Irish Albums Chart[84] 22
Japanese Albums Chart[85] 23
Norwegian Albums Chart[47] 22
Swedish Albums Chart[47] 18
Swiss Albums Chart[47] 74
UK Albums Chart[44] 39
U.S. Billboard 200[42] 18
U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums[42] 1
U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums[42] 8

End of year charts

Chart Position
Australia ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums (2008)[86] 41

Certifications

Country Certification
(thresholds)		 Sales/shipments
Canada Gold[46] 50,000+
United Kingdom Silver[45] 60,000+
United States Gold[39] 500,000+

References

  1. ^ a b c Kellman, Andy (2007). "M.I.A.: Kala – Overview". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1185133. Retrieved 31 July 2007. 
  2. ^ a b c "M.I.A. doesn’t need a visa, just inspiration". NBC Universal/Microsoft. 21 August 2007. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20379484/. Retrieved 4 February 2009. 
  3. ^ a b Sylvester, Nick (5 September 200&). "Culture clash". The Boston Phoenix. http://thephoenix.com/Boston/Music/46609-Culture-clash/?page=2. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  4. ^ Leah Miller (Presenter), M.I.A. (Interviewee) (2005). MuchMusic Much on Demand: M.I.A. Transcript Sep 2005 (TV-Series). Toronto: MuchMusic's Much on Demand, CTVglobemedia. http://www.muchmusic.com/music/artists/transcripts.asp?artist=1213. Retrieved 24 August 2007. 
  5. ^ a b Hawkins, Si (17 May 2006). "M.I.A.: World Party". URB. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071013164618/http://www.urb.com/features/183/MIAWorldParty.php?PageId=2. Retrieved 24 May 2007. 
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wagner, Alex (8 July 2007). "Life in Exile". The Fader. http://www.thefader.com/2007/08/07/video-interview-mia-jimmy/. Retrieved 29 December 2007. 
  7. ^ a b Cellini, Joe. "Dave “Switch” Taylor: Producing M.I.A.". Apple Inc.. http://www.apple.com/logicstudio/in-action/switch/?sr=hotnews. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  8. ^ a b Moayeri, Lily. "Out on a whim – M.I.A., aka Maya Arulpragasam, Switch and Diplo on recording Kala". Remix. http://emusician.com/remixmag/artists_interviews/musicians/mia_switch_diplo_kala/. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  9. ^ a b c Christgau, Robert (23 August 2007). "Kala : M.I.A. : Review : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/15828484/review/15854428/kala. Retrieved 23 December 2007. 
  10. ^ Ali, Lorraine (December 2008). "M.I.A.: POW!". Spin. http://spin-cdnsrc.texterity.com/spin/200812/?pg=65. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  11. ^ Lewis, Sam (23 December 2007). "M.I.A. : Kala". Drowned in Sound. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/11132/reviews/2310992-. Retrieved 15 September 2009. 
  12. ^ "What's Up With M.I.A.". Philadelphia Weekly. 6 September 2006. Archived from the original on 13 October 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071013165645/http://philadelphiaweekly.com/view.php?id=12933. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  13. ^ Empire, Kitty (11 March 2007). "10 essential albums for Spring". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theobserver/2007/mar/11/featuresreview.review. Retrieved 7 April 2007. 
  14. ^ a b c d Breihan, Tom (18 July 2007). "Status Ain't Hood interviews M.I.A.". The Village Voice. http://blogs.villagevoice.com/statusainthood/archives/2007/07/status_aint_hoo_28.php. Retrieved 6 March 2008. 
  15. ^ a b c d e f Lindsay, Cam (September 2007). "M.I.A.". Exclaim!. http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=114&csid2=946&fid1=27365. Retrieved 6 March 2008. 
  16. ^ "The Wilcannia mob". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 November 2002. http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/11/29/1038386308756.html. Retrieved 16 March 2010. 
  17. ^ Durbin, Jonathan (23 August 2007). "Track by Track : M.I.A.". VH1. http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1567706/20070823/mia__4_.jhtml. Retrieved 23 December 2008. 
  18. ^ "M.I.A. Strike, Match, Light, Fire". MTV. 3 December 2007. http://www.mtv.com/overdrive/?id=1574938&vid=190780. Retrieved 6 March 2008. 
  19. ^ Covert, Adrian (10 April 2007). "M.I.A. sets release date for upcoming album 'Kala'". Prefix. http://www.prefixmag.com/news/mia-kala-release/9987/. Retrieved 10 December 2008. 
  20. ^ a b c "Tour Dates and News". M.I.A.. Archived from the original on 9 August 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070809112524/http://www.miauk.com/info/?m=200705. Retrieved 11 December 2008. 
  21. ^ "Kala". Beggars Group Japan. http://www.beggarsjapan.com/artists/MIA/WPCB-10029/index.html. Retrieved 15 December 2008. 
  22. ^ "MIA announces 'Paper Planes' UK release". NME. 4 September 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/mia/39504. Retrieved 4 February 2009. 
  23. ^ Hiatt, Brian (16 October 2008). "M.I.A.'s unexpected smash". Rolling Stone. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090216032838/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/23399805/mias_unexpected_smash. Retrieved 10 October 2008. 
  24. ^ a b c d e f Track listing and credits as per liner notes for Kala album
  25. ^ Nishimoto, Dan (21 August 2007). "M.I.A. : Kala". Prefix. http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/mia/kala/16147/. Retrieved 10 December 2008. 
  26. ^ "MIA Talks Fashion". The Fader. 24 October 2008. http://www.thefader.com/2008/10/24/stylee-fridays-mia-talks-fashion/. Retrieved 24 April 2010. 
  27. ^ "Radio 1's Big Weekend : M.I.A.". BBC. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend/2007/artists/mia/. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  28. ^ Robson, Daniel (5 October 2007). "A globalist rapper pauses for breath". The Japan Times. http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/fm20071005a1.html. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  29. ^ "M.I.A. adds U.S. dates to Summer Tour". Pitchfork Media. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080307071803/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/43913-mia-adds-us-dates-to-summer-tour. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  30. ^ "M.I.A. adds shows with The Cool Kids". Pitchfork Media. 1 October 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080307034000/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/46027-mia-adds-shows-with-the-cool-kids. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  31. ^ "MIA announces new UK tour". NME. 18 October 2007. http://www.nme.com/news/mia/31882. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  32. ^ Dumile, Ashraf. "M.I.A. cancels UK and European dates to garden". Drowned in Sound. http://www.drownedinsound.com/news/3461094. Retrieved 19 December 2008. 
  33. ^ ""M.I.A.: "Bird Flu - Single""". iTunes Music Store. 13 November 2006. http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewAlbum?i=259312196&id=259312194&s=143444. Retrieved 4 November 2008. 
  34. ^ Solarski, Matthew (6 June 2007). "M.I.A. Namez Release Date for "Boyz" Single/USB Stick". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 23 December 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071223053348/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/43415-mia-namez-release-date-for-boyz-singleusb-stick. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  35. ^ Yates, Steve (16 September 2007). "New world order". The Observer. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/sep/16/urban. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  36. ^ Thompson, Paul (13 February 2008). "DFA, Adrock Remix M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" on New EP". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 6 March 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080306224816/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/48681-dfa-adrock-remix-mias-paper-planes-on-new-ep. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  37. ^ "MIA Announces 'Paper Planes' UK release". NME. 4 September 2008. http://www.nme.com/news/mia/39504. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  38. ^ Maher, Dave (28 October 2008). "M.I.A. Releases EP With Jay-Z Version of "Boyz"". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/news/33875-mia-releases-ep-with-jay-z-version-of-boyz/. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  39. ^ a b "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database". Recording Industry Association of America. http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH. Retrieved 11 April 2010.  (user must enter "M.I.A." in search field and click "Go")
  40. ^ Hasty, Katie. "'High School Musical 2' Hangs On Atop Billboard 200". Billboard. Archived from the original on 4 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080204000923/http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003632746. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  41. ^ "M.I.A. – Charts & Awards". Allmusic. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070930040737/http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p674864/charts-awards. Retrieved 7 March 2010. 
  42. ^ a b c d "Kala – M.I.A. Chart History". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. http://www.billboard.com/#/album/m-i-a/kala/1057999. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 
  43. ^ "Top 40 Albums Archive :: Week 35 : 26/08/2007–01/09/2007". The Official Charts Company. http://www.theofficialcharts.com/archive-chart/_/3/2007-09-01/. Retrieved 3 February 2009. 
  44. ^ a b Roach, Martin (2009). The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums. Virgin Books. p. 328. ISBN 0-7535-1700-0. 
  45. ^ a b "Certified Awards Search". British Phonographic Industry. http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx. Retrieved 2 September 2009.  (user must enter "MIA" in search field and click "Go")
  46. ^ a b "Certification Results". Canadian Recording Industry Association. http://www.cria.ca/cert_db_search.php. Retrieved 12 April 2010.  (user must enter "M.I.A." in search field and click "Go")
  47. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "M.I.A. – Kala (Album)". Ultratop. http://www.ultratop.be/nl/showitem.asp?interpret=M.I.A.&titel=Kala&cat=a#. Retrieved 15 October 2009. 
  48. ^ Greenblatt, Leah (17 August 2007). "Kala (2007)". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20052134,00.html. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  49. ^ Petridis, Alexis (17 August 2007). "MIA, Kala". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/aug/17/urban.electronicmusic. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  50. ^ Powers, Ann (20 August 2007). "Third World beats – M.I.A.'s latest, 'Kala,' gives voice to the voiceless, in an avant-garde mix of sounds". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/2007/aug/20/entertainment/et-mia20. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  51. ^ Miller, Alex (6 September 2007). 2007 "Mia – Kala". NME. http://www.nme.com/reviews/mia/8949 2007. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  52. ^ a b Pytlik, Mark (21 August 2007). "M.I.A. – Kala". Pitchfork Media. http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/10564-kala/. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  53. ^ Raper, Dan (20August 2007). "M.I.A.: Kala". PopMatters. http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/mia-kala. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  54. ^ Christgau, Robert (21 August 2007). "M.I.A. - Kala". Robert Christgau. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_album.php?id=13812. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  55. ^ McGarvey, Ewen (21 August 2007). "M.I.A. – Kala". Stylus. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/mia/kala.htm. Retrieved 16 September 2009. 
  56. ^ "M.I.A. : Kala (2007)". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/mia/kala. Retrieved 5 September 2007. 
  57. ^ Danton, Eric R. (23 August 2007). "Kala by M.I.A. – Politics With A Strong Beat". The Hartford Courant. Archived from the original on 13 November 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071113234739/http://www.courant.com/entertainment/music/reviews/albums/hc-topcd0823.artaug23,0,3313809.story. Retrieved 23 December 2007. 
  58. ^ "M.I.A.: Kala". Under the Radar: p. 74. Summer 2007. 
  59. ^ Tausig, Ben (20 August 2007). "Dusted Reviews". Dusted. http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3778. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  60. ^ "M.I.A. : Kala". Vibe: p. 133. September 2007. 
  61. ^ a b Miller, Alex. "The Top 100 Greatest Albums of the Decade". NME. http://www.nme.com/list/albums-of-the-decade/158049/page/1. Retrieved 4 December 2009. 
  62. ^ "MIA: interview". Timeout.com. http://www.timeout.com/london/music/features/3361/MIA-interview.html. Retrieved 2011-12-13. 
  63. ^ Eric Grandy (2007-11-14). "M.I.A.'s radical rump shaking". The Stranger. Index Newspapers. http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/Content?oid=439225. Retrieved 2008-12-04. 
  64. ^ Gordon, Kim (2008-06-15). "Out of This World, Catchy or Good for Driving". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/15/arts/music/15play.html?ref=music. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  65. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2007". Stylus. 31 October 2007. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/pop_playground/top-50-albums-of-2007.htm. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  66. ^ "NME Albums & Tracks of the Year". NME. http://www.nme.com/reviews/albums/oftheyear. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  67. ^ "Signs of Life 2007: Best Music". Paste. 26 November 2007. http://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2007/11/signs-of-life-2007-best-music-1.html. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  68. ^ "The best music of 2007". The A.V. Club. 12 December 2007. http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-music-of-2007,2104/. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  69. ^ "The Best (and Worst) Albums of 2007". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/gallery/0,,20162677_20164091_20166853_4,00.html. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  70. ^ "2007's best albums". The Guardian. 7 December 2007. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2007/dec/07/4. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  71. ^ "DiS's albums of 2007: 5–1 (and full top 50)". Drowned in Sound. http://www.drownedinsound.com/in_depth/2673307. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  72. ^ "Top 50 Albums of 2007". Pitchfork Media. 18 December 2007. http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6753-top-50-albums-of-2007/. Retrieved 18 December 2008. 
  73. ^ "The 35th Annual Village Voice pazz&jop critics' poll". The Village Voice. 24 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 February 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080212030603/http://www.villagevoice.com/pazzandjop07/winners.php?type=album. Retrieved 14 September 2009. 
  74. ^ "Best Albums of 2007 – Music Critics' Year-End Top Ten Lists". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/music/bests/2007.shtml. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  75. ^ Christgau, Robert; Fricke, David; Hoard, Christian; Sheffield, Rob (27 December 2007). "The Top 50 Albums of 2007". Rolling Stone. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20100106025129/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601851/the_top_50_albums_of_2007. Retrieved 17 December 2008. 
  76. ^ "The 100 Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone. 25 December 2008. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090503114135/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/24947047/the_100_best_singles_of_2008/17. Retrieved 12 January 2009. 
  77. ^ "Rolling Stone's 100 Best Songs of 2007". Rolling Stone. 11 December 2007. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20090417211309/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/17601363/the_100_best_songs_of_2007/3. Retrieved 14 January 2009. 
  78. ^ Spotts, Greg. "(shôrt–lĭst)". Short List. http://www.shortlistofmusic.com/. Retrieved 8 January 2010. 
  79. ^ "100 Best Albums of the Decade". Rolling Stone. 9 December 2009. http://replay.waybackmachine.org/20100106030254/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/31248017/100_best_albums_of_the_decade/print. Retrieved 3 January 2010. 
  80. ^ "Rolling Stone Ballot: The 00's Best Songs & Albums". Robert Christgau. 24 December 2009. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/list/rs00.php. Retrieved 31 December 2009. 
  81. ^ a b c d Track listing and credits as per liner notes for UK bonus disc edition of Kala album
  82. ^ Williams, John. "Canada Album's Chart". Jam!. Canadian Online Explorer. http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/B/Bedouin_Soundclash/2007/08/29/4455380-ca.html. Retrieved 3 September 2007. 
  83. ^ "Musicline.de – Chartverfolgung – M.I.A. – Kala" (in German). Media Control. Musicline.de. http://www.musicline.de/de/chartverfolgung_summary/title/M.I.A.%28Hip+Hop%29/Kala/longplay. Retrieved 22 July 2010. 
  84. ^ "Irish Charts – Singles, Albums & Compilations". Irish Recorded Music Association. http://www.irma.ie/charts_archive/week35_07.asp. Retrieved 15 October 2009. 
  85. ^ "カラ – Ｍ．Ｉ．Ａ． ／ オリコンランキング情報サービス「you大樹」" (in Japanese). Oricon. http://ranking.oricon.co.jp/free_contents/search/ranking_list.asp?itemcd=719031&samecd=1&chart_kbn=11A&linkcd=31377694. Retrieved 3 September 2007. 
  86. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Urban Albums 2008". 2008. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-urban-albums-2008.htm. Retrieved 3 December 2011. 

External links

M.I.A.
Studio albums
Arular · Kala · /\/\ /\ Y /\
Mixtapes
EPs
Singles
"Galang" · "Sunshowers" · "Bucky Done Gun" · "Bird Flu" · "Boyz" · "Jimmy" · "Paper Planes" · "Born Free" · "XXXO" · "It Takes a Muscle"
Featured singles
Tours
Related articles
Book