M.I.A. and Diplo – Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1
OK, fanboys: stop drooling.
Yes, she’s beautiful. And Piracy Funds Terrorism, Vol. 1, the saliva-inducing mix-taped preview to her forthcoming full-length, Arular, is seriously good. Granted. As far as potential world-shattering pop stars are concerned, we could do worse then the Sri-Lankan-by-way-of-London M.I.A., who’s been absolutely everywhere these days. But one mixtape does not an icon make, and everyone should be weary of heaping too much praise on our hero before she’s actually presented something deserving.
Piracy Funds Terrorism buzzes through your average club “bangers”—Diplo takes some old favorites for a second spin (Salt-n-Peppa’s “Push It”, Miss Elliott’s “Pass the Dutch”, Dead Prez’s “Hip Hop”) and M.I.A. effortlessly graces his works/re-works with enough hooks and choruses to put every other “diva” to shame.
But M.I.A., birthed into a family of political activism and parental revolutionaries, is sort of cheating us. When displaying her skill as an artist and writer in non-music related mediums, her intelligence and scope of world issues is apparent. It seems slightly disappointing then, given her background and the title of the tape itself, that she doesn’t use this inclusive effort created separate from the politics of the music industry to introduce some breadth of culture and conflict to a more mainstream audience—to take her place as “it” girl, and potentially far more, and try and spark change.
However, on second thought, that’s what guys like Bono do everyday and I know for a fact that I’m not the only one who’s a little sick of him. Maybe M.I.A.’s contribution to world change is her ability to start a dance revolution. If that’s the case, for now, she’s succeeded.
M I A on the CD
Mothafuckahs can you hear me.
OH MY LORD. i just saw MIA’s first show in the US this past saturday and it was ridonkulous! she is possibly the hottest thing to ever grace this earth, and would make any girl change their sexual orientation. she played pop with the dead prez beat last (hottest song on the album), and it seemed like me and my crew were the only ones that knew the words. MIA, please come back to NYC!
Yeah, she was lip-synching, so don’t get that pink triangle tattoo just yet:
http://moreinthemonitor.blogspot.com/2005/02/mia-knitting-factory-feb-5-2005.html
BONO? Her lyrics seem to have huge scope to me – in fact it just makes you realise how underrepresented her kind of world-view is in the music industry when it’s a life shared by a whole mass of people. I think the content perfectly reflects the poiint she’s making – she’s had half a life in a third-world Civil war and then been in London going to art college – she’s a displaced person like millions of others and so jumping from a song about another girl text-messaging her man to one about a suicide bomber is what you’d expect to get- the Bono comparisson seems way off the mark. She could have made a record that just beat you over the head with politics and conflict but she’s done something way more interesting and closer to the bone, which is show where your head goes when you do that split in your life from third-world to first world living, so you get this hybrid mix of influences and images.
yeahh, this is how we do. sri lankan pride all the way.
WOAH! M.I.A. is like the most beautiful woman in the world. I am bi and used to have a crush on Kiera Knightly, but screw that, the tables have slightly changed.
I dont believe it that M.I.A. was lip synching, how could that dude even tell? Even if she was she’s still suuuper hot and awesome and the fact that she lip synched doesnt at all ruin her cred. ( with me anyways).
SRI LANKA ALL THE WAY!