It's M.I.A. or the highway

[marmar]

from the Chicago Sun-Times:



Hip-hop provocateur M.I.A., a k a Maya Arulpragasam, has been stirring things up all year long, from a polarized reaction to her ultra-violent video for the song "Born Free" (from her third studio outing, "Maya," released mid-July) to last spring's feud with a New York Times journalist that culminated in her tweeting the writer's personal cell phone number. This summer, you've probably read more headlines about M.I.A. than heard songs by her.

She ruffles feathers the same way Kanye West does, acting before thinking. So it's no surprise she and West have connected and begun working together; M.I.A. just contributed some music and vocals to West's upcoming album, "Dark Twisted Fantasy."

London-born, Sri Lankan-raised M.I.A. first came to the attention of the mainstream when her 2008 single "Paper Planes" wound up on two hit movie soundtracks, reaching two largely different audiences, "Pineapple Express" and "Slumdog Millionaire." West sampled that track for his own "Swagga Like Us" with T.I., Jay-Z and Lil Wayne; he then convinced her to join them on stage to perform it at the 2009 Grammys. M.I.A. was nine-months pregnant at the time. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/conner/2747308,CST-FTR-mia27.article