b. Mathangi Arulpragasm, 17 July 1977, Hounslow, London, England. The London-based rapper M.I.A. (pronounced Maya) first emerged in the early 00s, causing a major stir on the international club scene with her genre-hopping take on hip-hop, electronica and world music.
Born to Sri Lankan parents, Arulpragasm moved to that country with her family because of her father’s involvement with the Tamil independence movement. The worsening of the political situation in Sri Lanka and her father’s involvement in militant activities made the family’s situation precarious, and Arulpragasm was forced to flee the country with her mother, sister and brother. They returned to England via India and were housed as refugees on a council estate in Mitcham, Surrey. The young Arulpragasm found solace in music and art and won a scholarship to study art, film and video at the celebrated Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design. Her debut public exhibition was short-listed for the Alternative Turner Prize and led to a working relationship with indie popsters Elastica, designing record sleeves and videoing the band on the road.
Arulpragasm’s involvement with the music scene broadened beyond the art sphere when she began experimenting with a Roland MC-505 sequencer. Her 2002 demo as M.I.A. included the memorable track ‘Galang’ and provided an early indication of her ability to bend and fuse disparate musical styles to her own end. ‘Galang’ was subsequently released as a white label single by Showbiz Records and became an underground success on the club circuit. After signing a recording contract with XL Recordings, M.I.A. teamed up with ‘Galang’ remixers Steve Mackey and Ross Orton to help flesh out the material she had composed at home using the Roland MC-505. She also released mixtapes in collaboration with DJ Diplo who in turn helped out on the recording of her debut album. Utilising the hookline from Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band’s track of the same name, the July 2004 release ‘Sunshowers’ proved to be another big club hit and was followed later in the year by a new version of ‘Galang’.
The hype surrounding M.I.A. began to reach fever pitch but the release of Arular was delayed until spring 2005 by record company politics. The album took its name from her father’s political title in the Tamil struggle, and the war-torn images on the self-designed record sleeve provided further evidence of the impact of Sri Lanka’s political situation on M.I.A.’s creative drive. The breathless blend of UK garage, dancehall, electro, hip-hop and bhangra on Arular confirmed the hype surrounding the rapper was not without substance, and the album was nomiated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize.
The artist’s growing profile was confirmed when she joined Gwen Stefani on her world tour at the end of 2005. She returned to the studio the following year to work on her second album, which was recorded in several countries with producers including Diplo, Timbaland and Danja. After naming her debut for her father, this time around Kala was named after her mother.
