M.I.A. (rapper) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
M.I.A.
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| எம்.ஐ.ஏ. | |
M.I.A. in 2016
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Mathangi Arulpragasam
18 July 1975 London, England
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| Nationality | British |
| Other names | Maya |
| Citizenship | Sri Lankan |
| Education | Central Saint Martins, College of Art and Design |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
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| Children | 1 |
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| Relatives | Kali Arulpragasam (sister) |
| Awards | Full list |
| Honours | MBE |
| Musical career | |
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Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born 18 July 1975), known as M.I.A. (which means "Missing in Action" and "Missing in Acton"), is a British rapper, singer, and record producer. Her music mixes different styles like hip hop, electronic, and world music. She uses electronic sounds and samples in her songs.
M.I.A. was born in London. Her family moved to Sri Lanka when she was a baby. She experienced the Sri Lankan Civil War as a child. This made her family return to London as refugees when she was 11. The war greatly influenced her art and music. She started as a visual artist and filmmaker in 2000. She began her music career in 2002. She became famous online in 2004 with her songs "Sunshowers" and "Galang".
Her first two albums, Arular (2005) and Kala (2007), were highly praised. They blended hip hop, electronic, and world music. Her song "Paper Planes" reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. It was also nominated for a Record of the Year Grammy Award. M.I.A. has won two American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) awards and two MTV Video Music Awards. She was named one of the most important artists of the 2000s by Rolling Stone magazine. Time magazine also listed her as one of the 100 most influential people in 2009.
Contents
Life and career
Early life and beginnings (1975–2002)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam was born on 18 July 1975, in London. Her father, Arul Pragasam, was an engineer and activist. Her mother, Kala, was a seamstress. When Maya was six months old, her family moved to Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka. Her father became a political activist there.
The Sri Lankan Civil War greatly affected Maya's childhood. Her family often hid from the Sri Lankan Army. She had little contact with her father during this time. Maya remembers living in poverty but also having happy memories in Jaffna. She went to Catholic schools and developed her art skills, especially painting.
During the war, soldiers sometimes shot at her school. Her classmates learned to hide or run to other schools for safety. Maya's mother moved her and her siblings to India for a while. They later returned to Jaffna, but the war got worse. Her primary school was destroyed in a raid.
In 1986, her mother brought the children back to London. They were housed as refugees. Maya was almost 11 years old. She learned English quickly. Her classmates found her first name hard to say, so her aunt suggested "Maya." Her family was one of only two Asian families in their area. She described the atmosphere as "incredibly racist."
Maya's mother became a Christian in 1990. She worked as a seamstress for the Royal Family. Maya had a difficult relationship with her father because of his political work. She later named her first album Arular after him. She graduated from Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design in 2000. She earned a degree in fine art, film, and video.
After college, Maya wanted to make films and art that showed real life. She felt this was missing from her art classes. She met Justine Frischmann from the band Elastica. Justine asked Maya to create album art for their 2000 album, The Menace. Maya also filmed their American tour. In 2001, Maya went back to Jaffna to film a documentary about Tamil youth. She couldn't finish it due to problems she faced.
In 2001, Maya had her first art show in London. It featured graffiti and spray-paint art. Her art mixed Tamil political street art with London life. The show was nominated for an Alternative Turner Prize. A book of her art, titled M.I.A., was published in 2002.
Musical career (2003–present)
Maya started making music after being encouraged by artist Peaches. She experimented with a music machine called a Roland MC-505. She chose her stage name, "M.I.A.", because her cousin was "Missing in Action" in Sri Lanka. She was also living in Acton, London, at the time.
She recorded a six-song demo tape. In 2003, a small label released 500 vinyl singles of her song "Galang". This song mixed dancehall, electro, and world music. "Galang" and "Sunshowers" became popular in clubs and fashion shows. M.I.A. became known as an underground artist. She was one of the first artists to gain a large fanbase through the internet. She uploaded her music to MySpace in 2004. Major record labels noticed her, and she signed with XL Recordings.
Her debut album, Arular, was released in March 2005. The album was named after her father's political name. Many songs on the album talk about her and her father's experiences in Jaffna. She used beats she programmed on the Roland MC-505. The album explored different sounds and discussed topics like the Iraq War and daily life in London. Arular received great reviews. It was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize.
In 2006, M.I.A. recorded her second album, Kala, named after her mother. She recorded it in many places like India, Trinidad, and Jamaica. This was because of visa issues in the United States. Kala used live instruments and traditional dance and folk styles. It also included sounds from Tamil film music. The album's songs and artwork explored themes like immigration and war. The first song from the album, "Bird Flu", was released in 2007. The first official single, "Boyz", came out in June 2007.
Her song "Paper Planes" was released in 2008. It became a huge hit, selling millions of copies. It was nominated for a Grammy Award. Kala was also highly praised and was a bigger commercial success than Arular. M.I.A. toured to support Kala, performing in Europe, America, and Asia.
In 2008, M.I.A. started her own record label, N.E.E.T. Recordings. She signed artists like Rye Rye and Sleigh Bells. She also collaborated with A. R. Rahman on the song "O... Saya" for the movie Slumdog Millionaire. This song earned her an Academy Award nomination. M.I.A. is the first person of Asian descent to be nominated for an Oscar and a Grammy in the same year.
Her third album, Maya, was released in 2010. It included the song "Born Free" with a controversial music video. The album was more experimental and included industrial music sounds. Maya became her highest-charting album worldwide.
In 2012, M.I.A. co-wrote and performed "Give Me All Your Luvin'" with Madonna and Nicki Minaj. She also performed at the Super Bowl XLVI halftime show. Her song "Bad Girls" was released in 2012. It became one of her most successful singles. It was nominated for Video of the Year at the MTV Video Music Awards.
Her fourth album, Matangi, was released in 2013. It received positive reviews. She left Roc Nation management at the end of 2013.
In 2015, M.I.A. released "Matahdatah Scroll 01 Broader Than a Border." This video featured two of her songs and was filmed in India and West Africa. In November 2015, she released "Borders". This song talked about the global refugee crisis. The music video showed people trying to escape their homes.
Her fifth album, AIM, was released in 2016. In 2018, a documentary film called Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was released. It showed her journey to fame and her activism. The film won an award at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival.
In 2020, M.I.A. launched a Patreon page for new music. She released "OHMNI 202091" and "CTRL." She was also featured on Travis Scott's song "Franchise" with Young Thug. This song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, M.I.A.'s first number-one single. Her sixth album, Mata, was released in 2022. It included the singles "The One" and "Popular".
Artistry
Musical style and influences
M.I.A.'s music is a mix of many styles. These include electro, reggae, hip hop, and Asian folk music. She has been influenced by artists like Missy Elliott, Lou Reed, and The Clash. She also loved Tamil film music as a child. She describes her music as dance or club music for "the other." She is sometimes called an "anti-popstar" because she doesn't always follow typical music industry rules.
Early in her career, M.I.A. used the Roland MC-505 machine a lot. Later, she experimented more with her sound. She created layered music using instruments, electronics, and sounds from outside a traditional studio. Her voice is unique, often described as "whooping" or "chanting." She uses different singing styles, from aggressive rapping to melodic vocals. She says her raw vocal style shows what she was going through when recording.
Legacy
M.I.A.'s music and art have had a big impact. She uses images and lyrics that make people think. She has been praised for turning her experiences of being displaced into creative art. Critics have said her albums Arular and Kala showed the "arbitrary" violence experienced in many parts of the world. Some say Kala "sounded like the future" and influenced later hip-hop artists.
M.I.A. has been recognized for bringing attention to issues in developing countries. She is seen as a pioneer for a global humanitarian perspective. Some early critics questioned her authenticity because she went to art school. However, others argued that her experiences connected her deeply to world issues. Music critic Robert Christgau said her art helped thousands of American writers learn about the situation in Sri Lanka.
Social causes
Activism
M.I.A. often speaks about the challenges faced by Sri Lankan Tamils. Her comments have received both praise and criticism. She says that feeling voiceless as a child made her want to help refugees. She uses social media like Twitter to talk about human rights issues in Sri Lanka. She shares news articles and reports to support calls for peace. M.I.A. also uses tiger prints in her art and videos, which is a symbol for the Tamil people.
As the only widely known Tamil artist in Western media, M.I.A. feels a responsibility to represent her community. She has spoken about the need for international help for Tamil people. She has said that governments knew about Sri Lanka's actions but did not stop them. Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary has denied her claims. He said M.I.A. was "misinformed" and should stick to music.
Some people have called her a "terrorist sympathiser." She has said that even public figures like Oprah Winfrey misunderstood her. M.I.A. explained that she is a Tamil and people were dying in her country. She believes her activism has brought strength to Eelam Tamils. However, she has also received hate mail and threats because of her activism.
M.I.A. has also spoken about other issues. In 2008, she filmed a police incident in New York and posted it online. She has talked about how news companies and Google affect information. She believes there is a need for other news sources. She has also expressed concern about video game violence and its effect on young people. She said that seeing violence in real life gave her issues. She worries that kids who only see violence on screens might not understand its true impact.
In 2013, M.I.A. said that she believes there are "no countries." She thinks "we're all one, we all live on this planet." She also said that Edward Snowden, a famous whistleblower, should be Time magazine's "Person of the Year." She supports WikiLeaks because they shared information about the Sri Lankan war. She believes this information confirmed the truth about what happened to the Tamils. She even composed the theme song for Julian Assange's TV show.
M.I.A. has been open about police killings in the United States. In 2016, she shared an article showing that more US citizens had been killed by police than military personnel since 2001.
Anti-vaccination and anti-5G
In 2020, M.I.A. made comments about the COVID-19 vaccine. She said she would "choose death" over it. She later clarified that she is not against vaccines in general. She said she is "against companies who care more for profit then humans." That same year, she also commented on the idea linking 5G to COVID-19. She tweeted that 5G might "confuse or slow the body down in healing process." In 2022, she questioned if celebrities promoting vaccines should pay for "lying," similar to a conspiracy theorist who was ordered to pay for false claims.
Politics
M.I.A. has supported political candidates in the UK. In 2009, she endorsed Jan Jananayagam for the European Parliament. This candidate focused on issues like anti-genocide and civil liberties. In 2009, M.I.A. said that President Barack Obama should return his Nobel Peace Prize. She joked, "Give war a chance," to make people think.
In 2010, she criticized China for supporting the Sri Lankan government during the conflict. She said China's influence in the UN prevented war crimes from being prosecuted. After the 2011 London riots, M.I.A. criticized the UK government. She said they didn't address the real reasons for the riots. She suggested that big companies should pay more taxes in the UK.
In 2017 and 2019, M.I.A. endorsed Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn in UK elections. She called him "real" and "the last stand that England has got." In 2024, she endorsed Donald Trump's presidential campaign.
Philanthropy
M.I.A. supports many charities. She helped fund Youth Action International to help young people in war-torn African communities. She also set up school-building projects in Liberia in 2006. She supports the Unstoppable Foundation and helped build the Becky Primary School in Liberia. After a performance in 2008, she donated $100,000 to build more schools in Liberia.
She has also donated to The Pablove Foundation. This foundation funds cancer research and helps children with cancer through creative arts. In 2009, she supported an aid ship to send help to Vanni in Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan navy said they would fire on any ship entering their waters. M.I.A. was singled out for her support. In 2011, she donated money to help Tamil war victims and refugees.
Personal life
M.I.A. dated DJ Diplo for five years, starting in 2003. From 2006 to 2008, she lived in Brooklyn, New York. There, she met Benjamin Bronfman. They got engaged and had a son, Ikhyd Edgar Arular Bronfman, on 13 February 2009. They separated in February 2012.
M.I.A. was raised as a Hindu. However, in a 2022 interview, she shared that she became a born-again Christian in 2017 after having a vision of Jesus Christ.
Discography
- Arular (2005)
- Kala (2007)
- Maya (2010)
- Matangi (2013)
- AIM (2016)
- Mata (2022)
Tours
- Arular Tour (2005)
- Kala Tour (2007)
- People vs. Money Tour (2008)
- Maya Tour (2010)
- Matangi Tour (2013–2014)
- AIM Tour (2017–2018)
Honours, awards and nominations
M.I.A. is the only artist to be nominated for an Academy Award, Grammy Award, Brit Award, Mercury Prize, and Alternative Turner Prize. She is also the first artist of Sri Lankan-British descent to be nominated for an Academy and Grammy Award in the same year.
She was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 2019 for her music. She accepted this honor for her mother. Her mother had "spent her life in England hand sewing thousands of medals for the Queen." In 2022, she received an honorary award from the University of the Arts London.
Images for kids
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M.I.A. performing at Sónar on her Arular Tour
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M.I.A. performing in Melbourne in February 2006
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M.I.A. performing at the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival in August 2009
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M.I.A. performing at Peace & Love during the Maya Tour, 2011
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M.I.A. performing at the Zénith de Paris in 2014
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M.I.A. performing at Primavera Sound 2022
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M.I.A. speaking at Labour's Charter for the Arts launch in November 2019
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M.I.A. with then-partner Ben Bronfman (right) and Twitter founders Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey (left and center respectively)
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See also
In Spanish: M.I.A. (cantante) para niños
