M.I.A is one of those artists who you could imagine at school was always in trouble for talking during lessons, not particularly naughty just lots to say and quite opinionated. You know the one’s, drove teacher’s crazy with their unquellable appetite for mild disruption, yet despite a seemingly lack of regard for school etiquette still attained all the required grades. We have no idea what Mathangi Arulpragasam aka M.I.A was actually like at school, Wikipedia certainly had nothing to say on the matter, however our hypothesis serves to illustrate the point that M.I.A is intelligent, outspoken, perhaps even a philosopher whose methods and accomplishments are generally outside of the generally accepted societal norms.
Last years incendiary ‘Borders’ was M.I.A at her political / pop best. Forget endless writing credits, streaming exclusivity and an overly meddling husband, M.I.A is an artist who feels, is intimately connected to her surroundings, who then takes this deep connection to the world around her and communicates it to us, the audience, in a way that is enticingly illuminating without losing its straight up mass appeal. In recent months the cumulative music press have been eulogising another pop icon, Beyonce, suggesting that her new LP ‘Lemonade’ is the work of genius, yet despite the obviously intrinsic musicality and supposed introspective message of its author you can’t help but feel that its all too well sculpted, marketed and bereft of a truly un-edited voice. Like a US presidential candidate you can’t help but feel disconnected from Beyonce the person and what she actually stands for, as a result, unlike M.I.A, you find yourself not really caring too deeply about what she’s trying to say.
Poc Still That Ryda dropped earlier today along with the accompanying statement, a statement that for us, sorry Beyonce fans, that suggests an author who’s LP is likely to have a little more substantive fizz than a cool lemonade…
This song is a mix of all the songs on my upcoming LP – had to do a remix to let u know , I been poor , I been rich , I been brown , I been black , I seen white and I been around the world a few times ay ay ay ay . LOVE IS THE ANSWER what the question is I don’t fucking know. We in this together.