Matangi

About

After M.I.A.’s 2008 global hit “Paper Plane,” the British Sri Lankan artist had been propelled from the underground into the mainstream. But fame wasn’t exactly an easy fit. After moving to Los Angele, M.I.A. was undermined by some in the US media, who mocked her for drawing attention to the political situation in Sri Lanka when she herself was now a rich woman living in the West. But what really invoked the ire of America’s press and public was her performance at the 2012 Super Bowl halftime show. Appearing alongside Madonna, M.I.A. flipped the bird at the camera, prompting the NFL to file a $1.5 million claim against her (only to later add <i>another</i> $15 million to the tally). The ensuing backlash against M.I.A. was impossible to quantify, but it was equally severe, turning the already-controversial artist into a target of derision by many American. Released in 2013, less than two years after the Super Bowl kerfuffle, <i>Matangi</i> might be less outwardly political than her previous record. But throughout her fourth album, M.I.A. is pointed in what she is (and isn’t) talking about. “Brown girl, brown girl/Turn your shit down/You know America don’t wanna hear your sound,” she chants on “Boom Skit.” And while this album is certainly less abrasive than its 2010 predecessor, <i>Maya</i>, this is a record that nonetheless subverts the expectations of both pop and rap’s mainstream. A track like “Warriors” features off-kilter and glitchy electronic, and lets M.I.A. meld transcendental Indian classical drone with her caustic sing-song rap. And on “Bring the Noize,” her vocals serve as a piercing, emphatic form of percussion. And while <i>Matangi</i> is M.I.A.’s first record without any production work from Diplo, the global dance heat for which she’d become known still permeates the record (perhaps in part because she was still collaborating with her mainstay collaborator Switch, as well as renowned hip-hop producer Hit-Boy). As a result, throughout <i>Matangi</i>, there’s a general sense of an artist running free. .

via Apple Music

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