'MIA' was the first Sri Lankan 'ever' to be nominated for a Grammy Award = Part 02 =

Get the latest Flash player

federalidea
February 12, 2009

MIA Biography 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 interna...

MIA Biography

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.

Source : Wikipedia

Category: Music

Tags:

M.I.A Sri Lanka War Tamil Grammy Award Kala Paper Planes London

More From: federalidea

Play All Stop Autoplaying | Play Next

QuickList(0)

Clear | Save

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

This video has no Responses. Be the first to Post a Video Response.

Text Comments (41) Options

0310rojo (1 day ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

mia is the best !!!!

noboudaries10 (1 month ago) Show Hide

-1

Marked as spam

she totally just overdosed on the word 'like' if like was coke, shed be dead

diamonddragoniori (3 months ago) Show Hide

-1

Marked as spam

LMAO....she has never considered herself to be Sri Lankan....she want to be a traitor.....to her motherland.....

good riddance.....XD

eranjenes (4 months ago) Show Hide

-2

Marked as spam

she's a british not a sri lankan. even if she has a link to sri lanka she's not sri lankan coz her job is speaking for the very terrorists who try to destroy sri lanka so how come she's sri lankan?

tmorgan1000 (4 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Did you listen to the interview,she got the boot thanks to Black July '83 riot ... so what's your beef?

kidpeol (5 months ago)

Comment removed by author

pleasureplace (5 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

And if you knew how to read-you would have known that i said -YES SHE IS SRI LANKAN-but she is also a tamils refuge. get ur facts straight,and learn how to read.

diliniful (5 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

She is a british not a srilankan... shes is a tamil british

aidd001 (5 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

She can't even say her own name without an accent. =,=

tmorgan1000 (4 months ago) Show Hide

Marked as spam

Tamils, Sinhalese, Indians ... most of us "ethnics" adjust the pronounciation of our names when we speak to those who probably cannot say it correctly. In my 38 years outside of Asia, only two people of European background have asked for the correct pronounciation. The east European got it correct the first time & the Irish guy never did. Most Americans want an Americanized version & historically U.S. Customs would often re-name immigrants.

Showing 10 of 41 comments

Show More Comments

View All 41 comments

Would you like to comment?

Join YouTube for a free account, or sign in if you are already a member.

YouTube	Programs	Help	Policy	Discover
Contact Us	Advertising	Get Help	Privacy Policy	YouTube on Your Phone
YouTube Store	Developers	YouTube Handbook	Terms of Service	YouTube on Your Site
Press Room	Partnerships	Community Help Forums	Copyright Notices	YouTube on Your TV
Business Blog	Content Management	Safety Center	Community Guidelines	YouTube RSS Feeds
YouTube Blog		Creator's Corner		TestTube

Add YouTube to your Google homepage

Current Location: Spain Show locations

'MIA' was the first Sri Lankan 'ever' to be nominated for a Grammy Award = Part 02 =

More From: federalidea

QuickList(0)

Related Videos

Statistics & Data

Video Responses (0)

Text Comments (41) Options

Would you like to comment?