Yesterday, Ennis reported that NPR had featured yet another story on hot chocolate MIA. A few of us wondered about the identity of someone mentioned in the “teaser” for today’s story, “the man who helped to spark the MIA Buzz.”
Let me kill your non-existent suspense: it’s Diplo, the 26-year old producer/turntablist out of Philly, whom MIA apparently “fancied”. 😉
Here are my futile attempts at transcribing NPR as fast as I can (clip here):
Maya called last year and asked (Diplo) if he would produce a cut for her debut record…he wound up producing two tracks for the album and they started dating.
From the baile funk-consumed DJ’s mouth, about the mixtape “Piracy funds Terrorism, Vol. 1”, which started it all:
“This is me and Maya, two artists doing it from the street, we didn’t have like her manager with a bright idea, her label with a bright idea…this is purely, like, in the hands of the artist which is where it should be anyway. It’s like the perfect music because it’s everything, you know?”
Yup, I know. 😉
heard she’s currently on tour with daft punk-loving dance-punkers lcd soundsystem (who are brilliant, btw). june 12th @ dc’s 9:30 club (sigh, I do miss that venue).
anyone else sick of hearing about ms. arulpragasam? we need another critically acclaimed desi musician to fete and fast.
not sick of it yet, love M.I.A, keep it coming!
Why in God’s name is she so popular? I don’t get it. I can’t understand her lyrics at all, and it seems like most white people can’t either. And sorry, SM’ers, she ain’t that hot either… sorry! I’m just sayin.. I guess I dont see what everyone else is seeing. And don’t give me that “cuz she’s desi, duh!” crap. I don’t care if she is desi– I would rather have a good purple musician than a shitty brown one any day.
i don’t care if she’s desi, either. if she were purple, she’d still make my booty shake like no other has for years.
that’s the thing, she may be ubiquitous and cossetted in hype, but she’s NOT shitty. “bucky done gone” is brilliant, the kind of track you blare with every window down/sunroof open. “amazon” tugs at your heart if you listen carefully to the pleading in her voice,
and “galang” ignites dancefloors at Ozio et al, STILL. say you’re sick of hearing about her from the press/blogs (guilty as charged) but don’t discount talent that is so very potent. after all, conscious people everywhere are conflicted and guilty over liking “Arular”. we wouldn’t debate the LTTE connection so much, if we weren’t.
Can someone tell me who Bucky is? (I mean, other than the mascot of my beloved alma mater) Also, why should we want him/her/it done gone?
M.I.A.’s yelpy voice conveys female poutiness well (“‘Scuse me, little hombre, take my number an’ call me…”) And the beats are fresh. I’m sure they’re derived from other groups, but they’re fresh to my ears.
The lyrics of that song are scandalous, btw 🙂
Probably the Sinhalese. The whole song is about militancy….”i’ll fight you just to get peace”
Disagree…she’s quite fit, innit?
fit…and we know it. 😉
What happend to the good old days when those pavum desi girls were nice and so classy looking and willing to make me idli and sambar whenever I wanted it… Oh crap! Anna is still here! Ahem… I’ll just slowly back out to my website now… 🙂
m.i.a.’s overall gig is dope. the backlash is reactive (as in haterific due to hype) and stupid. that’s all.
the song is sooo wierd. and have you seen the video . wow… i think she may be british.. and something… im listening to it right now and yeah the only words i know are Bucky Done Gone. only for the reason thats what its called
maybe its a good dance song?
Straight up, I wanted to like M.I.A.. But as a fan of dancehall and hip-hop for many, many years, I can’t say she is really good at either genre- or good at all. Nor are her beats very good. She is cute and she employs an ethnicized “daddy’s little girl (gone bad?)” aesthetic that taps into a variety of demographics in the U.S. with different levels of effectiveness. She also has a cool story and an impressive marketing saavy (hanging out with hip-hop crew Diplomats in Harlem for a magazine article, popping up with dancehall diva Macka Diamond at reggae sensation I-Wayne’s VP records release party at SOBs this month). However there is a good reason very few people are playing her record. Classic example of style over substance with the added caveat that if she was black she would be totally lost in the sauce. Sorry folks.
to each their own. it’s cool that you like dancehall and hip hop but i think your (and other people’s) problem is you want to categorize her when it’s not easy to do that. i don’t like dancehall. i love hip hop. to me, she sounds like neither. if anything, she reminds me of the noise that used to blare out of boomboxes in the 80s.
uh…yeah. it’s called “corporate radio blows b/c they are only capable of rotating the same five songs”. listen carefully, aside from that, she’s all over the place: car commercials, background music to tv shows, mashups…etc.
she’s never left my ipod and she STILL makes my oakland booty shake. my ass has GREAT taste in music, or i’d consider your point. 😉
When I said nobodys running her record I mean mixshows, sound system, Brooklyn, Queens, Chicago etc the people who live and breathe and die “black” music… even anybody on the ever-so-generous BBC 1Xtra…not big radio… Too many good artists been mixing up styles for years Ricky Jai, Sizzla, KRS. Took years and 5-10 great albums and dozens of hits under the radar for them to touch down on national TV etc…they could never dream of coming out and landing the cover of Fader on the first album?… Conan O’Brien? What a really gwan? Is it really THAT good? Or are we confusing the marketing campaign with true underground buzz..
It reminds me of Matias Yahu (sp?) the Hasidic reggae artist who is also making the rounds performing on all the talk shows. Jewish heads in particular are following this cats every move, swearing he is the truth. However, he too, cannot hold a candle to dozens of other cats, but his story and the financing are too strong for the guy with real talent and no special ethnic angle.
I’m not trying to pigeonhole homegirl I’m just calling it like I see it. If she proves me wrong and is able to stand the test of time by putting it a slew of amazing records (I mean singles, not album cuts that the converted will always swear by) over the next 5 years, hey, cool. I suspect she’ll fade away after another album (filled with guest appearances from her famous friends and producers designed to mask the lack of vocal and lyrical talent) but her existance will make it possible for some next artist with some real deep talent to make inroads. I also predict that her post-music move will be acting. Sorry to be such a cynic.
Regarding artists like Matius Yahu and MIA, its very hard for thier fans to know how the feel about the music per se.. most of us heard their story before their music.. which has a strong pre-conditioning factor. peace
oh man, if she’s rolling with dip set then it’s all downhill from here
i definitely dont think she’s the truth, but like Anna said, it sounds good!
If you are a fan, why would you need to know how to feel about the music? Shouldn’t you love it because it sounds good? I’m a huge fan of MIA’s music. As a Sri Lankan, I hate the way she confuses the situation and talks rot about ‘freedom fighters’….I’ve reconciled that duality though because I can listen to something and love it without image/backstory/chic factoring into what the bloody thing actually SOUNDS like. He is a frikkin symbol of how powerful music can be.
I also happen to love Matisyahu. I live in his neighbourhood…and the fact that a Hassidic jewish guy is singing reggae/dancehall is so amazing that I can’t think of a better word.
Crown heights is a heavily West Indian neighbourhood. I step out the door and can get jerk chicken, salt fish and acki rice, etc at 5 different places on my block alone. Crown Heights is also the main teaching synagogue for Lubavitch jewish folk, and the two groups have clashed on many ocasions. People have died in the past, and even now racism and mistrust are rampant.
I’m not saying that the west indians in my neighbourhood are huge fans. But they are amused by him. And I got into a long chat with two hassidim on the subway last week, just cause I saw them holding Virgin Megastore bags with CDs inside and asked them what they thought of Matisyahu. Turns out they were both south african, moved here to study, LOVE Matisyahu, and are interested in hearing other dancehall and reggae artists because of him.
Bear in mind that you just DON’T strike up conversations with Hassidim. Especially if you’re a woman. Burning curiousity about what they thought made me do it, and they responded delightedly when I said I was a fan, and we had a great teasing conversation about music and cricket (they admired the Sri Lankan team) all the way to Brooklyn.
I agree with ANNA that MIA isn’t hiphop (which I love) dancehall (which I love) grime (which I’m trying to understand but the syncopation or something changes so fast I get confused) or anything else. If you want to know, she does rip off baile funk on some tracks. But people are so eager to fit her into the slots THEY know, they don’t care about those that they DON’T. And even that doesn’t/shouldn’t matter because she acknowledges her debt and promotes baile funk whenever she can.
I would love Matisyahu even if he sucked, so I’m happy to say that IMO he’s really quite good.
Look. I’m a hater, it’s my nature. But shut up for a sec and listen to this stuff before you criticize. Ain’t their fault they’re overhyped.
He is a frikkin symbol of how powerful music can be.
should have been placed after the second paragraph. sorry for any confusion. I know MIA is female.
if a song was misogynistic, or better yet, a song by R Kelly, do you just ignore everything else and shake it?
As someone recently said.
Please note that I said music, not lyrics. Seeing as though I don’t understand Hebrew, I’m generally in the dark as to what Matisyahu says. Given that he used to be a Phish fan, I imagine it’s all about peace, love, and herb.
For all her political talk in interviews and website, etc. her lyrics are more about being an outsider, a third-worlder, a refuguee. Her most ‘inflammatory’ line is the nonsensical “like PLO I don’t surrendo” which I find about as offensive as Fitty saying “I love you like a fat kid likes cake.”
I had a fat period, dammit. And I liked cake.
Btw, it’s hard to be a female hiphop fan if you are bothered by misogynistic lyrics. “Ice Cream”> by Raekwon is still one of my favorites….even though my backyard doesn’t bang like a Benzie. More like a mini-scooter.
You mean like, Fitty gem
🙂
MIA’s PLO line was more like Fitty’s cake lyrics, (to me) DDiA…i.e. not as bad as lollipops and such.
Wow, he really likes dessert doesn’t he?
btw, I ignore R.Kelly altogether cuz I think he sucks. Boring, histronic, crap. (sometimes unintentionally funny though..)
What are you smoking Cic? Have you seen his new videos. Shit, I make some popcorn. 😉
when MIA has a folk tradition of her own then I would say its tried and tested to go with the feeling
i fully trust the reason bhangra music is around and will go ahead and dance to it — unless the song is blatantly about alcoholism
but MIA? no way, lots more need to be done before MIA is folk music
yeah cica. I was making a point about misogyny.
But I agree with abhi about Kelly. So, I’ll take a puff of whatever you’re handing around in N. Dakota too.
btw, I ignore R.Kelly altogether cuz I think he sucks. Boring, histronic, crap. (sometimes unintentionally funny though..)
hahahhaha! Couldn’t agree more on that one!!!
ew, like that whole “Trapped in the Closet” BS he did for the MTV awards? Painful, freakin’ painful. It’s like a hyperactive 4 year old trying to tell you about their day… “an’ then he said, and then I went, and she looked at me, and then, and then, and then…”
not visionary. SUCKED.
with all respect — and doubles, i’m not picking on you, but your words above are a clear statement to work with — it’s not up to an artist to “prove you right” or “prove you wrong.” it’s up to you as a consumer to decide whether you dig what they’re doing and want to spend your duckets on it, or otherwise. you don’t like her, and that’s cool. but she doesn’t have a responsibility to please you or anyone else. she’s already taking on a big challenge — as all artists do — by doing her thing and putting it on the line in public.
now if you want to judge her by whether she can/will put out a string of great singles, we can go there. we can talk about the politics and commercial methods of the music industry. what determines which songs become singles? get promoted? get airplay? what happens when corporate owned radio stations are shackled by “format” obligations that prevent them from pushing self-imposed, inherently regressive boundaries? from time to time, an artist like maya slips through. but that doesn’t mean she’s got it made! she could do much more generic, exploitative music, and trade away her self-respect for super sales. and yeah, she may yet. she’d be neither the first nor the last.
you want to talk about how she’s not getting bumped on your local “black” radio station or neighborhood sound system, jeep or stoop? the same comments apply. as consumers we are heavily shepherded into certain kinds of music. the ill alchemy of market surveys, demographics, and synthetic manufactured products is in full effect. most consumers take their cues from the industry because they lack either the time, interest or inclination to do otherwise. some take their cues subtly and exercise their own judgment on top of it; others are more like sheep
remember, almost every musician has much broader and more eclectic musical tastes than does his/her fans.
i’m going to see maya’s show tomorrow night and sure, i full expect the audience to consist mainly of the grafted man. and sure, i’m hoping that brown and black brethren and sistren will be present, and i’d love for them to be there en masse. but just because they aren’t won’t make me dismiss maya as illegitimate. i mean shit, most great artists are ahead of their time one way or another. i’m not saying she’ll be remembered years from now (by the dominant culture, blah blah blah) as a great artist but f*ck it, why can’t we give the sister the benefit of the doubt?
peace
Sidd- because she’s not in my top ten. I don’t “rate” her as an artist. And I think it works the opposite way.. with Soca/chutney artists like Ricky Jai, Destra, cultural dancehall artists like Chuck Fenda, Richie Spice, and pure lyricists like Last Emperor & struggling to get any attention for their exceptional well-crafted music how can I justify giving homegirl any attention, dough or shine more than reading her article and spending a couple minutes to see if her music if up to the hype? I’d rather spend my few dollars on the Capleton show.. a place with few products of Dr.Yakub and no progressive desi cats other than the Caribbean heads.
Mad most MIA fans have never even heard of these artists. The ghettoization of musical tastes runs both ways too… many of these educated, progressive heads who feel safe at an MIA show will never investigate this amazing cultural dancehall movement that is the only artform that consisently and vocally opposed the Iraq War (hip hop artists were nowhere to be found.. as Immortal Technique said: “Where are all the rappers hollering Allah now? 10 years it was cool to be muslim… where are they when we need them?”) Anyhow I digress…
smug, much?
not much… just once in a blue
they can’t stop won’t stop, thats the bottom line
basically y’all are riding the trend train wherever it takes you and frontin that you’re doing anything but
here’s a name that needs to be trendy
Micheal Frenti
or randomly K-Os
ok now lets see what happens because both of them bring it in their own way and both are way more progressive about it than MIA
self congratulatory headonism
what is UP with this shit? if someone likes MIA, let it go. you’re not better OR worse for disagreeing and preferring someone who is harder, “indie”-r or just more obscure…for now.
i’m dying to know– what are some of you wishing for with this one-upmanship? me to roll over and go, “i bow to you, oh person with cooler taste than me. i wish i were as hip and underground as YOU”?
it ain’t going to happen. i have the right to listen to what i love, you have the right to look down on me for no g.d. reason for doing so and i, finally, have the right to mutter about how arrogant certain douchebags can be. present company excluded, OBVIOUSLY.
i may be riding the trend train, but that’s a hell of a lot comfier than the hater express.