As much as I love MIA’s music, explaining her politics has been one continuous migraine. Especially since I live in hipsterland, and all the kool kids wanted to know if I was related to a “freedom fighter” too when she first made a splash with Arular. She’s toned down the LTTE rhetoric recently and, heaven help me, I’m still a huge fan…but there’s a new Sri Lankan kid on the scene, and he’s determined to inject another perspective into the fray and take her down a peg or two.
“All she wanna do is [bang][bang][bang] and [ka-ching!] take your money” he raps over MIA’s “Paper Planes” instrumental while images of the aftermath of LTTE suicide bombs flash across the screen. (The images are as gruesome as one would expect, so please consider this a disclaimer.)
The video was released less than a week ago, and keeps getting yanked off YouTube by Universal Music Group (MIA’s record label). Go to CeylonRecords to see it if the embedded video above has been disabled. Meet Delon Jayasingha. Biodata are thin on the ground, but it looks like he’s from L.A. (born there?) and going by his last name, clearly has a Sinhala Sri Lankan dad. He’s coined a new genre named “Salsa Hip-Hop” that sounds exactly as described – hiphop rhymes over salsa rhythms. Check out the link to see a video from his album, The Connection.
His original songs don’t grab me quite the way MIA’s do, but it’s pretty fantastic to have two Sri Lankans out there making ripples. And yeah, I still do think that MIA’s a musical phenomenon. The song is catchy, however you cut it. In terms of her SL politics, however, she’s an opportunist at worst and terribly naive at best. Can’t wait to see how this plays out!
Update: MIA responds:
“I don’t support terrorism and never have,” she wrote in a statement. “As a Sri Lankan that fled war and bombings, my music is the voice of the civilian refugee. Frankly, I am not trying to start dialogue with someone who is really just seeking self-promotion.”
Zing! Does this mean she’s the “establishment” Sri Lankan pop musician now? Reading her statement is pretty amusing since her first album was named for her father’s rebel code name, and she faced accusations of self-promotion herself. For now it appears that the music snobosphere finds her far more exciting than Delon’s derivative output. [Snark meant to encompass this post as well!] But it’s possible that people who dislike MIA’s hard beats (“it sounds like crushing cans!!”-overheard comment) might be exactly the type to gravitate to DeLon’s suburban pimpin’ ways. Hey, even Ja Rule had a heyday.
And even I can get on the MIA train and “self-promote”, dammit! The Pitchfork link references an old Robert Christgau article which in turn referenced my comments on a nerdy music site. I’m the half-n-half in the “heartrending roller coaster of a political debate.” There are so few Sri Lankans talking about the situation there that anyone gets noticed. Even dumbasses with bad handles. And that’s all due to MIA showing up and forcing her way to the forefront of an insular scene with talent, Elastica connections and an exotic backstory. As irritating as Delon the person might be (I’ve watched his other youtube videos since the original post. Smug, much?) now he’s out there talking about Sri Lanka too. And maybe somehow we’ll get to point when people understand there are no sides, just greed and corruption.
Then again, I’d also like a stable full of unicorns, but Mr. C says it ain’t happening.
Thanks to Sonali in NO for the tip!
(The images are as gruesome as one would expect, so please consider this a disclaimer
…don’t click after dinner 4 sho.
I’d say the video (amateur or not)certainly makes the rap more powerful…The medium is certainly the massage here
Young Jeezy should sue this guy.
Are they pulling the video because of copyright infringement?
That would be rich, considering that MIA’s “Paper Planes” is heavily dependent on a sample from The Clash (“Straight to Hell”)!
As far as I’m concerned, the Delon Jayasingha version of the song is fair use. I’m not saying I like it, but it should be out there for people to see.
He’s a silly fool. MIA rocks. Oh, and power and big ups for all removers of oppression.
I actually found this really distressing.
I can’t decide which one I like more. They’re both pretty impressive. I guess it’s the backing track. That boom-boom-boom-boom-…-ka-ching is pretty great. Not a comment on the politics.
AWESOME. Finally, about time someone exposed MIA’s hypocrisy. Catchy beat.
That’s the conundrum: the catchy beat is MIA’s and Delon had nothing to do with it. So what do you think of someone who creates such catchy beats while propagating a rather skewed view of SL? AND, it must be said, she’s stepped back from espousing LTTE perspectives and talking about SL very much since her 2nd album came out (and her US visa application was denied before the album release). Catchy beats v. opportunist/naif… how do you resolve it?
9 · cicatrix said
Let’s not kid ourselves. She’s hardly a naif, she made a calculated decision to exploit terrorist ideals to further her career. And once she had established her street cred, it was just a millstone around her potential soaring career, so she lost that, and decided to go with epilepsy inducing 80s graphics design in an attempt to establish some kind of retro coolness.
5 · boston_mahesh said
I had to read this twice to make sure. Wow. What exactly is your definition of oppression?
Sorry, let me explain that further – catchy beat with Delon’s rhymes 🙂 Wonder what the world would have thought if she was Muslim and flashed pictures of Bin Laden or the Taliban on her videos and CDs. Freedom fighter? Somehow, I think not. Hope she learnt something after being denied entry into the US for a while. There’s a reason the LTTE is banned in India, UK, US, Canada, Malaysia, EU. I don’t think MIA is naive. Isn’t her dad in the LTTE?
5 · boston_mahesh said
Do you mean “power and big ups for all removers of oppression” — like this ?
Pretty soon all of Williamsburg Brooklyn will winter in SL. MIA = SL’s Paul Hogan
4 · Amardeep said
Yeah, I agree. Totally nuts. Delon posted this on YouTube to address the Universal Music Group issue. Apparently UMG just gets YouTube to yank the videos and in turn YouTube posts this: “this video is no longer available because UMG has chosen block it.” No mention of copyright infringement, interestingly.
From my meager knowledge of copyright, this is falls well within fair use boundaries: he’s not selling this (no profit motive), he’s not claiming the music is his, he’s rapping over the instrumental (which is a well worn hip-hop tradition) and the video images/clips of MIA are all in public domain or not UMG copyright (at least the images, not sure about clips). He hasn’t received a cease-and-desist letter either, so it seems like they’re just using muscle without legal recourse.
MIA first gained attention with Piracy Funds Terrorism, a mixtape of her song over samples. Her 1st album, Arular, had it’s release delayed repeatedly because they couldn’t get many of the samples from PFT (which formed the basis of Arular) cleared. This is the track listing on Privacy Funds Terrorism:
“Galang” [featuring Lil’ Vicious] samples Baby’s “What Happened to That Boy” “Fire Fire” [Diplo’s Fire Bam Mix] samples Kraftwerk’s “The Hall of Mirrors” and Chaka Demus & Pliers’ “Murder She Wrote” “Fire, Fire” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Fire, Fire” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” “One for the Head Skit” [M.I.A.’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “One For the Head Skit” and Missy Elliott’s “Pass The Dutch” “Amazon” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Amazon” and Ciara’s “Goodies” “M.I.A./Cutty Ranks” samples Boards of Canada’s “Kaini Industries” and Cutty Ranks’s “Limb By Limb” “Baile Funk One” samples Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” “Baile Funk Two” samples Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Salt N Pepa’s Push It” “Sunshowers” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Sunshowers”, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band’s “Sunshower” and Salt N Pepa’s “Push It” “10 Dollar” [Diplo’s Chinna Girl Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “10 $”, Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” and Pretty Tony’s “Fix It In The Mix” “URAQT” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Uraqt” and Quincy Jones’s “Sanford & Son Theme” “Bingo” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Bingo” and Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin'” “Pop” [Diplo’s Mix] samples dead prez’s “Hip Hop” “Lady Killer” (Diplo Mix) samples Kraftwerk’s “Tour de France” and Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Crying” “Bucky Done Gun” samples the theme from the movie “Rocky”
MIA gave it away for free. And “Bucky Done Gun” for example, ditched the Rocky sample for a cleared baile funk song – “Injecao” by Deise Tigrona.
14 · louiecypher said
Hell, Sri Lankans won’t complain! All those super fancy hotels weren’t built in SL for nothing – the country could use as many tourist dollars as it can get. And the hipsters can get their terrorist thrills for all anyone cares… Lankans are sadly too busy harassing and killing each other to bother about white people.
Cicatrix,
How can you forget MIA’s one of the songs that is a near copy of Bappi Lahiri***’s Disco Dancer, Jimmy?
I thought a lot of her songs also pirate from Tamil film industry songs.
*** Another Piracy King.
still an MIA fan, though I think Delon did a decent job trying to show the other side.
now….i’ll give him props for his dancing skills. he can take me salsa dancing anytime. and i won’t complain if he leaves his shirt at home.
yea she has toned down the ltte rhetoric because ltte higher ups realized they were not being soo soo secretive with their message. and that they could not blatently fool people into thinking that m i a was a real singer. you don’t have to say you love her in case you are afraid that they might bomb you. all her songs have the same sound! talent my a**$&*. stop supporting terrorism you sickos
5 · boston_mahesh said
i bet you wear a Che tshirt.
yawn
I was wondering when something like this would come out.
cc, thanks for bringing this news. This line in your post had me cracking up 🙂
I have to introduce you to smarter kool kids 😛 All they believe in is naive American imperialism 🙂 Or not even!!!!
Ahhhh, the dilemma hits close to home at last 🙂 This hasn’t really happened to me yet, but you see it all the time with hip hop, na? I think you resolve it by thinking about the balance and if necessary moving on with your bad self. This is how I stopped listening to Eminem entirely and to some extent Biggie, yet continue to listen to Nas, Dead Prez, and other things that can have lyrics I find offensive or objectionable at points – good outweighs the bad. Not to get all post colonial, but we are allowed to have fractured selves and explore them, na 🙂
Or you can go on Bill O Reilly; the clip’s pretty interesting and it’s a sad state of affairs when this is the one of the few forums I see a dialogue like this happening that the outside world can see.
Anyway, great post. Thanks!
How is he making waves exactly? He rapped the LTTE wiki over the paper planes instrumental using jeezy’s flow. The rest of his tracks are crap (to which you allude). Now he’s “making ripples” like MIA?
There are plenty of other Sri Lankan artists (sinhala and tamil) who are just as bad as this guy, when will you profile them? Or will they have to take shots at MIA first?
The LTTE does heinous things, but the relationship is much more complicated if you’re sri lankan tamil. It isn’t a black or white issue. To draw an analogy, it’s like liking mia’s music but hating what she talks about. MIA’s (conflicted) relationship with them mirrors that, and many of us identify with it. I’m sorry if you don’t, but remember, this conflict and most things touched by it are much more complicated than some would have you believe.
yeti said: yawn
yawn
seeing the word yawn makes me type yawn. It’s contagious.
Not complicated. LTTE = EVIL No justification for what they do. Their sympathizers should be denounced.
This post, i guess, counts as a ripple for Delon.
Without the FX-d up sighs and drawn-out declaratory statements, he doesn’t sound much like Jeezy…
I guess Delon can lead the hipster reeducation efforts, as they are the most politically active, productive and wealth-generating demographic around. Why just yesterday I heard that a few of them had started an ironic t-shirt company!
In the video linked to in the previous sentence, he makes reference to Prabs being “the only guy killing everyone on my island…unjustly and unfairly.” Does this imply that there is a just and fair way to kill civilians? Also, when does one have a chance to have ‘a gun’ in hand and understand the ‘drugs…very well’ as the son of a ‘well-known’ LA doctor? Moreover, wouldn’t adding this picture to the post clarify the extent to which Delon’s view of SL is absent of criticism of the gov’t and it’s associated paramilitary groups? Or is just that Delon receives news, views and analysis solely from parents and decided not to do the hard work of figuring it out independently?
Honestly, this guy’s rhetoric smacks of Bruce Fein and Dr. Senewiratne except from a different POV.
Detail and describe Tiger atrocities as much as you can (it is a necessary, ongoing and vital process) but failing to recognize that what the SLA signifies for Tamils is just as important as what the Tiger signifies for Sinhalese is sheer folly and misrepresentation at the highest level. Manufacturing outrage by presenting events entirely out of context (not that it excuses it, but how the hell is anyone to understand while in context-deficit?) is not productive.
This was being circulated a lot among my friends and the general agreement is that we regret we went to an MIA concert a few months ago. Now every time we hear Paper Planes we picture a bunch of kids getting firebombed or a woman’s decapitated head. Kudos to the guy who made this video.
Oh yeah, and this guy dances way better than MIA can dance.
Similarly, everytime you visit Sri Lanka, you sustain a government accused of carrying out and/or being complicit in an array of crimes, including conscripting child soldiers, the execution of aid workers and ‘disappearing’ journalists, among many other things.
So avoid visiting Sri Lanka if you don’t want to aid state terrorism.
See how simple that is? GoSL = EVIL. Right?
25 · abdul said
This approach has worked really well in the past for Sri Lankan politics.
😉
I agree Delon performs so much better than M.I.A. does. Not that M.I.A. is bad hip hop artist, she does have that whole cool thing going on, but is she advocates terrorism in any way, whether it be in tiger logos or subliminal lyrics, I will stay away from her. I saw the video and it seemed very convincing — and I still don’t know what to believe. But I’ve started to doubt — and listening to her isn’t as enjoyable as it used to, cuz I ask myself, what am I really listening to?
MIA’s ability to shake the butt suckz, even she having a nice body. It’s meaningless to say who’s right or wrong, but it’s good that all this information is coming along cuz we are more able to create our own understandings!
oh god. tose images are so disturbing.
32 · Maverick said
quoth the Governator, “I give him all the bad advices…enthusiastic braying“
I have typed and retyped a response, with so many thoughts. Ultimately my point is this:
At the end of the day MIA is an artist. I really bloody good one. She is a refugee who suffered during her youth and ended up in England with a whole buncha other war-torn immigrants trying to make sense of their lives. I don’t think she necessarily has a responsibility to clarify her ideas as she expresses them. Isn’t it obvious? She was screwed out of a secure and safe childhood. She is a product of war and her art is a catharsis. I encourage anyone who reads this blog and has suffered DIRECTLY from the war chime in on this. Unfortunately, her catharsis took the world stage. She didn’t intend to be famous I am sure, it just happened and thats why there was a lot of backtracking. Nonetheless from a purely creative standpoint, she had nothing, manipulated her way into a prestigious art school as a visual artist, took on a medium she had no concept of, music, and commercially conquered it as well did something that NO OTHER ARTIST OUT THERE WAS DOING. Her sound was so fresh when it came out. And thats why she gets mad props FROM ARTISTS.
I am Sinhalese, and of course when she first came out I was all WTF?! But at least we are talking about it. And yes, terrorism is WRONG. But terrorists don’t become terrorists overnight. Perhaps if peaceful protest wasn’t so quickly squashed and ignored after independence, we wouldn’t be in the situation we are in. That is not to justify the formation of the LTTE, but it is to say there is a deep rooted multi-faceted issue here that doesn’t just involve a simple “they’re wrong and they’re right” attitude. In addition, the SLA as well as the government are guilty of gross human rights violations, so much so that we were not re-elected to the Human Rights Council (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7413570.stm) We also intimidate journalists (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7487911.stm) Its one thing for a terrorist group to carry out such actions, but it is another for a government to do such things. That is government-sanctioned terrorism.
In any case, somebody is getting rich. Off both ends, and thats why we continue. Maybe weapons come from whities, but some brownie is the middle man. Both the LTTE and the governement have equally f*cked the people they “fight for”.
I can’t get mad at someone who is firstly an artist and secondly a emblem or spokesperson or whatever she is supposed to be for Tamils. I am sure she didn’t want to be. Perhaps she should accept responsibility or perhaps WE should take cues from this artistic expression and let it -simply- be an impetus to LEARN FOR OURSELVES. If you listen to a neon art school ghetto immigrant and think “Wow, fountain of political and historical knowledge” you are just stupid. And if hipster, fratster, and whatever other -ster kids believe the hype without research or questions then they were dumb to begin with and clearly have nothing of their own to fight for or believe in. If you don’t tune in and look into ideas for yourself, that can’t be helped, you know? Either way without a conscious questioning mind you are damned to be a sheep. Baaaahhh. Not my problem.
Nonetheless, Delon sucks. I mean he SUCKS. I wish someone of equal creative and charismatic force as MIA had made the Diss, cos then there could have been some REAL BEEF!!! But because Delon sucks, everyone will laugh at him. It’s terrible. Also, he is the embodiment of the S Asian American cliche—if I am not white I am black. At least MIA was her own weirdo.
AND this would be all the more believable if he wasn’t promoting himself at the end of the gruesome imagery. Thanks again Delon! Youre a douche!
35 · Sonali in New Orleans, HOLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAA! said
Kfir jets from Israel (with the US technically assenting to the sale because the engines come from here–design taken from the French), training from Pakistani and Ukranian pilots, munitions(in the past ) from Zimbabwe…and the Tigers do their best to steal aforementioned arms, source some through arms dealers in Thailand and Cambodia…not a whole lot of ‘whities’ there, no?
China’s throught to be a significant supplier too, overtly to the SLA, but the Tigers seem to end up with a fair bit of Chinese arms too, lots of theories about under the table supplying. Iran’s in the mix as well. Canada did send some radar equipment recently too. It really is a diverse hodgeg podge supplying arms and military training to the island.
Either way, I like the way Sonali covered things. And the Delon-as-prototypical-asian-american-son-of-a-doctor-rapper is dead on. He’s unoriginal, faux-ghetto copycat garbage. One thing though, at least we know those cars in his video are probably his (pops).
35 · Sonali in New Orleans, HOLLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAA!
That is seriously one of the best comments I have seen on this site.
Onto the evaluation of Delon; I’m not really a fan or conniseur of rap other than owning “Follow the leader” and “Blackstar”, but without this video composed of other people’s images or another person’s musical riff…the song is not very smart or catchy…The salsa-rap is not-very (how do I put this…)good, but if he evolves and actually embraces the identity he is promoting…more power to him. But right now, as annoying as M.I.A’s music and half of her fans are, this guy is her Benzino…
DeLon is doing what many are either afraid to do or will not do. He is making his voice heard throughout the global community that terrorism is NOT RIGHT! His message is about supporting humanity rights and world peace. MIA’s messages are about war and destruction. Are you willing to contribute to acts of terrorism by buying her albums knowing that you just helped another innocent man, woman, and child die? Everyone needs to start taking responsibilities for their actions and educate themselves on the issue of terrorism. Are you willing to stand by and be silenced or remain ignorant, or are you going to stand for what’s right? Bravo to DeLon for finally making a video that exposes the facts that we all already know or are too ignorant to see.
Yes, because that message is really getting lost in the static. I, for one, was under the impression that terrorism is definitely the only way to solve problems, even small ones like when your neighbor doesn’t mow his lawn or when your kids won’t shut up.
35 to Sonali Tanuja In NOLA G.W.Grifith and Leni Riefenthl were great artist ,too! Atleast they did something original. I do not like DeLon’s music but I like what DeLon did here.
He could be an jackass son of a doctor a who thinks he is a brother from the ghetto but what a perfect reponse to an un-original derivative art !
“Galang” [featuring Lil’ Vicious] samples Baby’s “What Happened to That Boy” “Fire Fire” [Diplo’s Fire Bam Mix] samples Kraftwerk’s “The Hall of Mirrors” and Chaka Demus & Pliers’ “Murder She Wrote” “Fire, Fire” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Fire, Fire” and The Bangles’ “Walk Like an Egyptian” “One for the Head Skit” [M.I.A.’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “One For the Head Skit” and Missy Elliott’s “Pass The Dutch” “Amazon” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Amazon” and Ciara’s “Goodies” “M.I.A./Cutty Ranks” samples Boards of Canada’s “Kaini Industries” and Cutty Ranks’s “Limb By Limb” “Baile Funk One” samples Madonna’s “Papa Don’t Preach” “Baile Funk Two” samples Prince’s “When Doves Cry” and Salt N Pepa’s Push It” “Sunshowers” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Sunshowers”, Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band’s “Sunshower” and Salt N Pepa’s “Push It” “10 Dollar” [Diplo’s Chinna Girl Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “10 $”, Eurythmics’ “Sweet Dreams” and Pretty Tony’s “Fix It In The Mix” “URAQT” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Uraqt” and Quincy Jones’s “Sanford & Son Theme” “Bingo” [Diplo’s Mix] samples M.I.A.’s “Bingo” and Jay-Z’s “Big Pimpin'” “Pop” [Diplo’s Mix] samples dead prez’s “Hip Hop” “Lady Killer” (Diplo Mix) samples Kraftwerk’s “Tour de France” and Van Halen’s “Jamie’s Crying” “Bucky Done Gun” samples the theme from the movie “Rocky”
No one is afraid to say terrorism is wrong, dude. i’ll say it:
TERRORISM IS FCKED UP! FCK KILLING CIVILIANS! YEAH!
ok, so now that we have established we are all on the same side, Delon still sucks. It does not take courage to say terrorism victimizes innocent people. It does take balls however, to target someone without remotely attempting to see their point of view (as a product of war, cos thats what MIA is–a refugee expressing a point). I love the pictures of Delon with SLA officers. HE IS CLEARLY AND AVID READER OF HUMAN RIGHTS NEWS.
douche.
Seriously, no one should take Delon seriously. Mainly cos he leaves a slightly nationalist impression on this whole scenario which is why the tigers started in the first place.
OH, and TOMYD, why don’t you do us all a favor and REALLY PROVE your point by breaking down some MIA lyrics/terrorist propaganda.
thnx.k.bai!
dude its club music, and the beats are whats dope. DIPLO made that mix tape, not MIA. I REPEAT: THAT TRACK LIST IS TO A MIXTAPE AKA SOUND COLLAGE. Does anyone here understand modern hip-hop culture and how things are put together?
Clearly, NO.
Ok, I take it back. I mean everyone sort of deserves to be taken seriously. But I do think he is bit shortsighted—and if he isn’t then his lyrical content does not reflect an ability to think through this scenario on personal, social, and global level. ultimately her music is personal.
38 · RahulD said
at least he was a no-talent hater with a powerful forum for expressing his views(formerly–he of course lost The Source due to many bad decisions).
I can mix a Osama Bin Laden speach to Paul Oakenfold . Let’s see whether the white boys who dance to M.I.A at Bonaroo has the balls to dance to that one.
I guess I just don’t see why he had to make this whole things so personal. Shouldn’t people who have been victimized by war be allowed to voice feelings, even if its unsavory. The content isn’t overt and it doesn’t say “I condone killing”. I just don’t understand why those who disagree can’t see that MIA is going to therapy when she makes music. If Delon wanted to make a valid point, he should have created a song that didn’t attack MIA but attacked the LTTE solely.
THINK ABOUT THIS: Would we even talk about it if he hadn’t used it as a slander campaign? would we even be discussing all this if he released an original song.
Seriously, she’s isn’t even trying to start a revolution. She’s expressing herself. but Delon IS. HE SAID SO! JOIN MY REVOLUTION WHOOOOOHOOOOO!!!
bad news, i’m telling you guys.
chandare:
i’d totally get down to osama oakenfold.
OBL speaches are very personal to him I,Iguess.May be this issue is very personal to DeLon ,too. WTF ,Every morning when I take a dump ,it is very personal to me.I do not go out and write a song a about it sampling Radiohead.
touche.
thats fine if its personal, but i mean he is attacking MIA. he should stick to attacking the LTTE. you know? I think old boy is just mad that MIA is getting her shine on.