M.I.A. continues to preview her upcoming album MATA with the release today (Sept. 30) of the made-for-the-dancefloor track “Beep.” The artist raps about her ascent from a rough-and-tumble upbringing to “the top 10” while also reminding, “I’m not a politician and not U.N.” [embedded content][embedded content] Recorded in London, Los Angeles, Italy, Bali, and Jakarta, […]
M.I.A. has shared her second single of 2022, “Popular,” ahead of her upcoming sixth studio album, MATA. “Popular” is an ode to the pressures of keeping up with appearances and the Kafka-esque onslaught of social media. The video plays with this idea via an M.I.A. “influencer-bot” called M.A.I. learning all of M.I.A.’s movements. [embedded content][embedded […]
M.I.A. has confirmed that MATA, her first album in six years, “is on the way” as part of a new global record deal with Island Records. The first single from the project, the Rex Kudo and T-Minus-produced “The One,” is out now. M.I.A. previously revealed the album’s title in an Instagram post last November, when […]
SPIN launched in the peak MTV era, when an innovative — or even just salacious — music video could make or break an artist. Thirty five years later, YouTube is an obligatory part of any promotional push, but no one’s counting on a mind-blowing clip to sell a record. (The views do often matter — just […]
Welcome back, M.I.A. The decorated British rapper and singer released a new track, “CTRL,” on Wednesday (Sept. 9) via her website OHMNI.com. But she has a message for fans who might think it’s a single from her next album. “CTRL! A SONG FOR 2020,” M.I.A. wrote. “This is not a song from M.I.A.’s upcoming highly anticipated […]
As the 2000s became the 2010s, no artist looked more poised to transform the landscape wholesale than Mathangi Arulpragasam, whom most millennials know as M.I.A. A brilliant Sri Lankan musician, political disruptor, and cultural synthesizer from London, she made music almost entirely about being exiled by birthright, about her complicated relationship with societal upheaval having […]
Why now? Because — and there’s no reason to ignore the elephant in the room: SPIN stewardship has changed hands many, many times since we made the online jump — we got our chance. Because plenty of our favorite albums of the last 10 years could still use a boost. Because some of the already unanimously […]