M.I.A., M.I.A., M.I.A

There are several records from female rap artist M.I.A. on the Metacritic list I am working through. M.I.A. is Maya Arulpragasam, a Sri Lankan-born, London-raised rapper with deeply political roots (for more info, just Google her). As far as her style, she melds several different styles of writing and rapping into her own distinct style. Her style mixes, mashes, and purees rap with dub, rock, reggae, drum n’ bass, and numerous other musical styles. Her beats are superb, and her raps (for the most part) work very well. The first record from her on the list is Arular.

#68 – M.I.A., Arular (Metascore = 88)

Upon first listen to this record I was really taken by the beats. Every sampled beat seems perfect for what she raps. There are definitely elements of electronic music (particularly drum n’ bass) in each song, but layered with samples from rock, reggae, ska, punk and other genres. She raps in English, she raps in Spanish (“Hombre”), and she raps in other languages. She reminds me a little of Missy Elliott with some of the non-rap oohs and slurs she uses.

When I mentioned M.I.A. has deeply political roots, I meant it. When you listen closely to what she says, she's taking shots at numerous politicians around the world (particularly one of our own here in the U.S.) and political situations around the world. “Sunshowers” paints the picture of numerous spots around the world (Israel, Sri Lanka, England, etc.) where political strife is an everyday issue. Many of her songs reflect the struggles she and her family went through when she was growing up in Sri Lanka and later on in London. “Pull Up the People” calls you out to help the poor, those struggling to survive.

The one thing that gives me pause about this album is some of the lyrics. Not necessarily the meaning behind the lyrics, but the words used to put them together. Sometimes they seem too simplistic, like she was working harder to make things rhyme than for words to make the story deeper. That’s not an issue in every song, but some songs just seem too simple. At the same time, the simplicity makes certain songs (“Amazon”, for instance) very poignant.

My personal favorites from Arular are “Pull Up the People”, “Bucky Done Gun”, “Amazon”, “10 Dollar”, U.R.A.Q.T.” (probably not the wittiest of songs on this album, but it has a killer beat and excellent sample of Red Foxx), and “Galang”. All of these encapsulate her musical style while showcasing her political voice. The record is definitely catchy; you’ll bounce your head to the songs. You may not catch her political leanings on first listen, but you probably won’t listen to the album just once, either.