“I made this song so people would fly me all around the world.” While this quote has been paraphrased to some degree, it’s essentially what M.I.A. told a Brooklyn crowd before launching into her commercially-friendly single “Jimmy”. It also explains why her latest album /\/\/\Y/\ (aka “MAYA“) is such a hot fucking mess.
Ever since the runaway success of “Paper Planes”, there’s clearly pressure on M.I.A. to produce another top ten hit. In an attempt to please the suits who pay her bills, she seems perfectly content to churn out songs like “XXXO” and “It Takes A Muscle”. But on the flip side? She overcompensates to prove that she hasn’t “sold out”.
Basically, she’s made a business out of catering to the system while trying to maintain her artistic integrity. As a result, her latest set of songs comes off as scattered and horribly imbalanced. Yes, the high-octane energy of “Meds and Feds” or “Born Free” would be impressive… if she didn’t spend the other half of the album singing about love and getting drunk on “Teqkilla”.
A few die-hard fans have sworn by M.I.A.’s side, insisting that this is her greatest piece of work to date. The rest of them ponder what happened to the M.I.A. they fell in love with, asking themselves why she’s become such a tired gimmick. Honestly, it seems like the latter group may be on to something…
– Dewitt
To listen to select songs from this album, follow the JUMP:
Stream the full album on MySpace
Why put the work of a pop singer under a microscope and then disparage her for overcompensating to prove that she hasn’t sold out? When was being a pop singer like MIA *not* a gimmick?
After being a fan of Kala, Arular and her with Diplo in “Piracy Funds Terrorism” I was wanting to listen to MAYA. I only gave it a go once so far, with a neutral ear, and seemed it was just a confusing album with a lot going on.
May have to give ‘er another go.
Loved her ever since Arular…
Credit to M.I.A for keeping things interesting and giving us a piece of work thats forward thinking and fresh. Who wants to hear Paper Planes part 2 the first time round was good enough! Trouble with most of our artists today is they keep regurgitating the same shit over and over…boring! This album is the sound of an artist who doesn’t give a fuck if people are listening or not…thats what makes M.I.A stand out from the rest of the puppets out there who’s concern is in sales rather than the quality of their product. Fuckin go girl!
She recently did a remix of “Teqkilla” w/Nicki Minaj. I’m surprised it’s not on here.
She went for a different sound on a different album. Is that so bad? She based Arular and Kala on her parents. So Maya is based on herself. She’s got a man and a kid now. With that in mind, I think Maya makes more sense. She’s not going to talk about immigration with guns blazing.
lol like she wasn’t a tired gimmick on her very first single