I think I'm in love...
…with Maya Arulpragasamalbum. Ms. Arulpragasamalbum – or M.I.A. as she is known to a small, but quickly growing, group of fans worldwide – just released her third studio album, Kala. Put simply, I think this album is extra ordinary. And I don’t necessarily mean that it’s my absolute favorite (although I have been listening it fairly consistently for the past 5 days), but MIA is many steps ahead of your average emcee as far as never failing to deliver a large dose her unique perspective on the world. I won’t walk you through her history, because it’s already been written up by far more capable journalists than I could ever pretend to be. (This write-up and this other review are great paces to look for her inspiring backstory.) The conflict that fuels this album so passionately seems to be the very real conflict (never more so to me, in fact) between the richest and poorest people in the world. Her vision doesn’t necessarily subscribe to a particular solution to the problem (sorry Jeffrey Sachs and Paul Collier), but she does a great job of capturing the complexity of it all.
Her beats borrow heavily from her Subcontinental roots, and she knows how to sing a catchy, if occasionally pitchy, hook. Some of the instrumentation here blows my mind; I’m pretty sure that she managed to get her hands on one of those cheap plastic toys that I hear kids blowing into on the streets of the Townships. The whole album is peppered with references to cheap weapons (20 Dollars) and full of jarring sounds; the sound of a window being broken on one of the tracks was so realistic that I turned off my stereo three times in a row to make sure that one was stealing cars on my street and there are gun claps that violently interrupt an otherwise beautiful chorus.
Oh, and her collabo with Timbaland is out of this world. He still can't rap, but more than makes up for it with his unsurpassed Production. You see, this is why I can’t be a record reviewer; I’m not a player/ I just Talent Crush a lot. Also, I try to insert way too many pieces of information parenthetically.
But isn’t she one sexy artist/activist?
Labels:
culture,
indian influence,
Jeffrey Sachs,
music,
news,
social issues
2 comments:
Aight Ben. Now, I've been crushing on MIA for a minute or two now as well, and I'm all about Kala. I've still got to sit with it for a while, but I think I'm going to like it a lot better than Arular. The production is so much denser and more multi-textured, and it does without the Diplo influenced (or perhaps not, according to her most recent pitchfork interview) Baile Funk airhorn sound.
In other words, it's bananas, and on that we agree. But I don't know if I can get down with some of your characterizations of MIA and of the album.
First of all, I wouldn't really call MIA many steps ahead of the average emcee. I mean, you follow that up by saying in delivering "her unique perspective," but that's tautological. No other emcee could possibly deliver her perspective better than she can. You give the implication, however, that she's a great emcee. I don't know about that. She doesn't really every properly rap - less here even than on Arular, and her singing is strained at times. I don't think her vocal abilities are what make her albums exceptional, it's her overall cohesive vision.
Also, I'm a little taken aback when you say that she "does a great job of capturing the complexity" of the struggle between the world's rich and poor. If anything, I think that both one of her biggest strengths and her biggest weaknesses is that she completely disregards the complexity. She's a creature of slogans and catchphrases who meets a very real need by presenting these conflicts to people who might otherwise pay no attention. But the reason that she is able to present them so effectively is because her music touches upon them - in very pointed ways - without getting bogged down in concerns of analysis or diverging points of view.
In other words, the fact that an AK costs $20 in sub saharan africa prompts real questions. Why is it cheaper to arm yourself than to feed yourself? How did the legacy of colonialism contribute to this? Why are natural resources often a curse rather than a blessing to indigenous peoples? But none of that discussion plays very well in a pop song, nor is it very fun to listen to. 20 Dollar is, and although it pointedly avoids complexity, the beauty of its simplicity is that it might prompt others to delve deeper on their own.
Also, her third studio album? How so?
In any case, all quibbling aside. The beats are straight fire.
i will take this all under advisement.
but know ahead of time that i have always had a weakest of spots for artists that show and don't tell.
as for album number &c.: all information came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M.I.A.
if they're wrong, i'm wrong.
big ups.
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