M.I.A. was born in Hounslow, London in 1973 but soon moved with her family to Colombo, Sri Lanka when she was 6 months because her father was a Tamil Tiger (A group of Sri Lankan rebels against the then oppressive government). There she witnessed the burst of the thirty-year Sri Lankan Civil war. Soon she moved back to the UK but remained distant with her father who still lived in Sri Lanka. There, she was given a Roland MC-505 and she used this as an element to her visual art. Soon, she discovered her music talent and endeavoured to record her first track, Galang, about the difficulties of growing up in England as an immigrant, and how badly her generation was treated by the media. The song won several prizes, including Rough Trade’s Single of the Decade. It was listened to by DJ Diplo, who helped her record her first album, Arular, named after her father. It was a huge success. In 2011, Rolling Stone ranked the album number 52 in its list of the 100 best albums of the 2000s.
Two years later, she recorded her second album, Kala, after her mother, and with input from Timbaland, she released the album worldwide in 2008. This album spawned her arguably most popular song, Paper Planes. Thanks to usage in films such as Slumdog Millionaire and Pineapple Express, the song went to number 4 in the US charts. A few years later she recorded her third and most polarising album, /\/\ /\ Y /\, which critics liked for its industrial sound, but criticized for its rejection of past music styles. Soon after, she released a mixtape entitled VICKI LEEKX, which commented on the critical reception of /\/\ /\ Y /\, which was well received.
As well as being an artist and singer and a producer, she is also known for her philanthropy. She has donated over $1 million to charities for children of war crimes. She publically supported such political figures as controversial WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and created the theme to his show.
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