British musician M.I.A., or Mathangi Arulpragasam as she used to be born, isn't any stranger to controversy. Famed for her 2008 hit single "Paper Planes", which featured in the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, the rapper has been inflicting a commotion ever since.
From her toughen for the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan guerrilla team this is widely considered a 15 May Organization, to her claims that video video games encourage violence, M.I.A. has found herself among the most controversial rappers. Famously, she was barred from entering the U.S. in 2006, and in early 2016 she confirmed that she was banned from the country. Here's what she's been up to since her ban.
10 Her Black Lives Matter Comments Got Her Banned From A Music Festival
In the wake of innumerable killings of black other people by means of the police, many celebs have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But M.I.A. made some rather tone deaf feedback in 2016.
When asked about her thoughts on BLM, M.I.A. responded, "It's interesting that in America the problem you're allowed to talk about is Black Lives Matter... Is Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter?" Understandably, the feedback brought about a major backlash and she or he was due to this fact dropped from showing at the Afropunk Festival in London.
9 She Released Her Fifth Album And The Reaction Was Mixed
September 2016 saw the free up of M.I.A.'s hotly expected album, AIM. Reunited along with her erstwhile collaborator Diplo, M.I.A.'s fifth studio album in large part all for the oppression of refugees.
Pitchfork gave the album 5.Nine out of 10, writing, "After the predictably rocky months of rollout, the 17 songs of AIM read as disappointment, lacking bite and bounce, and presenting only glimmers of what once was."
8 Her Activism Continues
Despite her countless arguable and polarizing statements over the years, M.I.A. isn't protecting quiet about her political beliefs any time quickly. As she told the New York Times following AIM's unlock, "I had the choice to shut my mouth and not be political in order to catapult my fame and popularity and my bank balance. But that's not the choice I made."
In addition to her persisted activism in opposition to the remedy of Tamils in Sri Lanka, she has been vocal in her give a boost to of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and in addition endorsed left wing flesh presser Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister of Britain.
7 She Says She Predicted Government Surveillance
M.I.A. has lengthy been a vocal critic of the surveillance powers of social media. Back in 2010, she made the contentious statement that "Google and Facebook were developed by the CIA".
But following the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, in which it used to be printed that Facebook had been accumulating and harvesting the personal information of thousands and thousands of customers, M.I.A. stated that she had been confirmed right and wasn't "some paranoid crazy person".
6 She Was Allowed Back In The U.S. In 2017
Following her 2016 ban, M.I.A. was after all allowed back into the States in 2017. She performed at Riot Fest in Douglas Park, Chicago and at The Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York, marking her first U.S. shows since 2014.
5 A Documentary About Her Career Was Released In 2018
In January 2018, M.I.A. starred in a biographical documentary about her lifestyles and profession. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was directed through Steve Loveridge and he defined that he wanted to show who the real M.I.A. is, refuting claims that she is controversy hungry.
The documentary typically won sure opinions, with The Playlist writing, "If there is one note that rings clear through all the xeroxed, glitchy, abrasive background noise, it is that of authenticity and sincerity."
4 She Teased Her First New Song In 3 Years
At the get started of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, M.I.A. released "OHMNI 202091", her first song in Three years. She told fans that she was once hoping to unlock her 6th album that very same 12 months, despite the fact that this never materialized.
3 She worked With Travis Scott
Travis Scott may be synonymous with the Kardashian clan, but he is also a talented rapper. Accordingly, M.I.A. featured on Scott's 2020 tune "Franchise" from his upcoming album Utopia.
She also seems in the tune video, which was once partially shot in the U.K., along fellow visitor famous person Young Thug.
2 Her Anti-Vaxx Stance Shocked Fans
Having up to now made some questionable remarks relating to the meant hyperlink between video games and IRL violence, M.I.A. has since taken intention at Covid vaccines. She was slammed for her anti-vaxx rant in 2020, in which she propagated the debunked (and scientifically incredible) conspiracy idea that coronavirus vaccines comprise microchips.
1 She Launched A Sustainable Sunglasses Collection
Although M.I.A. had as soon as been accused of hypocrisy for participating with H&M, a emblem broadly regarded as a fast type massive, she has apparently made amends in fresh months.
In June of this year, M.I.A. designed a sustainable sunglasses collection in honor of World Oceans Day. The sun shades are made solely of repurposed marine waste and internet earnings go in opposition to efforts to blank up the oceans.
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