M.I.A. (Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam) understands that music is not just an art- its’ a science. With her 2005 debut album Arular she mastered the craft of fusing music from a myriad of cultures- everything from West Indian dancehall rhythms, to Australian trip-hop, electro, grime, and even funk- into a formula that defies the laws of matter, but is still solid. And with her sophomore effort Kala she’s poised to prove that she may be the only true universal musical scientist.
Kala, named after M.I.A.’s mother, is a 48-minute roller coaster ride through the third world and back. When the beat drops and she sings ‘M.I.A.’s coming back with power power’ on the opening track “Bamboo Banga” one knows that M.I.A. isn’t joking. The first two singles “Bird Flu” (released as a promotional single in 2006) and the electro- Hindi- reggae “Boyz” are sure club bangers in some part of the world.
But the most likely U.S. cross- over success of the album is the disco-tinged third single “Jimmy” a remixed cover of the song “Jimmy Jimmy Aaja” originally performed in Hindi by Parvati Khan. According to M.I.A., she wrote the English version of the song about a Liberian journalist who invited her to meet him while covering a genocide tour. Other highlights of Kala, written and produced mostly by a combination of Arulpragasam, and London-based producers Switch and Diplo, are “XR2”, “20 Dollar” (a sequel to the song “10 Dollar” from Arular), and my personal favorite “Paper Planes”.
For the better part of the last two years rumors were festering about an M.I.A.- Timbaland collaboration, but largely due to visa-issues this didn’t work out as planned- and probably for the best. A little manufacturing in the Timbaland pop factory could have ensured U.S. chart dominance for Kala, but Arulpragasam is clearly no one’s muse. The lone Timbaland produced track “Come Around” is, for lack of a better term, lame. When Timbaland rhymes “Baby girl me and you need to go to your teepee”, I cringe because Timbaland brings the album to an unforgivable, juvenile, low.
This album could be M.I.A.’s masterpiece. She is one of the few artists that has credibility, in the streets, in the club, and at the protest. Those who look for lyrical ingenuity in music will find Kala’s poetic commentary on international social justice issues, including violence in the Middle East and economic inequality, intriguing. For activists the album provides a feeling of victory over an invisible hand that has been mutated by globalization. And for the club head, this album will have you winding, grinding, and bouncing.
|
Top level
Dynamic Magazine
