Arular

Background Information "I wrote that because when I was at school that was the type of shit that you have to learn first when you're an immigrant and you get sent to a special school to learn English. And I was always pronouncing everything really badly because the way you say it in Tamil is totally different. I mean, the syllables, the way they come out your mouth is so different: ba-na-na. And that's how that came about. I just wanted to make [the album] quite autobiographical." Read more on Last.fm.

Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam also known as M.I.A., (born 18 July 1975 in Hounslow, London, U.K.) is a British artist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. As a baby she moved with her family to their native Sri Lanka, where her father became increasingly politically active in militant activities. As the Civil War escalated the rest of the family was forced to flee as refugees, first to India and then the UK. “M.I.A.” [“Missing In Action”] references both her London neighborhood (Acton) and her politically tumultuous youth. Her style contains elements of hip-hop, reggae, alternative, dance hall, electro and baile funk and is strongly inspired by her Sri Lankan background. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.