MIA September 16, 2010

Born Maya Arulpragasam in Sri Lanka, M.I.A. moved to London at 11, and over time she developed her musical tastes within rap, electronica, reggae, pop and hip-hop circles. She sent out shockwaves with her singles 'Galang' and 'Sunshowers' along with her mixtape collaboration with Diplo 'Piracy Funds Terrorism.' Her debut album 'Arular,' capitalized on her mongrel mix of hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro and pop alongside uncompromising, spitting lyrics. In 2007, she released her second album, Kala, which was honored as the year's best album by Rolling Stone, Blender, and others.