OK Stop. Back up. What is it about this rapper M.I.A. from London via Sri Lanka? On Friday, October 7th she played to a sold out room at Vancouver’s Commodore Ballroom. The fierce delivery of her zany, politcal songs – often sounding like a nonsense mix of Reggae and Two Live Crew – was matched only by her dishevelled appearance (she claims to never comb her hair) and captivating urban art visuals which she did herself. Enjoying acclaim as an underground hip hop artist, M.I.A. has been compared to Neenah Cheery crossed with Canada’s own trash-rapper Peaches (who we also love). Her knock-kneed rhythms and squeaky vocals set over fat farty beats from a Roland 505 Groovebox are obviously finding an audience as she’s just signed with Interscope Records, the label of famed hip hop icons Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre.
M.I.A.’s story is becoming quite the legend. The daughter of a Sri Lankan rebel fighter, M.I.A. fled to London with her mother at 10 years old where they lived as poor refugees. When they arrived, she only knew 5 English words – apple, mango, dancing and Michael Jackson of course. While her English has certainly improved, her lyrics are often undecipherable. Oddly enough though, as I stood there on Friday night, mashed against the stage with hundreds of 20 year old girls pressed up against me (sounds terrible, doesn’t it?) I heard numerous young voices singing along – prounouncing every word of ever song in perfect pace with the staccato delivery of the live performance. I have no clue what half those lyrics are – I just know I like it.
For an absurd peek backstage as only Nardwar can provide, listen to his interview with M.I.A. on 101.9 CITR FM Radio. There’s even a live studio performance from a BBC broadcast. M.I.A. returns to Vancouver on November 20th to open for Gwen Stefani at GM Place. We’ll be there too – desperately trying to sing along to those crazy lyrics.
Posted by Mark Busse
