11/04/08
A pregnant M.I.A. may not be the way we originally thought we'd see our favorite Sri Lankan rapper flow on stage, but hey, as long as she keeps churning out the Summer anthems and heavy-hitting jams, we can't complain. Success has been knocking on her door as of late, largely from the success of "Paper Planes" which was, of course, featured in Pineapple Express. The socialist-leaning musician that she is, though, M.I.A. is giving back to her ever-growing fan base with a new EP, How Many Votes Fix Mix (fittingly announced today, Election Day in the States).
The EP will feature two new "re-energized, re-recognized" tracks, "Shells" and "Far Far," as well as a remix of "Boyz" featuring Jay-Z.
Outside of rhyming about getting high like planes and having border troubles, Maya Arulpragasam (M.I.A.'s birth name), has made herself involved with a number of humanitarian efforts, namely Youth Action International which recently rebuilt and reopened a school in Liberia. Additionally, M.I.A. started her own label, N.E.E.T., which stands for Not in Education, Employment, or Training, with Baltimore native Rye Rye being its first signing.
To be honest, when Piracy Funds Terrorism first dropped, we didn't expect the young artist—who seemed like more of a fluke than a bona fide success—to catapult to where she's at now (philanthropist, designer, label head, superstar), but we can safely say that she's deserved it all (even if her covers do still make our eyes bleed).
How Many Votes Fix Mix will be available on iTunes on October 28 and everywhere else on November 4.
