M.I.A. has had a weird career arc. After reaching the peak of critical consensus with Arular and Kala, a NYT takedown piece and her difficult third album, Maya, caused an unfair stumble in her ascendance, but it made her return with "Bad Girls," one of the best songs and videos of the decade thus far, all the more triumphant.
The subsequent album, Matangi, was a strong statement, but still had her operating on a smaller scale than the ubiquitous "Paper Planes" era. While she may never break through in the same way, she's truly owning her lane, as her new record proves. Sharing "CanSeeCanDo" on Twitter today, Maya teased a summer release, and confirmed that she won't be dropping the politics in her records anytime soon.
Her very M.I.A. SoundCloud caption is below.
"DEMOCRACY CONVERSATIONS ! TAMILS ARE STILL WAITING ! AND NO MY BEATS ARE NOT BETTER WITHOUT MY POLITICX"
Quotable Lyrics:
Can see can do
Can't see, can't do can you?
Wanna get passed history
Can I Make a future with you?