After being the subject of many a Campus Progress blog post, it’s only fitting that the release of M.I.A.’s second album, Kala, which drops today be announced here. I was gonna say something like “I’m bout to go run to the store and grab a copy now!” but that would be a lie. I been had that bootleg all summer.

Warning: not serious blog post, neon colors and loud noises to follow. I'm going going back back to Cali Cali on Friday to visit my brother in LA and get my eat on in Tehrangeles, Koreatown, and Little Armenia. If there's one thing my brother and I do together besides eat food whose names we can't pronounce and make fun of hipsters shopping for $600 limited edition kicks at Undefeated, it's listen to M.I.A.

How many no money boyz are crazy
How many boyz are raw?
How many no money boyz are rowdy
How many start a war?

The latest lyrics from M.I.A.'s song Boyz on her upcoming album Kala (hear it on her MySpace page).  Since one of my interns just told me that all I blogged about for 2 months was MIA, I figured one more couldn't hurt (and I didn't really want to break the streak).  I'm a fan of this song, especially that last line.  There's really not a whole lot else to mention - my previous posts on MIA seem to say it all. 

For those of you who associate Timbaland with Nelly Furtado or Justin Timberlake, here's something new.

As the resident MIA-obsessed Campus Progress staffer, I encourage you to check out MIA and Timbaland's Come Around (sadly, not on the US-release - just UK... Americans never get the cool stuff).  I love MIA (in an almost creepy sort of way, but oh well).  But, though I also love Timbaland as a producer, I have heard a lot of interesting things about how and where he gets his beats and samplings from, without giving credit to independent artists (which he, and a ton of other record producers, have done in the past).

For this song, in particular, there's a good minute, spliced up, that's been ripped from an older Bollywood song (another thing you should know about me is my completely irrational obsession with Bollywood).  I wouldn't be surprised if they're not getting any portion of the profits - the same thing happened with Dr. Dre-produced Addictive by Rakim and Truth Hurts (oh, and don't even get me started on the obnoxious exoticizing of India in that video).  The Indian producer got wind of it (with it being an internationally successful song, playing obviously on MTV India... idiots), and sued Dr. Dre, accusing him of "cultural imperialism." 

The lawsuit wasn't publicized at all, and I wonder how many people just think Dre is so creative and came up with it all by himself.  I only heard about the whole lawsuit because my best friend's grandfather was the director of the Bollywood film (Jyoti) that the song (Kaliyon Ka Chaman) was originally in, and he was involved in the lawsuit.  (And, weird tidbit - the huge popularity of Addictive led Indian music producers to remix the song into catchy, but strange and confusing turnaround of the song with American beats in the back and a horribly embarrasing rip-off of the video - sort of the opposite of Addictive.  Maybe it's just a music industry thing across the world.  They just love ripping-off each other?)

Anyway, maybe the MIA song is a different case.  I just can't imagine her ripping off her people like that.  But, maybe it's just my starry eyes that blind me from the corruption of giant music industries and record production.  What's original anymore?

M.I.A. has come out with another song, Bird Flu, if you haven't already heard the awesome news.  Check it out on her MySpace site now.  I've been eagerly awaiting something since Arular and Piracy Funds Terrorism - her first two albums. (If you don't already know I'm *obsessed* with this kick-ass Londoner by Sri Lanka -"educated but a refugee still am"- female artist, whose full name is Maya Arulpragasam).  

For those of you non-fans out there, she wasn't allowed into the U.S. when she was scheduled to come and work with Timberland - not sure if it was visa problems or her lyrics (which include "George Bush doin takeover" - probably one of her less controversial lines)  and politics (her father was a Tamil Tiger). 

She quickly gained a South Asian and indie cult-like following after Galang became famous (though I don't think it's her best) and her collabs with then-boyfriend Diplo (yeah, they just broke up, in late '06) have added funk.  In Bird Flu, she knocks critics, major record labels and alludes to her breakup with Diplo.

This post isn't about anything superpolitical, except to alert the masses that M.I.A. is back.  Bird Flu features some amazing dhol (Indian drum) beats, and she's posted the video on her MySpace page, via YouTube. (If you're having problems loading, like I was, try her website).  The video is a crazy mix of my favorite sights and sounds of South Asia - the nitty-gritty - and make me miss it like whoa.  And if you haven't already heard XR2 Turbo, it'll make you want to start dancing as soon as you hit play, in a weird, entranced sort of way.

Today, I got an email asking about artists that have become famous through MySpace.  And I interviewed Talib with some other CP colleagues - he referred to using the web as a way to get your music out (look out for the 5 Minutes With coming out soon!).  Do you think there will ever be a time when giant media moguls like Clear Channel, BET, and MTV are eventually shoved out by independent artists using the web as a great promotional tool?