Here's What M.I.A. Has Been Up To Since Being Banned In The U.S.
British musician M.I.A., or Mathangi Arulpragasam as she was born, is no stranger to controversy. Famed for her 2008 hit single "Paper Planes", which featured in the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire, the rapper has been causing a commotion ever since.
From her support for the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan guerrilla group that is widely regarded as a terrorist organization, to her claims that video games encourage violence, M.I.A. has found herself among the most controversial rappers. Famously, she was barred from entering the U.S. in 2006, and in early 2016 she confirmed that she was banned from the country. Here's what she's been up to since her ban.
10 Her Black Lives Matter Comments Got Her Banned From A Music Festival
In the wake of innumerable killings of black people by the police, many celebs have shown their support for the Black Lives Matter movement. But M.I.A. made some rather tone deaf comments in 2016.
When asked about her thoughts on BLM, M.I.A. responded, "It's interesting that in America the problem you're allowed to talk about is Black Lives Matter... Is Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter?" Understandably, the comments caused a major backlash and she was subsequently dropped from appearing at the Afropunk Festival in London.
9 She Released Her Fifth Album And The Reaction Was Mixed
September 2016 saw the release of M.I.A.'s hotly anticipated album, AIM. Reunited with her erstwhile collaborator Diplo, M.I.A.'s 5th studio album largely focused on the oppression of refugees.
Pitchfork gave the album 5.9 out of 10, writing, "After the predictably rocky months of rollout, the 17 songs of AIM read as disappointment, lacking bite and bounce, and presenting only glimmers of what once was."
8 Her Activism Continues
Despite her countless controversial and polarizing statements over the years, M.I.A. isn't keeping quiet about her political views any time soon. As she told the New York Times following AIM's release, "I had the choice to shut my mouth and not be political in order to catapult my fame and popularity and my bank balance. But that's not the choice I made."
In addition to her continued activism against the treatment of Tamils in Sri Lanka, she has been vocal in her support of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and also endorsed left wing politician Jeremy Corbyn for Prime Minister of Britain.
7 She Says She Predicted Government Surveillance
M.I.A. has long been a vocal critic of the surveillance powers of social media. Back in 2010, she made the contentious statement that "Google and Facebook were developed by the CIA".
But following the Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal in 2018, in which it was revealed that Facebook had been collecting and harvesting the personal information of millions of users, M.I.A. said that she had been proven right and wasn't "some paranoid crazy person".
6 She Was Allowed Back In The U.S. In 2017
Following her 2016 ban, M.I.A. was finally allowed back into the States in 2017. She performed at Riot Fest in Douglas Park, Chicago and at The Meadows Music and Arts Festival in New York, marking her first U.S. shows since 2014.
5 A Documentary About Her Career Was Released In 2018
In January 2018, M.I.A. starred in a biographical documentary about her life and career. Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. was directed by Steve Loveridge and he explained that he wanted to show who the real M.I.A. is, refuting claims that she is controversy hungry.
The documentary generally received positive reviews, with The Playlist writing, "If there is one note that rings clear through all the xeroxed, glitchy, abrasive background noise, it is that of authenticity and sincerity."
4 She Teased Her First New Song In 3 Years
At the start of the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020, M.I.A. released "OHMNI 202091", her first song in 3 years. She told fans that she was hoping to release her 6th album that same year, though this never materialized.
3 She worked With Travis Scott
Travis Scott may be synonymous with the Kardashian clan, but he is also a talented rapper. Accordingly, M.I.A. featured on Scott's 2020 song "Franchise" from his upcoming album Utopia.
She also appears in the music video, which was partly shot in the U.K., alongside fellow guest star Young Thug.
2 Her Anti-Vaxx Stance Shocked Fans
Having previously made some questionable remarks regarding the supposed link between video games and IRL violence, M.I.A. has since taken aim at Covid vaccines. She was slammed for her anti-vaxx rant in 2020, in which she propagated the debunked (and scientifically implausible) conspiracy theory that coronavirus vaccines contain microchips.
1 She Launched A Sustainable Sunglasses Collection
Although M.I.A. had once been accused of hypocrisy for collaborating with H&M, a brand widely regarded as a fast fashion giant, she has seemingly made amends in recent months.
In June of this year, M.I.A. designed a sustainable sunglasses collection in honor of World Oceans Day. The sunglasses are made entirely of repurposed marine waste and net profits go towards efforts to clean up the oceans.
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