BBC - Music - M.I.A.

Biography

Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (Tamil: மாதங்கி 'மாயா' அருள்பிரகாசம், Mātaṅki 'Māyā' Aruḷpirakācam ?; born 17 July 1975), better known by her stage name M.I.A., is a British recording artist, songwriter, painter and director of Tamil descent. The moniker "M.I.A." is both a play on her own name and a reference to the abbreviation for Missing in Acton. Her compositions combine elements of electronic, dance, alternative, hip hop and world music. M.I.A. began her career in 2000 as a visual artist, filmmaker and designer in West London before beginning her recording career in 2002. Since rising to prominence in early 2004 for her singles "Sunshowers" and "Galang", charting in the UK and Canada and reaching number eleven on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales in the US, she has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Grammy Awards and the Mercury Prize.

She released her debut album Arular in 2005 and second album Kala in 2007 both to universal critical acclaim. Arular charted in Norway, Belgium, Sweden, Japan and the US, where it reached number sixteen on the Billboard Independent Albums chart and number three on the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. Kala was certified silver in the United Kingdom and gold in Canada and the United States, where it topped the Dance/Electronic Albums chart. It also charted in several countries across Europe, in Japan and Australia. The album's first single "Boyz" reached the top ten in Canada and on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales in 2007, becoming her first top-ten charting single. The single "Paper Planes" peaked in the top 20 worldwide and reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100. "Paper Planes" was certified gold in New Zealand and three times platinum in Canada and the US where, as of November 2011, it is ranked the seventh best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era. It has become XL Recordings' second best-selling single to date. M.I.A.'s third album Maya was released in 2010 soon after the controversial song...