M.I.A. – Kala Vinyl LP

Description

When Kala came out in August 2007, M.I.A. was more a provocateur than anything else. Her first album, 2005s Arular, had been a critical success but didnt quite reach the audience it seemed like it might, given how often you saw her name in print. She had the swagger of hip-hop but wasnt a rapper. She had an incredible, border-blurring set of beats that were hard to imagine crowds actually dancing to. She was smart and exciting and pointed toward big questions in the casual way great pop sometimes can: Does radical politics have a place in art? Is borrowing from a culture you dont belong to a compliment or theft? Squint and you saw Madonna. Squint again and you saw the Sex Pistols, all in the guise of a British Sri Lankan art student who mostly seemed to be having fun. Once asked if she had a point, she said she didnt knowshe usually just kinda made stuff up on the spot.