The Message

Album: MAYA (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This is the opening track from the British-Sri Lankan alternative dance musician M.I.A.'s third studio album, MAYA. The global music provocateur is no stranger to controversy. The government of M.I.A's native Sri Lanka sees her as a dissident, as the singer publicly accuses them of "genocide" for their part in a 26-year civil war that ended in 2009.
  • On this song M.I.A. tells the listener that Google is connected to the US government. She explained to the NME: "I'm always encouraging people to be more vocal. Google's more powerful than any government now - people think it's God. They're storing all our data and one day they're gonna turn against us. That's what my new album's about - I'm living f---ing proof that politics doesn't work. Every time I breathe it's documented on my computer and yet I'm still on some stupid list somewhere that says I'm a terrorist."
  • M.I.A. was accused of being politically naïve when this 57-second discordant rap was first released. However, subsequent disclosures about the spying capacity of America's NSA and Britain's GCHQ have vindicated her. "What I said about the internet is what's happening now," she told The Guardian, who have been at the forefront of the revelations. "It's on the front of your own newspaper. It's not a conspiracy theory, is it – unless your paper is supporting a conspiracy theory? Conspiracy theory is too much of a small pond for me to swim in."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Tony Banks of Genesis

Tony Banks of GenesisSongwriter Interviews

Genesis' key-man re-examines his solo career and the early days of music video.

Women Who Rock

Women Who RockSong Writing

Evelyn McDonnell, editor of the book Women Who Rock, on why the Supremes are just as important as Bob Dylan.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

00s Music Quiz 1

00s Music Quiz 1Music Quiz

Do you know the girl singer on Eminem's "Stan"? If so, this quiz is for you.