REVIEW: M.I.A. - MATA

4/5

Meaning In Action.

"A turd". That's what M.I.A.'s 2010 mixtape 'Vicki Leekx' was jokingly dubbed as, even though it was the s### (no need to be one). Then, after flipping the bird alongside Madonna at the 2012 Superbowl (the British rapper said it was a spiritual gesture) the self-righteous NFL community (with no reason to be) and audiences beyond America acted like Maya whipped out three nipples (they did Janet dirty too). It's no wonder Mathangi Arulpragasam has been missing in action like her stage name since the true 'AIM' of 2016. Missing in Acton, Britain has been in a state of Brexit disarray since. 

But now the 'Paper Planes' singer is back when we need her the most to bang, bang, bang, bang (*cash register open*) take our money. Because no one on the corner has swagger like her. Not Jay-Z. Tha Carter, Lil' Wayne. King of the South, T.I. And certainly not Kanye West, right now. The Internet sensation since 'Arular' gives us her best since 'Kala' with 'Mata'. Despite 'Matanga' and the self-titled 'Maya' being massive in the tens. 

Automobile gangster, this "bad b#### from Sri Lanka" as a 'Monster' Nicki Minaj once put it, before 'Vicki' homaged, brings the alternative dance and electronic hip-hop music back for the world in a selection of globe-trotting signature samples and one line staples. 'Mata' matters like this former refugee who became one of TIME magazine's 75 most influential people of the 21st century. Flip that bird. 

Controversy should not be the label on a Member of the Order of the British Empire, with good reason. Her compelling services to creativity and the way her music moves should be. She is 'The One' like her lead single that stresses "Head for the gate, art in the Tate/I'm the thing that sons imitate/You can't stop the fate, stop the weight, lock away/Deny the debate relevant to the day." Finding her truth and sticking to it, like she told Zane Lowe. Flexing on the fierce 'F.I.A.S.O.M.' opening parts (the second featuring a punctuating Priya Ragu) that gives this neon electric album more light like the luminous artwork bordering Maya's portrait. 

'100% Sustainable' is the best take on modern life since St. Vincent's 'Pills' to wake, pills to sleep with Cara Delevingne. "Is there a pill for sickness, slickness/Working out, fitness/Your ego so bad, my goodness", she muses like Matt Bellamy with tongue in cheek satire, hiding the pill beneath. The Island Records get 'Popular' for the world on the second single, all before the latest 'Beep' goes for 911 broke like Missy Elliott. 

'AIM' was meant to be the last true album before the rapper went backwards into the sunset. But we're glad M.I.A. is cocked and loaded again for a long awaited album she said she would leak(x) herself if it didn't wake up by September. But now in October she gives us one of the year, let alone week's best on the same music Friday as fellow countrymen the 1975 and the second album from the Red Hot Chili Peppers of the calendar with more tracks than a greatest hits. All in the same month as genre bender and music maestro Bjork's first in years. What a time. 

Lassoing promotion like Ted on FIFA 23 with an exclusive uniform skin in 'Mata' colours. Kicking it across tracks like 'Energy Freq' and 'Zoo Girl' for an animalistic album as contagious as the one thing you haven't wanted to catch for the last few years that have cancelled everything like everybody. 'Time Traveller' takes us back to her future and on 'Puththi' she proclaims more power. But it's 'K.T.P.' that really keeps the peace in anthem. There's "lessons in the struggle", she says. "That brings us to the bridge of this battle/Cause you're fighting in a place that's already won/I'm not gonna ask you where you got your gun/You're hiding in a place that's already found/Hope you'll realize this fakeness don't count." Time for us all to genuinely sing along until war is over and put to bed for peace like Lennon and Yoko.

It's just that 'MATA LIFE' as Maya slaps on the 'Marigold' to tighten the album closer and new favourite. "When times are difficult (When times are difficult)/We're gonna need a miracle (We're gonna need a miracle)/When things are critical (When things are critical)/We're gonna need a miracle (We're gonna need a miracle)/The world's in trouble (The world's in trouble)/Cover it in marigolds (Cover it in marigolds." Sing it over and over. Because it's all we can do right now, as a 'Mata' of fact. Time for some action. TIM DAVID HARVEY. 

Playlist Picks: '100% Sustainable', 'The One', 'K.T.P.' (Keep The Peace) '.