By Ana La O
M.I.A.'s highly-anticipated sophomore album, Kala, switches out pop for adventurous blends of cross-culturalism, gunshots, and political discontent.
She's been deemed a rap revolutionary by critics. She's even been denied entry to the United States for her potent rhymes. Now that she's finally released her sophomore effort Kala, M.I.A. insists that she's "coming back with power, power" on the album's opening track, and she isn't lying.
When Sri-Lankan-born M.I.A. released her debut, Arular two years ago, music aficionados applauded her politically-charged lyrics and adventurous blend of hip hop, dance hall, and world music. On Kala, M.I.A returns with a more daring and unique cross-culturalism all her own. Drawing inspiration from its international recording locations -- including India, Liberia, and Jamaica -- Kala mixes classic punk, Bollywood, and hip hop; strips it down; and then, layers it with electronic and tribal beats and gunshots. Yes, gunshots.
To label this record as "pop" would be a sin, even if it does end up in the pop section of your nearest music store. M.I.A. refuses to create hooks on traditional melodies and instead builds them on infectious rhythm and sparse rhymes, which pack deeper messages about global politics. Of course, these messages become a little unclear beneath her verbal minimalism and gritty, drawling vocals. But this only seems to work all too well, allowing M.I.A. to display her clever sarcasm.
In "Paper Planes," the rapper reflects on her own visa troubles and takes a jab at anti-immigration fears with a tongue-in-cheek portrait of greedy border crossers. Airy synths and a steady beat lay an oddly sunny backdrop to gunshots and a dark, nursery rhyme-like chorus that repeats, "All I wanna do is [boom of gunshots, money clinking] and take your money." If that isn't sassy enough, the rapper adds, "M.I.A. third world democracy. I've got more records than the K.G.B."
This lyric, like the record, reads as a wake up call to the Western-obsessed world to recognize the overlooked music and the weighty issues brewing in developing nations.
"World Town" blatantly criticizes hypocritical foreign aid in poverty-ridden countries. “Look what you done, you done it before. Every little dollar just keeps me down more,” M.I.A. raps. “I never had you on my side, bubbling on my side. Why they tell me different when they make me explodified?” Layered over urgent beats and juxtaposed with the occasional sound of more cocking guns, the functional rhyme “explodified” becomes a troubling image of frustration and violence.
In an interview (http: //www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=1150941368&channel=598199) with director Spike Jonze, M.I.A. revealed her desire to discuss these substantial issues rather than the usual "one night stands" and "pussy."
"When I see these girls kind of dancing, having a good time to these songs that says, "Ass, ass, titties, titties," then I always think, there has to be a flipside to that, and someone has to bring forward some really serious shit," M.I.A. says. "But I want to be able walk the line in the middle. On this album, that's all I wanted to do. How do you bring something human to a generation that's just been fed with ass, ass, titties, titties?... I feel like I am a martyr now, for having made a creative album as opposed to a pop album."
Sure enough, Kala seems less accessible than Arular. Her debut's brightness and militant-ism have been traded in for a more subdued, slicker sound on the second record. While Kala's opening tracks offer the punch and energy of its precursor, M.I.A. later ventures into cool breathier, sometimes even whisper-like vocals and listless choruses. Chances are you'll probably need to give Kala a few listens to understand its depth. But conventional accessibility seems like a small price to pay for an intriguing sound and an album that constantly offers new discoveries.
Published: Friday, September 7, 2007
