M.I.A., aka Maya Arulpragasam, landed in the UK from Sri Lanka in 1986 because of her father’s involvement with the Tamil Tigers and their country’s struggle for independence: ’We got caught up in war and stuff and me my brother and mum came here as Sri Lankan refugees…’ M.I.A.’s father stayed in Sri Lanka and she has not seen him since.

The album’s title, Arular, a play on M.I.A’s surname and a tribute to her father, deals with heavy issues she has seen or been a part of, including: teenage prostitution, the effects of global capitalism, poverty and war. Lyrics in turn are thoughtful and profound, expressed non-aggressively in what M.I.A. describes as: ‘nursery rhyme baby talk…’

All tracks are unique and unpredicable and reveal M.I.A. as an artist that is constantly reinventing and refining her work. Sunshowers, a take on from the late seventies track of the same name by Dr. Buzzards Original Savannah Band: ‘…is about the dangers of war and what could happen.’ The singer explains: ‘I’m always more interested in the meaning behind something rather than creating a song for the sake of it.’ Hit single Galang, inspired by the Jamaican phrase for ‘go along’ is an exception to this rule - it's purely irresistible stuff, put together for your hips to move to...when only a whine will do. U.R.A.Q.T., co written with none other than Quincy Jones, is sure to become infamous for its satire on society’s obsession with text messaging and for its cult backdrop beat.

Ultimately M.I.A.’s music is fun music that talks about serious issues. The result is a riotous carnival of playful and sexy dislocated beats that are wickedly compulsive and seriously addictive. Believe the hype.