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Kala (album)
Encyclopedia
Kala is the second studio album
by British musician M.I.A.
, released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music
to alternative hip hop
and makes extensive use of South Asian music such as that of the urumee
, a drum used in gaana
music native to Tamil Nadu
, India
. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch
, and features contributions from Timbaland
, Diplo, Afrikan Boy
and The Wilcannia Mob
.
M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular
, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. She began recording the album in early 2006 and worked on the tracks in various locations around the world, including India
, Jamaica
, Australia
, Liberia
and Trinidad
. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur, after M.I.A. was refused a long-term work visa
to enter the country.
Kala was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200
chart, 172 places higher than Arular, and topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart. In the United Kingdom it reached number 39 on the UK Albums Chart
, 59 places higher than her debut album. Kala has spawned the singles
"Boyz
", "Jimmy
" and "Paper Planes
".
in 2005, which achieved critical acclaim and sold 130,000 copies. Plans for a second album were first revealed when she spoke later that year of her intention to work with American producer Timbaland
. At one point it was anticipated that he would produce the bulk of the album. However, she was unable to gain a long-term work visa
to enter the U.S., reportedly due to her family's connections with guerrillas in Sri Lanka
. This led to conflicts between the two artists' schedules and meant that Timbaland's involvement was restricted to a poorly received guest verse on the track "Come Around". M.I.A. instead opted to record the album at a variety of locations around the world, beginning by travelling to India following the last date of her Arular Tour
in Japan in February 2006.
She initially travelled to India to meet A. R. Rahman
, but found it hard to communicate her ideas to him and the planned musical collaboration did not take place. Rahman did, however, provide M.I.A. with a number of contacts and allow her to use his studio, where 22 members of drumming group The Tapes were recorded for Kala. Producer Switch
, who had initially travelled to India purely to engineer the planned sessions, ultimately became involved in the composition of several tracks for the album. A visit to Angola
to work with DJ Znobia was cancelled after Znobia was involved in a car accident, but M.I.A. was able to record in Trinidad
, Liberia
, Jamaica
and Australia. She and Switch relied heavily on Logic Pro
, a digital audio workstation
produced by Apple, and were able to capture vocals and background sounds outside the traditional studio environment, using a microphone and a Macbook Pro.
The album features guest vocals from Afrikan Boy
, The Wilcannia Mob
, and Timbaland, and further collaborations with Switch, Blaqstarr
, Morganics and Diplo. She likened the process of recording the album to "making a big old marble cake
with lots of different countries and influences. Then you slice it up and call each slice a song".
, which was named after her father. She contends that Arular was a "masculine" album, but that Kala "is about my mum and her struggle–how do you work, feed your children, nurture them and give them the power of information?" She further summed the album up as "shapes, colours, Africa, street, power, bitch, nu world, and brave."
The tracks "Boyz
" and "Bird Flu
" use urumee
drums, a signature instrument of Gaana
, a Tamil
genre of music, with which M.I.A. was familiar from her time spent living in Sri Lanka. She later worked on these tracks in Trinidad, where she absorbed influences from the country's love of soca music
. The lyrics of "Boyz" deal with the artist's time in Jamaica, and reference Jamaican dance moves. The song "Hussel" began as an image in M.I.A.'s head of refugees being smuggled in boats, which she expressed musically by imagining how "if they banged that beat on the side of a boat, what would it sound like? That's why it's all echo-y
and submarine-y
". The sounds on the intro were recorded from Keralan
[sic] fishermen chanting as they pull their fishing boats into the water. "World Town" used instrumentation from the temple music she recalled waking up to as a child in Sri Lanka. After playing the track to children in Liberia, she expressed a desire to record a video for the song there. M.I.A.'s "flat, unaffected vocals and delivery of lyrics" on some songs drew comparisons to British post-punk
bands such as Delta 5
and The Slits
. She says it "was just what was happening to me naturally...I wanted it to be difficult and raw and not get into it so much".
Afrikan Boy
, an exponent of grime
, a UK-based genre of urban music, provided vocals on the song "Hussel". M.I.A. opted to work with him because she felt that he seemed comfortable with his identity as a "real immigrant" and because his background was different to that of most MCs in the genre. She had originally planned to include "Mango Pickle Down River"—her remix of The Wilcannia Mob
's song "Down River"—on a mix-tape, but chose to include it on the album because she felt it was rare to hear the "aboriginal voice" in recorded music, and described opening track "Bamboo Banga" as having a "bamboo-stick beat, house-y feel". The song "Jimmy
" was included as a tribute to her mother and is M.I.A.'s version of an old Bollywood
film track to which she used to dance at parties as a child. Despite the involvement of Baltimore club
musician Blaqstarr, "The Turn" turned out to be the album's only ballad, and the track has been described as the least like club music. "20 Dollar" was written about the relative ease of buying AK-47
s in war-torn Liberia
. "XR2" recalls part of the artist's life growing up with rave music
in early 1990s London, while the song "Paper Planes
" jokingly plays on M.I.A.'s problems with visas and certain perceptions of immigrants.
reported that Kala would be released on 26 June of that year. After being delayed for unknown reasons, the album was eventually released by XL Recordings
on 8 August 2007 in Japan and on 20 August in the UK, and by Interscope Records
on 21 August in the United States. The Japanese edition featured three extra tracks not included on the versions released in other countries. Following the unexpected commercial success of "Paper Planes", Kala was re-issued in the United Kingdom in October 2008. A 4 November 2008 U.S. re-release was announced, but as of late 2009 the album had not been re-issued in the United States.
The album's packaging includes photographs taken by M.I.A. and others in Liberia
and Jamaica
. The cover artwork to Kala, designed by M.I.A., features neon fractal
patterns and repeated slogans, including "Fight On! Fight On! Fight On!", which surrounds her image on the front cover. The cover was considered garish, prompting The Village Voice
to comment "Maybe one day [she'll] make an album cover that it doesn't hurt to look at". Additional graphics for the album were provided by English fashion designer Carri Mundane
(a.k.a Cassette Playa) and Steve Loveridge. The album's artwork was inspired by African art, "from dictator fashion to old stickers on the back of cars," which M.I.A hoped, like her artwork extended "Okley Run" clothing range, would capture "a 3-D sense, the shapes, the prints, the sound, film, technology, politics, economics" of a certain time.
M.I.A. began her promotion of the new album with a live appearance at Radio 1's Big Weekend in Preston in May 2007, where she performed six songs from Kala. In July she began the full KALA Tour with dates in the United States before going on to play a number of festivals
in Europe
and America. After dates in Asia
, she returned to America for a series of shows in October and November, before ending the year with concerts in the UK. The tour continued during the first half of 2008 under the banner of the People Vs. Money Tour
with further dates in North America, although the planned European leg of the tour was eventually cancelled.
The first track from the album to be made available to the public was "Bird Flu", which was made available as a downloadable promotional single in November 2006. The first official single to be lifted from the album, "Boyz", was released on 11 June 2007. The second single was "Jimmy", which was released on 1 October 2007. The EP Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP, featuring various mixes of "Paper Planes", was released digitally on 11 February 2008 and physically three weeks later. A new physical single version was released in the UK on 13 October 2008. Also in October 2008, How Many Votes Fix Mix EP
was released, containing a remix of "Boyz" with Jay-Z
and the tracks "Shells" and "Far Far".
for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA). The album debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200
chart, selling about 29,000 copies in its first week. It failed to rise above this position but still significantly outperformed the peak position of 190 attained by M.I.A.'s previous album. It also topped the Top Electronic Albums chart. In the UK Albums Chart
it debuted at number 39, and again did not rise above this position, although as in the US this represented an improvement on the chart performance of Arular, which had peaked at number 98. The album was certified Silver with sales of 60,000+ in the U.K. by the British Phonographic Industry
. In Canada, Kala was certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
(CRIA). The album also reached the top 40 in a number of other countries.
, which assigns a normalised
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported an average
score of 87 based on 37 reviews, described as "universal acclaim". Christgau, reviewing the album for Rolling Stone
, said that Kala "strikes deep. There's a resolute sarcasm, a weariness and defiant determination, a sense of pleasure carved out of work – articulated by the lyrics, embodied by the music." Eric R. Danton of The Hartford Courant
called Kala "pop music
without the vapidity, and political music
without the condescension." Under the Radar
, in a positive review, noted that Kala "not only doesn't disappoint, it renews faith in M.I.A. and confirms her commitment to the individualistic sound she has created." Conversely, Dusteds Ben Tausig described the album as "inconclusive" and said it "plays as mixed media pastiche". Vibe said "the majority of Kala...is limp and unfocussed." Writing in NME, Alex Miller acknowledged that M.I.A.'s music polarised opinion, claiming that some members of the magazine's staff had "fed several copies [of the album] into the shredder claiming aural abuse", but went on to praise the album for its innovation and refer to it as the artist's masterpiece.
), number seven (NME
), number six (Paste
, The A.V. Club
and Entertainment Weekly
), number four (The Guardian
and Drowned in Sound
), and number three (Pitchfork Media
). The album was also listed at number three on The Village Voice's
35th annual Pazz & Jop
poll. Blender
and Rolling Stone
both named Kala as their number one album of 2007. "Boyz" was number nine and "Shells" number 67 on the same magazine's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The album was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize
. In 2009 NME placed the album at number 72 in its list of the 100 greatest albums of the decade, Rolling Stone
named it the ninth best album of the same period, and veteran critic Robert Christgau
named it the best album of the decade.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by British musician M.I.A.
M.I.A. (artist)
Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam , better known by her stage name M.I.A. , is an English singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, painter and director of Sri Lankan Tamil descent. Her compositions combine elements of hip hop, electronica, dance, alternative and world music. M.I.A...
, released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
to alternative hip hop
Alternative hip hop
Alternative hip hop is a sub-genre of hip hop music. Allmusic defines it as follows: -Origin:...
and makes extensive use of South Asian music such as that of the urumee
Urumee
The urumee is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum from the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Two skin heads are attached to a single hallow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other wood may be used...
, a drum used in gaana
Gaana
Gaana is a type of Tamil song, often accompanied by the percussion of Dappan koothu. It is characterised as a fastbeat song, with less emphasis on meaning, sung at a celebration. Initially, this was very popular with Indians from Chennai to relax while doing stressful work. It gained further...
music native to Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch
Switch (DJ)
Switch is a UK-based DJ, songwriter, sound engineer and record producer. He is best known for his work with M.I.A. and Santigold.In the fidget house genre, Switch runs his own music label "Dubsided", as well as the label Counterfeet, established in 2006 with fellow producer Sinden...
, and features contributions from Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
, Diplo, Afrikan Boy
Afrikan Boy
Olushola Ajose, better known by his stage name Afrikan Boy is a grime MC from Woolwich, London, England, originally from Nigeria. He made a guest appearance on the track "Hussel" from the M.I.A. album Kala, and is one of the initial artists M.I.A. wanted signed to her label in 2007, then titled...
and The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob is a rap/hip-hop musical group of five aboriginal boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair...
.
M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular
Arular
Arular is the 2005 debut album by British musician M.I.A. Originally set for a September 2004 release, the album was delayed due to problems obtaining permission to use samples. Arular was finally released in the US on 22 March 2005 and a month later in the UK with a slightly different track...
, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. She began recording the album in early 2006 and worked on the tracks in various locations around the world, including India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur, after M.I.A. was refused a long-term work visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to enter the country.
Kala was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, 172 places higher than Arular, and topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart. In the United Kingdom it reached number 39 on the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
, 59 places higher than her debut album. Kala has spawned the singles
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
"Boyz
Boyz (song)
"Boyz" is a song recorded by artist M.I.A. for her second album Kala . The song was released as the album's lead single by XL Recordings and Interscope Records on 11 June 2007 in 12-inch single, CD single, digital download and USB flash drive formats...
", "Jimmy
Jimmy (song)
"Jimmy" is the second single from experimental electronica rap artist M.I.A.'s second album Kala , and her first single from the album in Japan...
" and "Paper Planes
Paper Planes
"Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch...
".
Composition and recording
M.I.A. (Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam) had released her debut album ArularArular
Arular is the 2005 debut album by British musician M.I.A. Originally set for a September 2004 release, the album was delayed due to problems obtaining permission to use samples. Arular was finally released in the US on 22 March 2005 and a month later in the UK with a slightly different track...
in 2005, which achieved critical acclaim and sold 130,000 copies. Plans for a second album were first revealed when she spoke later that year of her intention to work with American producer Timbaland
Timbaland
Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper....
. At one point it was anticipated that he would produce the bulk of the album. However, she was unable to gain a long-term work visa
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...
to enter the U.S., reportedly due to her family's connections with guerrillas in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. This led to conflicts between the two artists' schedules and meant that Timbaland's involvement was restricted to a poorly received guest verse on the track "Come Around". M.I.A. instead opted to record the album at a variety of locations around the world, beginning by travelling to India following the last date of her Arular Tour
Arular Tour
The Arular Tour is a global concert tour by M.I.A. performed in support of her first studio album Arular . It took place from 2005 to 2006....
in Japan in February 2006.
She initially travelled to India to meet A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...
, but found it hard to communicate her ideas to him and the planned musical collaboration did not take place. Rahman did, however, provide M.I.A. with a number of contacts and allow her to use his studio, where 22 members of drumming group The Tapes were recorded for Kala. Producer Switch
Switch (DJ)
Switch is a UK-based DJ, songwriter, sound engineer and record producer. He is best known for his work with M.I.A. and Santigold.In the fidget house genre, Switch runs his own music label "Dubsided", as well as the label Counterfeet, established in 2006 with fellow producer Sinden...
, who had initially travelled to India purely to engineer the planned sessions, ultimately became involved in the composition of several tracks for the album. A visit to Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
to work with DJ Znobia was cancelled after Znobia was involved in a car accident, but M.I.A. was able to record in Trinidad
Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
, Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
, Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
and Australia. She and Switch relied heavily on Logic Pro
Logic Pro
Logic Pro is a hybrid 32 / 64 bit digital audio workstation and MIDI sequencer software application for the Mac OS X platform. Originally created by German software developer Emagic, Logic Pro became an Apple product when Apple bought Emagic in 2002...
, a digital audio workstation
Digital audio workstation
A digital audio workstation is an electronic system designed solely or primarily for recording, editing and playing back digital audio. DAWs were originally tape-less, microprocessor-based systems such as the Synclavier and Fairlight CMI...
produced by Apple, and were able to capture vocals and background sounds outside the traditional studio environment, using a microphone and a Macbook Pro.
MacBook
The MacBook was a brand of Macintosh notebook computers built by Apple Inc. First introduced in May 2006, it replaced the iBook and 12-inch PowerBook series of notebooks as a part of the Apple–Intel transition. Positioned as the low end of the MacBook family, the Apple MacBook was aimed at the...
The album features guest vocals from Afrikan Boy
Afrikan Boy
Olushola Ajose, better known by his stage name Afrikan Boy is a grime MC from Woolwich, London, England, originally from Nigeria. He made a guest appearance on the track "Hussel" from the M.I.A. album Kala, and is one of the initial artists M.I.A. wanted signed to her label in 2007, then titled...
, The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob is a rap/hip-hop musical group of five aboriginal boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair...
, and Timbaland, and further collaborations with Switch, Blaqstarr
Blaqstarr
Charles Smith, better known as Blaqstarr or DJ Blaqstarr, is a Baltimore, Maryland area rapper, singer, producer, and DJ...
, Morganics and Diplo. She likened the process of recording the album to "making a big old marble cake
Marble cake
A marble cake is a cake with a streaked or mottled appearance achieved by very lightly blending light and dark batter. It can be a mixture of vanilla and chocolate cake, in which case it is mainly vanilla, with streaks of chocolate.- Further Reading :...
with lots of different countries and influences. Then you slice it up and call each slice a song".
Music and lyrics
Kala is named after M.I.A.'s mother, in contrast to her previous album, ArularArular
Arular is the 2005 debut album by British musician M.I.A. Originally set for a September 2004 release, the album was delayed due to problems obtaining permission to use samples. Arular was finally released in the US on 22 March 2005 and a month later in the UK with a slightly different track...
, which was named after her father. She contends that Arular was a "masculine" album, but that Kala "is about my mum and her struggle–how do you work, feed your children, nurture them and give them the power of information?" She further summed the album up as "shapes, colours, Africa, street, power, bitch, nu world, and brave."
Boyz (song)
"Boyz" is a song recorded by artist M.I.A. for her second album Kala . The song was released as the album's lead single by XL Recordings and Interscope Records on 11 June 2007 in 12-inch single, CD single, digital download and USB flash drive formats...
" and "Bird Flu
Bird Flu (song)
"Bird Flu" is an urumee melam song recorded by the Sri Lankan Tamil songwriter M.I.A.. It was released in 2006 and appears on her second studio album Kala, released in 2007....
" use urumee
Urumee
The urumee is a double-headed hourglass-shaped drum from the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. Two skin heads are attached to a single hallow, often intricately carved wooden shell. The preferred wood is jackwood, although other wood may be used...
drums, a signature instrument of Gaana
Gaana
Gaana is a type of Tamil song, often accompanied by the percussion of Dappan koothu. It is characterised as a fastbeat song, with less emphasis on meaning, sung at a celebration. Initially, this was very popular with Indians from Chennai to relax while doing stressful work. It gained further...
, a Tamil
Music of Tamil Nadu
Music of Tamil Nadu has a long tradition and history going back thousands of years. Music is a very important aspect of the culture of the Tamil people. The musical tradition evolved over a period of centuries into the classical Carnatic music and the more popular film music.-Ancient music:The...
genre of music, with which M.I.A. was familiar from her time spent living in Sri Lanka. She later worked on these tracks in Trinidad, where she absorbed influences from the country's love of soca music
Soca music
Soca is a style of music from Trinidad and Tobago. Soca is a musical development of traditional Trinidadian calypso, through loans from the 1960s onwards from predominantly black popular music....
. The lyrics of "Boyz" deal with the artist's time in Jamaica, and reference Jamaican dance moves. The song "Hussel" began as an image in M.I.A.'s head of refugees being smuggled in boats, which she expressed musically by imagining how "if they banged that beat on the side of a boat, what would it sound like? That's why it's all echo-y
Echo (phenomenon)
In audio signal processing and acoustics, an echo is a reflection of sound, arriving at the listener some time after the direct sound. Typical examples are the echo produced by the bottom of a well, by a building, or by the walls of an enclosed room and an empty room. A true echo is a single...
and submarine-y
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
". The sounds on the intro were recorded from Keralan
Kerala
or Keralam is an Indian state located on the Malabar coast of south-west India. It was created on 1 November 1956 by the States Reorganisation Act by combining various Malayalam speaking regions....
[sic] fishermen chanting as they pull their fishing boats into the water. "World Town" used instrumentation from the temple music she recalled waking up to as a child in Sri Lanka. After playing the track to children in Liberia, she expressed a desire to record a video for the song there. M.I.A.'s "flat, unaffected vocals and delivery of lyrics" on some songs drew comparisons to British post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
bands such as Delta 5
Delta 5
-Career:The original members of Delta 5, Julz Sale , Ros Allen and Bethan Peters , formed the band "on a lark", but soon became a part of the thriving Leeds post-punk scene, and later added Kelvin Knight on drums and Alan Riggs on guitar...
and The Slits
The Slits
The Slits were a British punk rock band. The quartet was formed in 1976 by members of the bands The Flowers of Romance and The Castrators. The members were Ari Up , who died of cancer in October 2010, and Palmolive , with Viv Albertine and Tessa Pollitt replacing founding members, Kate Korus and...
. She says it "was just what was happening to me naturally...I wanted it to be difficult and raw and not get into it so much".
Afrikan Boy
Afrikan Boy
Olushola Ajose, better known by his stage name Afrikan Boy is a grime MC from Woolwich, London, England, originally from Nigeria. He made a guest appearance on the track "Hussel" from the M.I.A. album Kala, and is one of the initial artists M.I.A. wanted signed to her label in 2007, then titled...
, an exponent of grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
, a UK-based genre of urban music, provided vocals on the song "Hussel". M.I.A. opted to work with him because she felt that he seemed comfortable with his identity as a "real immigrant" and because his background was different to that of most MCs in the genre. She had originally planned to include "Mango Pickle Down River"—her remix of The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob
The Wilcannia Mob is a rap/hip-hop musical group of five aboriginal boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair...
's song "Down River"—on a mix-tape, but chose to include it on the album because she felt it was rare to hear the "aboriginal voice" in recorded music, and described opening track "Bamboo Banga" as having a "bamboo-stick beat, house-y feel". The song "Jimmy
Jimmy (song)
"Jimmy" is the second single from experimental electronica rap artist M.I.A.'s second album Kala , and her first single from the album in Japan...
" was included as a tribute to her mother and is M.I.A.'s version of an old Bollywood
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film track to which she used to dance at parties as a child. Despite the involvement of Baltimore club
Baltimore Club
Baltimore club, also called "Bmore Club" or "Club Music" is a breakbeat genre. As blend with hip hop and chopped, staccato house music, it was created in Baltimore, Maryland, United States in the late 1980s by 2 Live Crew's Luther Campbell, Frank Ski, Big Tony , Scottie B...
musician Blaqstarr, "The Turn" turned out to be the album's only ballad, and the track has been described as the least like club music. "20 Dollar" was written about the relative ease of buying AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
s in war-torn Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
. "XR2" recalls part of the artist's life growing up with rave music
Rave music
Rave music may either refer the late 1980s genre or any genre of electronic dance music that may be played at an electronic dance party such as a rave. Very rarely, the term is used to refer to less electronic related genres glam, powerpop, psychedelic rock and dub music parties...
in early 1990s London, while the song "Paper Planes
Paper Planes
"Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch...
" jokingly plays on M.I.A.'s problems with visas and certain perceptions of immigrants.
Release and artwork
In April 2007 Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reported that Kala would be released on 26 June of that year. After being delayed for unknown reasons, the album was eventually released by XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
on 8 August 2007 in Japan and on 20 August in the UK, and by Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
on 21 August in the United States. The Japanese edition featured three extra tracks not included on the versions released in other countries. Following the unexpected commercial success of "Paper Planes", Kala was re-issued in the United Kingdom in October 2008. A 4 November 2008 U.S. re-release was announced, but as of late 2009 the album had not been re-issued in the United States.
The album's packaging includes photographs taken by M.I.A. and others in Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
and Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
. The cover artwork to Kala, designed by M.I.A., features neon fractal
Fractal
A fractal has been defined as "a rough or fragmented geometric shape that can be split into parts, each of which is a reduced-size copy of the whole," a property called self-similarity...
patterns and repeated slogans, including "Fight On! Fight On! Fight On!", which surrounds her image on the front cover. The cover was considered garish, prompting The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
to comment "Maybe one day [she'll] make an album cover that it doesn't hurt to look at". Additional graphics for the album were provided by English fashion designer Carri Mundane
Carri Mundane
Carri Mundane is an English fashion designer. Born as Carri Munden, she is also credited as Carri Mundane and CassettePlaya, her fashion label. She currently works and lives in London.-Career:...
(a.k.a Cassette Playa) and Steve Loveridge. The album's artwork was inspired by African art, "from dictator fashion to old stickers on the back of cars," which M.I.A hoped, like her artwork extended "Okley Run" clothing range, would capture "a 3-D sense, the shapes, the prints, the sound, film, technology, politics, economics" of a certain time.
Promotion
Music festival
A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and America. After dates in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, she returned to America for a series of shows in October and November, before ending the year with concerts in the UK. The tour continued during the first half of 2008 under the banner of the People Vs. Money Tour
People Vs. Money Tour
The People vs. Money Tour was a 2008 M.I.A. concert tour in support of her studio album Kala. Concerts also featured songs from her debut album Arular. It began on 26 April 2008 and ended on June 13 in Manchester, Tennessee....
with further dates in North America, although the planned European leg of the tour was eventually cancelled.
The first track from the album to be made available to the public was "Bird Flu", which was made available as a downloadable promotional single in November 2006. The first official single to be lifted from the album, "Boyz", was released on 11 June 2007. The second single was "Jimmy", which was released on 1 October 2007. The EP Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes EP, featuring various mixes of "Paper Planes", was released digitally on 11 February 2008 and physically three weeks later. A new physical single version was released in the UK on 13 October 2008. Also in October 2008, How Many Votes Fix Mix EP
How Many Votes Fix Mix EP
How Many Votes Fix Mix is the second EP released in 2008 by the musician M.I.A. . It was released on October 28, 2008 by XL Recordings/Interscope Records and made available on iTunes. It received a full release on November 4, 2008...
was released, containing a remix of "Boyz" with Jay-Z
Jay-Z
Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...
and the tracks "Shells" and "Far Far".
Commercial performance
As of March 2010, Kala was certified GoldRIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
for selling over 500,000 copies in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
(RIAA). The album debuted at number 18 on the U.S. Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart, selling about 29,000 copies in its first week. It failed to rise above this position but still significantly outperformed the peak position of 190 attained by M.I.A.'s previous album. It also topped the Top Electronic Albums chart. In the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
it debuted at number 39, and again did not rise above this position, although as in the US this represented an improvement on the chart performance of Arular, which had peaked at number 98. The album was certified Silver with sales of 60,000+ in the U.K. by the British Phonographic Industry
British Phonographic Industry
The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies...
. In Canada, Kala was certified Gold by the Canadian Recording Industry Association
Canadian Recording Industry Association
Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...
(CRIA). The album also reached the top 40 in a number of other countries.
Critical reaction
MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, which assigns a normalised
Standard score
In statistics, a standard score indicates how many standard deviations an observation or datum is above or below the mean. It is a dimensionless quantity derived by subtracting the population mean from an individual raw score and then dividing the difference by the population standard deviation...
rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, reported an average
Weighted mean
The weighted mean is similar to an arithmetic mean , where instead of each of the data points contributing equally to the final average, some data points contribute more than others...
score of 87 based on 37 reviews, described as "universal acclaim". Christgau, reviewing the album for Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
, said that Kala "strikes deep. There's a resolute sarcasm, a weariness and defiant determination, a sense of pleasure carved out of work – articulated by the lyrics, embodied by the music." Eric R. Danton of The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant
The Hartford Courant is the largest daily newspaper in the U.S. state of Connecticut, and is a morning newspaper for most of the state north of New Haven and east of Waterbury...
called Kala "pop music
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
without the vapidity, and political music
Music and politics
The connection between music and politics, particularly political expression in music, has been seen in many cultures. Although music influences political movements and rituals, it is not clear how or even if, general audiences relate music on a political level...
without the condescension." Under the Radar
Under the Radar (magazine)
Under the Radar is an American magazine that bills itself as "The solution to music pollution" and features interviews with accompanying photo-shoots. Each issue includes opinion and commentary of the Indie music scene as well as reviews on books, DVDs and albums.Items are reviewed based on a...
, in a positive review, noted that Kala "not only doesn't disappoint, it renews faith in M.I.A. and confirms her commitment to the individualistic sound she has created." Conversely, Dusteds Ben Tausig described the album as "inconclusive" and said it "plays as mixed media pastiche". Vibe said "the majority of Kala...is limp and unfocussed." Writing in NME, Alex Miller acknowledged that M.I.A.'s music polarised opinion, claiming that some members of the magazine's staff had "fed several copies [of the album] into the shredder claiming aural abuse", but went on to praise the album for its innovation and refer to it as the artist's masterpiece.
Accolades
Kala achieved a high placing on most publications' end of year "best of 2007" lists, including placings at number eight (StylusStylus Magazine
Stylus Magazine was an online music and film magazine launched in 2002. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, a number of different podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog....
), number seven (NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
), number six (Paste
Paste (magazine)
Paste is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine published in the United States by Wolfgang's Vault. Its tagline is "Signs of Life in Music, Film and Culture."-History:...
, The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
and Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
), number four (The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
and Drowned in Sound
Drowned in Sound
DrownedinSound.com or DiS is a UK based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway . The site is an editorially independent music website.-History:...
), and number three (Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media
Pitchfork Media, usually known simply as Pitchfork or P4k, is a Chicago-based daily Internet publication established in 1995 that is devoted to music criticism and commentary, music news, and artist interviews. Its focus is on underground and independent music, especially indie rock...
). The album was also listed at number three on The Village Voice's
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
35th annual Pazz & Jop
Pazz & Jop
The Pazz & Jop critics' poll is a poll of music critics run by The Village Voice newspaper. It is compiled every year from the top ten lists of hundreds of music critics...
poll. Blender
Blender (magazine)
Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....
and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
both named Kala as their number one album of 2007. "Boyz" was number nine and "Shells" number 67 on the same magazine's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007 and 2008 respectively.
The album was nominated for the 2007 Shortlist Music Prize
Shortlist Music Prize
The Shortlist Music Prize, stylized as , was an annual music award for the best album released in the United States that had sold fewer than 500,000 copies at the time of nomination...
. In 2009 NME placed the album at number 72 in its list of the 100 greatest albums of the decade, Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
named it the ninth best album of the same period, and veteran critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
named it the best album of the decade.
Track listing
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Other | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Bamboo Banga" | Mathangi Arulpragasam, Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter... , Jonathan Richman Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing... , Dave Taylor Switch (DJ) Switch is a UK-based DJ, songwriter, sound engineer and record producer. He is best known for his work with M.I.A. and Santigold.In the fidget house genre, Switch runs his own music label "Dubsided", as well as the label Counterfeet, established in 2006 with fellow producer Sinden... |
Incorporates elements of "Roadrunner Roadrunner (Jonathan Richman song) "Roadrunner" is a song written by Jonathan Richman and recorded in various versions by Richman and his band, in most cases credited as The Modern Lovers.Critic Greil Marcus described it as "the most obvious song in the world, and the strangest"... " by Jonathan Richman Jonathan Richman Jonathan Michael Richman is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. In 1970 he founded The Modern Lovers, an influential proto-punk band. Since the mid-1970s, Richman has worked either solo or with low-key, generally acoustic backing... (1976) and "Kaattukkuyilu", written and performed by Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja Ilaiyaraaja is an Indian film composer, singer, and lyricist mainly in the Tamil film Industry. He is regarded as one of the finest music composers in India. Ilaiyaraaja is also an instrumentalist, conductor, and a songwriter... from the 1991 Tamil film Tamil cinema Tamil cinema is the film industry based in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the production of films in the Tamil language. It is based in Chennai's Kodambakkam district, where several South Indian film production companies are headquartered... Thalapathi Thalapathi Thalapathi is a 1991 Indian Tamil film written and directed by Mani Ratnam, and produced by G. Venkateswaran under the banner of G. V. Films. The film stars Rajnikanth, Mammootty and Shobana in the lead roles with Arvind Swamy, Srividya, Amrish Puri, Bhanupriya, Nagesh, and Charuhasan essaying... . |
4:58 |
| 2 | "Bird Flu Bird Flu (song) "Bird Flu" is an urumee melam song recorded by the Sri Lankan Tamil songwriter M.I.A.. It was released in 2006 and appears on her second studio album Kala, released in 2007.... " |
Arulpragasam, R. P. Patnaik R. P. Patnaik R. P. Patnaik[Telugu] is a music director and playback singer in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films. He has written music for Jayam, Santosham, and Nijam... , Taylor |
Incorporates elements of "Thirvizha Na Vantha" written and performed by R. P. Patnaik R. P. Patnaik R. P. Patnaik[Telugu] is a music director and playback singer in Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films. He has written music for Jayam, Santosham, and Nijam... from the Tamil film Jayam. |
3:24 |
| 3 | "Boyz Boyz (song) "Boyz" is a song recorded by artist M.I.A. for her second album Kala . The song was released as the album's lead single by XL Recordings and Interscope Records on 11 June 2007 in 12-inch single, CD single, digital download and USB flash drive formats... " |
Arulpragasam, Taylor | 3:27 | |
| 4 | "Jimmy Jimmy (song) "Jimmy" is the second single from experimental electronica rap artist M.I.A.'s second album Kala , and her first single from the album in Japan... " |
Arulpragasam, Bappi Lahiri Bappi Lahiri Bappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early... , Taylor |
Incorporates elements of "Jimmy Jimmy Aaja" composed by Bappi Lahiri Bappi Lahiri Bappi Lahiri or Alokesh Lahiri , born 27 November 1952, is a music director in the Hindi film industry. He pioneered the use of disco music in Indian cinema and sang some of his own compositions. He was popular in the 1980s with films like Disco Dancer, Namak Halaal and Sharaabi among others.-Early... from the 1982 Bollywood Bollywood Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing... film Disco Dancer Disco Dancer Disco Dancer is a 1982 Hindi-language Indian feature film directed by Babbar Subhash starring Mithun Chakraborty in lead role and Rajesh Khanna in a special appearance. The film tells the rags-to-riches story of a young street performer... . |
3:29 |
| 5 | "Hussel" (ft. Afrikan Boy Afrikan Boy Olushola Ajose, better known by his stage name Afrikan Boy is a grime MC from Woolwich, London, England, originally from Nigeria. He made a guest appearance on the track "Hussel" from the M.I.A. album Kala, and is one of the initial artists M.I.A. wanted signed to her label in 2007, then titled... ) |
Arulpragasam, Wesley Pentz, Taylor | 4:25 | |
| 6 | "Mango Pickle Down River" (ft. The Wilcannia Mob The Wilcannia Mob The Wilcannia Mob is a rap/hip-hop musical group of five aboriginal boys from Wilcannia, New South Wales, Australia. The group members are Wally Ebsworth, Keith Dutton, Colin "Colroy" Johnson, Lendal King, and Buddy Blair... ) |
Brendan Adams, Arulpragasam, Buddy Blair, Keith Dutton, Walter Ebsworth, Roy Johnson, Lendal King, Morgan Lewis, Daniel M. Wright | Remixed from the original recording by the Wilcannia Mob ("Down River"). | 3:53 |
| 7 | "20 Dollar" ("$20" on iTunes ITunes iTunes is a media player computer program, used for playing, downloading, and organizing digital music and video files on desktop computers. It can also manage contents on iPod, iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad.... ) |
Arulpragasam, Charles Thompson, Taylor | Incorporates elements of the Pixies' song "Where Is My Mind? Where Is My Mind? "Where Is My Mind?" is a song by the American alternative rock band Pixies. It is the seventh track on their 1988 album Surfer Rosa. The song was written by frontman Black Francis while he attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, inspired by his experiences scuba diving in the Caribbean.... " and New Order New Order New Order are an English rock band formed in 1980 by Bernard Sumner , Peter Hook and Stephen Morris... 's "Blue Monday Blue Monday (New Order song) "Blue Monday" is a single released in 1983 by British band New Order, and later remixed in 1988 and 1995. The song has been widely remixed and covered since its original release, and became a popular anthem in the dance club scene.-Background:... " (the latter not listed on the album). |
4:34 |
| 8 | "World Town" | Arulpragasam, Blaqstarr, Taylor | Incorporates elements of "Hands Up, Thumbs Down" written by Blaqstarr. | 3:53 |
| 9 | "The Turn" | Arulpragasam, Blaqstarr | 3:52 | |
| 10 | "XR2" | Arulpragasam, Pentz, Taylor | 4:20 | |
| 11 | "Paper Planes Paper Planes "Paper Planes" is a song recorded by musician M.I.A. for her second studio album Kala released in 2007. The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam, Topper Headon, Mick Jones, Wesley "Diplo" Pentz, Paul Simonon, Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch... " |
Arulpragasam, Mick Jones Mick Jones (The Clash) Michael Geoffrey "Mick" Jones is the former lead guitarist, secondary vocalist and co-founder for the British punk rock band The Clash until his dismissal in 1983. He went on to form the band Big Audio Dynamite with Don Letts before line-up changes led to the formation of Big Audio Dynamite II and... , Topper Headon Topper Headon Headon was extensively interviewed for the Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten documentary film about the late Clash frontman. He related his experiences during this period, how he became addicted to heroin and how there were problems before his dismissal... , Pentz, Paul Simonon Paul Simonon Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007... , Joe Strummer Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor , best remembered by his stage name Joe Strummer, was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and lead vocalist of the British punk rock band The Clash. His musical experience included his membership in The 101ers, Latino Rockabilly War, The Mescaleros and The Pogues, in... |
Incorporates elements of The Clash The Clash The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly... 's 1982 song "Straight to Hell Straight to Hell (song) "Straight to Hell" is a song by The Clash, from their album Combat Rock. It was released as a double A-side single with "Should I Stay or Should I Go" on 17 September 1982 in 12" and 7" vinyl format format. A slow, mournful ballad, it is one of the most popular songs in the Clash canon due to its... ". |
3:24 |
| 12 | "Come Around" (ft. Timbaland Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.... ) |
Arulpragasam, Timothy Clayton Attitude (rapper) Timothy Clayton, , better known by his stage name Attitude, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer.- Biography :... , Timothy Mosley Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley , better known by his stage name Timbaland, is an American record producer, songwriter and rapper.... |
3:53 | |
| 13 | "Far Far" (Japanese bonus track) | Arulpragasam, Taylor | 3:24 | |
| 14 | "Big Branch" (Japanese and iTunes ITunes Store The iTunes Store is a software-based online digital media store operated by Apple. Opening as the iTunes Music Store on April 28, 2003, with over 200,000 items to purchase, it is, as of April 2008, the number-one music vendor in the United States... bonus track) |
Arulpragasam, Pentz | 2:44 | |
| 15 | "What I Got" (Japanese bonus track) | Arulpragasam, Charles Smith, Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,... , Flea Flea (musician) Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers... , John Frusciante John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums... , Chad Smith Chad Smith Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and... |
Incorporates elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock... 1991 song "Give It Away". |
3:24 |
| 16 | "Bird Flu (Cavemen Remix)" (Best Buy Best Buy Best Buy Co., Inc. is an American specialty retailer of consumer electronics in the United States, accounting for 19% of the market. It also operates in Mexico, Canada & China. The company's subsidiaries include Geek Squad, CinemaNow, Magnolia Audio Video, Pacific Sales, and, in Canada operates... bonus track) |
Arulpragasam, Patnaik, Taylor | 3:18 |
Reissue bonus disc
| # | Title | Songwriter(s) | Other | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Paper Planes (Afrikan Boy and Rye Rye Rye Rye Rye Rye is the stage name of Ryeisha Berrain, an American rapper and dancer from Baltimore, Maryland, United States signed to N.E.E.T. Recordings. She is currently finishing work on her debut album, Go! Pop! Bang!, slated to be released some time in 2012.-Early career:Rye Rye began performing at... Remix)" |
Arulpragasam, Jones, Headon, Pentz, Simonon, Strummer | Incorporates elements of The Clash's 1982 song "Straight to Hell". | 4:01 |
| 2 | "Shells" | Arulpragasam | 2:36 | |
| 3 | "Far Far" | Arulpragasam, Taylor | 3:25 | |
| 4 | "Big Branch" | Arulpragasam, Pentz, Taylor | 2:46 | |
| 5 | "What I Got" | Arulpragasam, Smith, Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis Anthony Kiedis is an American vocalist/lyricist, and occasional actor best known as the lead vocalist of the Grammy-winning American rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers. Kiedis spent his youth in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his mother before moving, shortly before his 12th birthday, to Hollywood,... , Flea Flea (musician) Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers... , John Frusciante John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums... , Chad Smith Chad Smith Chad Smith is an American musician, best known as the longtime and current drummer of Red Hot Chili Peppers. Smith is also the drummer of the hard rock supergroup Chickenfoot which includes Sammy Hagar, Joe Satriani, and Michael Anthony, former Deep Purple vocalist Glenn Hughes' backing band and... |
Incorporates elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock... 1991 song "Give It Away". |
3:15 |
| 6 | "Sound of Kuduro Sound of Kuduro "Sound of Kuduro" is a kuduro song by Buraka Som Sistema featuring DJ Znobia, M.I.A., Saborosa and Puto Prata, from their album Black Diamond released in 2008. The song was recorded in Angola, and a video for the song was recorded in 2007. "Sound of Kuduro" also appeared on the special edition of... " (ft. Buraka Som Sistema Buraka Som Sistema Buraka Som Sistema is an electronic dance music project from Portugal, specializing in a fusion of techno beats with the African kuduro genre, and are generally credited with creating the "progressive kuduro" variant and have been awarded an MTV European Music Award.-Origins:Buraka Som Sistema was... ) |
Arulpragasam, Buraka Som Sistema Buraka Som Sistema Buraka Som Sistema is an electronic dance music project from Portugal, specializing in a fusion of techno beats with the African kuduro genre, and are generally credited with creating the "progressive kuduro" variant and have been awarded an MTV European Music Award.-Origins:Buraka Som Sistema was... |
3:40 |
Personnel
The following people are credited on the album:- Vocals – M.I.A.
- Featured vocals – Afrikan Boy, The Wilcannia Mob, Timbaland, Rye Rye
- Producers:
- M.I.A. (tracks 1 to 6, 8, 9, bonus disc tracks 2, 3)
- Switch (tracks 1, 3 to 5, 7, 8, 10, bonus disc track 1, 3, 4)
- Diplo (tracks 5, 10, 11, bonus disc tracks 2, 4)
- Timbaland (track 12)
- Morganics (track 6)
- Blaqstarr (track 9, bonus disc tracks 1, 5)
- Conductor, Riot, Lil' John (bonus disc track 6)
- Assistant engineers – Larry "Live" Lyons (track 12), Marty Green (track 12)
- Mixing – Mark "Spike" Stent (track 3), Switch (track 11)
- Digital editing – Ron Taylor (track 12)
- Vocal producer – M.I.A. (track 6), Diplo (track 6), Jim BeanzJim BeanzJames David Washington, better known under his stage name Jim Beanz, is an American vocal producer, songwriter, musician, singer and record producer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, now working out of Philadelphia, signed to Timbaland Productions and Sunset Entertainment Group...
(track 12) - Graphic design – Carri Mundane, Steve Loveridge
- Artwork – M.I.A.
- Photography – M.I.A., Janette BeckmanJanette BeckmanJanette Beckman is an English documentary photographer born in London and living and working in New York.-Biography:Beckman started her career photographing the punk scene in England and New York in the 70s and 80s and has continued without pause...
, Liz Johnson Artur, Michael Kamber - Cut – DJ Ability (track 6)
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums Chart ARIA Charts The ARIA charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling singles and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA commenced compiling its own charts in-house from the week ending 26 June... |
46 |
| Austrian Albums Chart | 74 |
| Belgian Albums Chart Ultratop 50 Ultratop 50 singles, often just Ultratop 50, is the weekly chart of fifty best-selling singles in Flanders, Belgium, and is produced and published by the Ultratop organization. The chart has existed since March 31, 1995... (Flanders) |
22 |
| Canadian Albums Chart Canadian Albums Chart The Canadian Albums Chart is the official album sales chart in Canada. It is compiled every Wednesday by U.S.-based music sales tracking company Nielsen Soundscan, and published every Thursday by Jam! Canoe and Billboard, along with its sister charts the Canadian Singles Chart and the Canadian BDS... |
16 |
| Dutch Albums Chart | 44 |
| Finnish Albums Chart | 38 |
| French Albums Chart Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... |
117 |
| German Albums Chart Media Control Charts The official music charts in Germany are gathered and published by the company Media Control GfK International on behalf of Bundesverband Musikindustrie... |
93 |
| Irish Albums Chart Irish Albums Chart The Irish Albums Chart is the Irish music industry standard albums popularity chart issued weekly by the Irish Recorded Music Association and compiled on its behalf by Chart-Track. Chart rankings are based on sales, which are compiled through over-the-counter retail data captured electronically... |
22 |
| Japanese Albums Chart Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan. It started as , which was founded by Sōkō Koike in November 1967 and became known for its music charts. Oricon Inc... |
23 |
| Norwegian Albums Chart VG-lista VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by... |
22 |
| Swedish Albums Chart Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan, earlier known as Topplistan and Hitlistan and other names, is since October 2007 the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from Swedish Recording Industry Association .... |
18 |
| Swiss Albums Chart Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... |
74 |
| UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
39 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
18 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Electronic Albums | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004.... |
8 |
Certifications
| Country | Certification (thresholds) |
Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | Gold | 50,000+ |
| United Kingdom | Silver | 60,000+ |
| United States | Gold | 500,000+ |