M.I.A. is one of limited female artists in the mainstream music diaspora (to the contrary of her world music inclinations), to utterly rip apart, challenge, and dispute the mistreatment and influence of women’s rights, cultural appropriation, and the always recalcitrant issue of freedom of speech.
In 2012, she dropped “Bad Girls”, a message and video that behaved as a larger than life Thelma & Louise escape that touched women of the ’90s and girls of the Internet generation for its ferociously feminist take on order and independence. “Bring the Noize”, the first single off of her Matangi LP, due this fall, is similar in continuing her breaking down the fourth wall propaganda. The track itself is a throwback to her at times discombobulated beats and lyrics that intertwine everything and anything about popular and world culture. Visually, it’s also classic M.I.A, as we’re seeped into a blue daze basement party of devil-may-care behavior. Representing herself as the original Queen of the underground, M.I.A. also adopts a punk sense of style, showing off a new pink ‘do and embellished fingernails, once again mixing feminine touches in a fashion forward look topped by an aggressive deposition.
Watch “Bring the Noize” below!
–C. Shardae Jobson (@lavishrebellion)
