The singer and rapper has released her sixth studio album after a six year hiatus
The singer and rapper has released her sixth studio album after a six year hiatus
After a six year hiatus, British singer and rapper M.I.A. is back with her sixth studio album, MATA. The “Paper Planes” artist has leaned into a highly conceptual sound for her newest project, blurring the lines of genre by pulling inspirations from Afrobeat, UK rap, reggae, and electronica.
In a similar fashion to the original, pulsating effect she had on popular music in 2009, M.I.A. continues to serve as a trailblazer for innovative sounds, clearly evidenced by the synth-fueled production on MATA. The album was preceded by three singles starting with “The One” in May, “Popular,” and the last single “Beep” which debuted at the end of September. The singles acted as a glimpse into the psychedelic deep-bass club sounds that comprise MATA.
In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe from May, the rapper shared, “There’s a bit of a “battle” on the record. There is a clash, but the clash is your ego and spirituality. Those are the clashes because, as a musician, you need some ego, otherwise you can’t do it. Also the genre of music that—genres I should say—are all very egocentric. It’s not like I’m an artist that came from gospel or something.”
MATA is an exploration of M.I.A.’s ever-expanding sound, compounding off of the intense production that skyrocketed her to success almost fifteen years ago. One thing about M.I.A. that has stayed consistent in her two-decade long career is that she delights in creating eccentrically tense sonic experiences, and MATA is no different.
