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M.I.A. Responds to Pro-Terrorism Accusations

From feedproxy.google.com at 07/08/08 04:30 PM. 2 comments.

Photo by Matt Jordan

The debate over M.I.A.'s use of controversial imagery related to the Sri Lankan separatist group the Tamil Tigers is by no means new. Online music nerd water cooler ILM was abuzz with discussion years ago, and critic Robert Christgau wrote a superlative piece on the subject before Arular even came out-- which you really ought to read before continuing further with this story.

But with Kala standout "Paper Planes" gaining considerable chart traction in recent weeks thanks in part to its placement in a trailer for the film Pineapple Express (it's currently number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100), M.I.A. is gaining the attention of a bigger audience. And with that attention, the controversy pot has been stirred anew thanks to a viral diss video (NSFW!) posted by DeLon, another rapper of Sri Lankan descent. (Via Marc Fort.)

Rhyming over "Paper Planes", DeLon presents his thesis statement pretty much right off the bat: "M.I.A., you represent terrorism in the worst way," he declares. The accompanying video flips between stills and footage of M.I.A., clips of DeLon rapping, and graphic images of violence connected to the Tamil Tigers, often overlaid with text bullet-pointing their crimes.

His argument, in brief: because M.I.A. uses the image of the tiger, writes lyrics that address violence, and has a father known to be part of the Tamil Tigers organization (formally: the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, or LTTE), she's clearly promoting the aims of that organization through her art and music. As DeLon raps, "You know what the tiger represents: the death of the innocent."

If all that isn't pointed enough, check out DeLon's hijacking of the chorus: "All she wanna do is [sound of four gunshots] straight to my head." His conclusion is even more blunt: M.I.A. "want[s] war."

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Comment

  1. Sometimes you gotta be extreme to make an impact in society — and I think that’s what DeLon did exactly. I don’t agree that the use of the images was irreverence — it was an exaggeration of the irreverence that M.I.A. has been showing through her career through the use of terrorist-related symbols and lyrics. You gotta give some credit to this guy for having the guts to speak out on this matter. Terrorism is not a matter to be taken lightly, even in music, specially with hip hop music, a genre that influences many people.

    I found this new related site: http://www.saynototerror.com

    What bothers me most of all is that they’re having a war against war — that there is verbal and ideological clashing about clashing at the macro-level. I think the best thing that should happen is for M.I.A. and Delon to be on the same side — moving for peace and unity in Sri Lanka. I mean come on, this internet war isn’t making things better. I believe that if M.I.A. and Delon work on the same side, for peace and unity, that would serve us all better.

    By ladybug at 08/08/08 09:49 PM

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