M.I.A. (birth name Mathangi Arulpragasam) was born on the 17th of July 1977 in Hounslow, London, England, UK. She is a famous British vocalist, songwriter, composer, record producer and visual artist.

Biography and Career:

She spent her childhood in Sri Lanka because her father was a guerilla fighter. Then her family returned to England and they were housed as refugees.
Her father's name is 'Arul Pragasam' and he was leader of 'Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam'(aka Tamil Tigers) the main Tamil anti-government organization operating in Sri Lanka.

She had attended London's Central Saint Martins Art School and her career started in 2000. She was firstly known as a singer (grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, trip-hop and baile funk).
Her first album was released in 200 5 and the second in 2007 and she collaborated with labels like XL Recordings, Interscope Records or Showbiz Records.
Besides being a singer and songwriter she is a producer and painter.
Some of her singles are "Galang", "Sunshowers", "Bucky Done Gun", "Boyz", "Jimmy" or "Paper Planes".

She received a lot of awards and nominations and prizes like Alternative Turner Prize, Mercury Music Prize, South Bank Show Award and Rolling Stone and Blender's Award.

Trivia:

- Height: 166 cm

Discography:

- 2005 Arular
- 2007 Kala

Quotes:

- "People don't realize that I had to come from a village in Sri Lanka to get here. So the journey is about the journey itself, not just about doing music."
- "I'm just the alternative to that 'coffee table music' -- I'm the flipside to what Norah Jones is doing."
_{Image Source : wikipedia.org}



M.I.A. Lists

	Living people
	English rappers
	British documentary filmmakers
	English female singers
	British singer-songwriters
	British composers
	British fashion designers
	Female rappers
	British painters
	British photographers
	British record producers
	Tamil musicians
	Sri Lankan Tamil people
	United Kingdom graffiti artists
	British expatriates in the United States
	British people of Sri Lankan descent
	Alumni of the Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design
	1975 births
	British people of Tamil descent
	People of Sri Lankan descent
	Grime artists

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Tags: vocalist, songwriter, 1977, composer, record producer

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Category: Musicians  - ( Musicians Archive)

Date Added: 19 March '08

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