British-Sri Lankan musician M.I.A. gives us a powerful insight into escaping conflict, battling media propaganda and promoting peace in her biographical documentary Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
With five albums to date, M.I.A. successfully grips viewers by documenting her rise from living in a warzone, to taking America and performing at the Superbowl with childhood icon Madonna.
Born in London and raised in Sri Lanka, Mathangi Arulpragasam (M.I.A.) spent the first eleven years of her life in hiding from the government with her family. Her father Arular Pragasam was one of the founding members of the Tamil Tigers resistance movement against the Sri Lankan government during warfare in the late 20th century. Aged eleven, M.I.A. returned to the London to escape the war.
Growing up in the United Kingdom during the 1990s, M.I.A. became heavily influenced by a vast-array of musicians from Madonna to Björk and Public Enemy. By 2000 she had graduated with a degree in fine art, film and video, then found an opening to the music industry after befriending Justine Frischmann, frontwoman of Britpop group Elastica. Using her degree, M.I.A. was also nominated for an alternative Turner Prize in 2001 for contributions to the visual art industry.
Her friendship with Frischmann and touring with Elastica influenced M.I.A. to purchase a Roland MC-505 drum machine where she began to record her own unique style of music. In 2004 she was signed to XL Recordings who were impressed by one of her earliest songs ‘Galang’ which featured on her debut album, Arular, named after her father.
Underground commercial success and critical acclaim saw Arular promote M.I.A. as a rising star, as well as gaining her a nomination for the Mercury Prize in the UK. It wasn’t until her next album Kala that M.I.A. became an international sensation, with the album including her signature song ‘Paper Planes.’
Known particularly for her political lyricism, M.I.A. has proved to be a controversial character throughout her career, frequently battling American media outlets in interviews and on Twitter. The documentary gives a great insight into the struggles which M.I.A. has faced in her career with the powerful focus of topics that her music covers.
With success and critical acclaim throughout her entire career so far, mixing genres such as hip-hop, rap, electronica, bhangra and world music, M.I.A. has become an international phenomenon. Her success has led to her being the only artist in history to be nominated for an Alternative Turner Prize, an Academy Award, a Grammy Award and the Mercury Prize all in her career. This success has seen M.I.A name one of Time Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people in the world’ and also perform at the Superbowl, however fitting in with the documentary this was to provide further controversy to her career.
If you see any documentary this year, Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. should be it. A powerful and brilliant run-through of a controversial and acclaimed career and life so far is gripping from start to finish and a great advert for a wonderful artist.
Craig’s Rating: 9.0/10
Check out the trailer below and make up your own mind:
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