M.I.A. - Kala

The much anticipated second studio album from Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., is released today. Kala (named after her mother) is the follow-up to 2005's hugely successful Arular (named after her father) for which she was nominated for the prestigious Mercury Music Prize in the UK.

There is really no way to categorize M.I.A's music. It doesn't fit under any specific genre. It everything from hip-hop to electro-pop to worldbeat to bhangra to ragga to....the list can go on and on. And Kala definitely touches on all of these elements and more. The album even uses samples from classic bands such as The Clash, New Order and The Pixies. The multi-talented rapper-producer-singer-songwriter and visual artist debuted Kala's first single 'Boyz' back in April 2007. It's a great track that contains soaring synths and a killer beat. Another song that has a lot of people talking is 'Jimmy' which has a bit of a disco-pop feel to it. And for good reason. The song samples a classic Bollywood disco hit called 'Jimmy Jimmy Aja.'

Kala, as a whole, is a great album. It deserves to be listened to from start to finish as it exemplifies great music ideas and artistic ability that seems to be lacking in music today. And with that, lets make one thing clear: there is no one in music presently doing what M.I.A. is doing. If anything, you should at least appreciate her uniqueness.

Kala will surely be on many 'Best of...' lists at the end of the year. And rightfully so.

Download (mp3): Jimmy

MySpace: M.I.A.

M.I.A.: Official Website