A controversial new pop song might have young music fans unwittingly singing about burkas, the Taliban and, especially, loving Allah.
Pop singer phenomenon Maya Arulpragasam, also known as M.I.A., has released a new song called “Lovalot” that has raised eyebrows among music reviewers, some of whom say the lyrics show M.IA.'s sympathy for radical Muslim suicide bombers.
The British-born singer, who has openly supported the terrorist organization Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, based her catchy new song “Lovalot” on the 17-year-old Russian “black-widow” Moscow subway bomber Dzhennet Abdurakhmanova, according to newspapers like The Guardian [1].
“In the deadpan electro-rap of 'Lovalot,' inspired by a well-publicized incident involving a slain Islamic terrorist and his vengeful suicide-bombing Russian wife, M.I.A. commiserates,” wrote Brad Wheeler in the Globe and Mail on July 13.
The song is featured on M.I.A.'s new CD, /\/\ /\ Y /\, which was released in July through the singer's own label N.E.E.T., as well as XL Recordings and Interscope Records.
Lovalot's references to terrorism are hard to ignore, and at points the singer even compares herself to a Taliban fighter and a bomber.
“Like a Taliban trucker eatin' boiled-up yucca, got my eyes done like I'm in a black burka,” sings M.I.A. early in the song. Later she continues, “Like a hand-me-down sucker throwin' bombs at a Mecca. Call it good will, get money to get better. Keep your head down like a UNICEF worker, if you get hit you can't question the f**ka'.”
Probably one of the most controversial parts of the song is the chorus, where M.I.A. repeats the phrase “I really love a lot” in such a way that it undeniably sounds like “I really love Allah.”
“Through the mischievous dropping of a 't,' the line 'I really love a lot' sounds an awful lot like 'I really love Allah,'” wrote Wheeler.
In the past, M.I.A. has played up her family's connection to radical Sri Lankan terror groups, and she shows an affinity for violence in the song, repeating “I fight the ones who fight me” in the chorus.
M.I.A., who was included in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential people in 2009 and sang on the soundtrack for the movie “Slumdog Millionaire,” is well-known for her radical political views. She has previously compared herself to the PLO, and in a controversial interview [2] with New York Times writer Lynn Hirschberg, M.I.A. defended her lyrics, saying “I don't want to make the same music, sing about the same stuff, talk about the same things. If that makes me a terrorist, then I'm a terrorist.”
M.I.A.'s New York Times interview with Hirschberg resulted in a feud [3] between the singer and the journalist, with M.I.A. publishing Hirschberg's phone number on Twitter. The musician claimed that she wasn't portrayed accurately in the article.
Another recent song of M.I.A.'s that has drawn criticism is “Born Free.” The ultra-graphic and violent music video [4] for the song features American immigration authorities rounding up red-headed people and busing them to the desert, where the redheads are chased down, shot, and blown apart with bombs.
Lyrics of “Lovalot”:
They told me this is a free country,
But now it feels like a chicken factory.
I feel cooped up, I wanna bust free,
Got nothin' to lose if you get me.
Like a Taliban trucker eatin' boiled-up yucca,
Get my eyes done like I'm in a black burka,
Been through shit, yeah it's a fucka',
But now I make tunes, say shuck-a-lucka-lucka.
Shuck-a-lucka-la,
Shuck-a-lucka-lee,
Shuck-a-lucka-lucka-lucka-lucky, lucky me.
If you check me, I check you.
If they kick you, then I'll back you.
Say something new, say something cool,
Give you my time, but I ain't no fool.
I could I could I, break-a-break-a jaw,
Every-every time someone steps on my toe.
I fight the ones that fight me.
I really love a lah, I really love a lah.
I really love a lah, I really love a lah.
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
I fight the ones that fight me.
But, I fight--
But, I fight--
But, I fight--
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
Who's in town?
Them no like me, me no like them.
Like Hu Jintao
Instead of them I got a new-found gem.
Someone I can love up like men.
Like a bomber needs to love up Chen.
Like a hand-me-down sucker throwin' bombs at a Mecca,
Call the good will, get money to get better.
Keep your head down like a Unicef worker,
If you get hit you can't question the fucka'.
I can't come out
Yeah but yeah but why
If I B the F to the F to the I.
If you met me, then you'd get me,
But for you to get me, will you get a fee.
Shoots men to be free, where's Bob Marley?
'Cause I won't turn my cheek like I'm Gandhi.
I fight the ones that fight me.
I fight the ones that fight me.
I really love a lah, I really love a lah.
I really love a lah, I really love a lah.
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
I fight the ones that fight me.
But, I fight--
But, I fight--
But, I fight--
But, I fight the ones that fight me.
M.I.A. will be performing a concert in Los Angeles on July 17, and another one in New York City on July 24.
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