MAYA

Description

Maya (stylized as // / Y /) is the third studio album by British Sri Lankan artist M.I.A. It was released on 12 July 2010 and distributed by her own record label, N.E.E.T., as well as by XL and Interscope. This album was written and produced mainly by M.I.A., Blaqstarret Rusko. Diplo, a longtime associate, Switch and Sugu Arulpragasam, the singer’s brother, are also credited with working on this release, which was mainly composed and recorded at her home in Los Angeles, United States. The songs on this album are themed around information politics and aim to evoke what M.I.A. describes as digital noise. This is the first time elements of industrial music have been incorporated into one of her works. A deluxe edition, including four additional tracks, was released simultaneously. Professional criticism was generally positive toward the album, although divided, notably because of its musical style and lyrical content, which drew both praise and strong criticism. In its first week of release, the album entered the UK charts at number twenty-one, becoming her highest-charting release in the United Kingdom, as well as in the United States, where it reached ninth place on the Billboard 200, and in Finland, Norway, Greece and Canada, where it reached the top ten. M.I.A. promoted the album by unveiling a series of songs online, including XXXO, It Takes a Muscle and Born Free, which was accompanied by a music video made in the form of a short film. This video sparked controversy because of its graphic imagery. During its promotion, she became involved in a dispute with Lynn Hirschberg of the New York Times. In addition, she made appearances at a number of music festivals in North America and Europe.