Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born on July 17, 1977 in Hounslow, London, England) is a rapper, singer and artist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. She is best known by her stage name, M.I.A.. Her style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, and baile funk. Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, the daughter of a Tamil activist-turned militant, Arul Pragasam, was born in Hounslow, London.

 

    When she was six months old, her family moved back to their native Sri Lanka. Motivated by his wish to support the Tamil efforts to win independence from the majority Sinhalese population, her father became politically known as Arular[1] and was a founding member of The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS), a militant Tamil group. Her alias, "M.I.A." stands for "Missing in Action".

 

    A mix of dancehall, electro, grime and world music, Showbiz Records pressed 500 copies of the independent vinyl single "Galang" in 2003, and the single became popular and made an immediate impact with DJs.[8] Major record labels caught onto the popularity of "Galang" and M.I.A. eventually signed to XL Recordings home to Dizzee Rascal, Basement Jaxx and the White Stripes, embracing them as they were the only label to offer her complete creative control.[12] She also chose them because it was the closest to her house, telling the label, "Trust me, you've been looking for me",[12] before dropping off the "Galang" tape. They called her back 20 minutes later.

 

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