M.I.A- Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, is a British Rapper and a Singer.
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‌Her songs are known for their political relevance on issues like immigration, warfare and identity in a globalised world.
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‌Did you know her connections with Srilanka?
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‌Although born in London to a Srilankan Family they had to move to Jaffna in Srilanka when she was just six months old.
‌Her family during the Srilankan war suffered poverty and even went hiding. Father being a political activist didn't even have access to her during the war. Yet she remembers many memories from her childhood in Srilanka. ‌She has even lived in India fearing war.
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‌Later the displacement she face due to the Srilankan War which made her family return to London as refugees when M.I.A. was 11 years old; made a major influence on her works. She had also said openly about the racism she faced in England.
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‌She became popular through the internet and later her first two albums M.I.A.'s first two albums, Arular (2005) and Kala (2007), earned extensive critical acclaim for their experimentation with hip hop and electronic fusion.
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‌The single "Paper Planes" from Kala reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sold over four million copies. 
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‌M.I.A.'s commentary on the oppression of Sri Lankan Tamils, Palestinians and black people has drawn praise and criticism. M.I.A. attributes much of her success to the "homeless, rootlessness" of her early life.

She becomes an inspiration by building everything around her on her own amidst the hardships she faced.
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