Post by mathangigram on Jan 27, 2016 3:04:03 GMT
mskarayates.wordpress.com/2008/07/08/the-globalization-of-hip-hop-mia-influences-political-resistance/
Is the idea of political resistance becoming just as global as the hip-hop industry? Are Hip-Hop lovers loosing power over which political ideologies they accept and reject?
Some may argue in favor of this idea, claiming the rising danger of radically expressive musicians and their power to challenge formal systems of governing. Some may argue in opposition of this idea, steadfastly believing that certain nations will never loose their control to the temporary influence of a trendy musician. Regardless, it cannot be denied that M.I.A., with her racy lyrics and radical style, is pursuing a path toward owning a degree of political power.
Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., is a Tamilian hip-hop artist and rapper of Sri Lankan descent, born in Hounslow, London and raised in Sri Lanka. M.I.A. grew up during a perilous civil war between the Tamil minority of Northeastern Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese majority of the southwest. In London, M.I.A.’s family attempted to escape the violence that the civil war produced. Her father’s involvement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a major determinant in the relocation of M.I.A.’s family, forcing M.I.A. to experience a diverse cultural perspective, which she exerts through her music today. LTTE wishes to regain national legitimacy by resisting Sri Lankan colonization and reclaiming national territory in the Northeastern region.
M.I.A.’s father, Arul Pragasam (also known as Arular by his fellow Tamil Tigers), is a Tamil military activist and founding member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization (EROS). The stated last name of M.I.A., Arulpragasam, is a combination of the first and last names of her Tamil father and an obvious reflection of her dedication to and involvement with the political issues that plague her native country. Additionally, her choice to entitle her first albumArular, after her father’s nickname, is representative of M.I.A.’s dedication to her father’s political endeavors.
In a 2002 interview with Pitchfork, M.I.A. addresses the initiatives of her father, stating, “He had idealistic views about changing the world for the better and fighting for people who don’t have a voice.” Pragasam’s desire to change the world influences M.I.A. to take on the same globalist initiatives. As the Hip-Hop music of M.I.A. continues to globalize, her resistance to the political powers imposed upon third-world countries, like Sri Lanka, is examined through her lyrics and sense of fashion. The political ideologies that M.I.A. so interestingly resists in her lyrics and style of dress include capitalism, neo-liberalism, colonialism and orientalism. This analysis of M.I.A.’s resistant, yet entertaining public persona is important because it influences fans across the world to also oppose political ideological structures.
Since 2002, M.I.A. has internationally entertained viewers of all class categories, including the less economically fortunate, with her politically potent music. In fact, Hip-Hop has always been a musical outlet for the disenfranchised. Rachel Sullivan, author of “Rap and Race: It’s Got a Nice Beat, But What about the Message,” examines the hidden space of political messages in rap music (Sullivan 605). M.I.A., on the other hand, is in no way discreet about her political agenda. Her image utilizes the historical tradition of Hip-Hop music, spreading politically filled messages to Sri Lanka, London, the United States and other nations that support Hip-Hop’s political acknowledgements. Her vocal style embraces the Hip-Hop and Rap traditions known for crossing national borders into a global industry.
Scholars have established Hip-Hop as a global industry that impacts the lives of various cultures all over the world. Tony Mitchell, editor of Global Noise: Rap and Hip Hop Outside the USA, argues, “hip hop … has become a vehicle for global youth affiliations and a tool for reworking local identity all over the world” (Mitchell 2). The market of young people that make up the global audience are influenced by this genre of music that was once specific to a local group but has become extremely mainstream and global. In agreement, Russell A. Potter, author of Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism, states, “Even as [hip-hop] remains a global music, it is firmly rooted in the local and the temporal; it is music about ‘where I’m from,’ and as such proposes a new kind of universality” (Potter 146). Not only does the local originality of hip-hop influence young audiences globally, it also allows one to share a unique perspective of their own locality and position themselves on political issues, be they American or British-Asian.
M.I.A., with her British-Asian heritage, exerts her own identity by sharing her political experiences with the world. David Hesmondhalgh and Caspar Melville, in “Urban Break-beat Culture: Repercussions of Hip-Hop in the United Kingdom,” cultivate a direct analysis of British-Asians and their artistic endeavors to present themselves through Rap and Hip-Hop music. They proclaim, “What unites British-Asian rap is … a desire to assert a more complex sense of identity” (Hesmondhalgh and Melville 96). Indeed, M.I.A.’s artistic identity is complex, continuously picking up a larger and more curiously interested fan base. As M.I.A. popularizes, her MySpace page has become a place where one witnesses, first-hand, the impact she has on fans from all walks of life. Posted on M.I.A.’s MySpace page, a fan exclaims, “I love your Swagg.” A swag, or swaggar, is defined in the Hip-Hop culture as one’s fashionable style and/or way in which one carries them self. Music lovers across the globe are impressed with M.I.A.’s unique style and ability to express her political dissatisfactions in an entertaining way.
Hip-hop, since its birth, has been a tool for expressing political frustrations among the disenfranchised. Many British musicians, like M.I.A., understand “that to merely transpose U.S. forms would rob U.K. hip hop of the ability to speak to a disenfranchised British constituency in the way that U.S. hip hop so successfully spoke to, and for, its audience” (Hesmondhalgh/Melville 92). In London and abroad, M.I.A. takes on a verbal and physical image that addresses various political ideologies. Her lyrics and fashion are directly reflective of her position on political issues. Most importantly, fans are drawn “to aesthetic and cultural features of the form as much as to the direct expressions of political anger contained within certain versions of” Hip-Hop music (Hesmondhalgh/Melville 95). In other words, her politically radical “swag” is what is most alluring about this 28-year-old global Hip-Hop star. M.I.A. declares that her “problem is that politics is the first thing that defines who [she is]” (Pitchfork 2002). Her dedication to political Hip-Hop and her use of ideologically resistant lyrics is what makes her public persona successful.
Patrick Neate, author of Where You’re At, quotes Michel Foucault in his narration on the freedom of speech, saying, “We know perfectly well that we are not free to say just anything, that we simply cannot speak on anything, when we like, or where we like” (60). Contrarily, M.I.A. says what she feels and withholds nothing from her viewers. There is a sense of freedom in her lyrics that is reflective of the liberating position she bargains for in her real life encounters with war, politics and violence. Her lyrics are a true reflection of her personal perspective on political endeavors.
“, ” is a song about guerrilla warfare, military training, and the use of firearms in an underdeveloped society. Potter notes, “There is a violence … underlying hip hop’s linguistic militancy” (Potter 85). “, ” allows M.I.A. to express the violence she witnesses as a native of a country involved in a devastating war, resulting in over 65,000 deaths since 1983. She sings:
Competition coming up now
Load up, Aim, , , Pop! (Arular 2005)
The violence of Sri Lanka and the violence illustrated in M.I.A.’s lyrics are a direct affect of the colonial advances placed on the illegitimate nation of Eelam by the Sinhalese government. “Paper Planes” also implies the presence of colonization resulting in violence (specifically bio-chemical warfare). She sings:
bird flu gonna get you
made it in my stable
from the crap you drop
on my crop when they pay you (Kala 2007)
According to a study done by the Asian Pacific Development Journal, there are agricultural “controversies surrounding the post-independence period” that now affect the instability of the industry due to the civil war. M.I.A.’s lyrics directly resist the affects of colonialism that cause agricultural adversity and instigate bio-chemical warfare. Potter refers to Frantz Fanon’s analysis of colonialism, stating, “Frantz Fanon’s theorizations of violence as a means of resistance to colonial regimes are highly pertinent” (86). M.I.A. resists the ideology of colonialism that forces an inferior group, like the Tamils, to submit to a superior group, like the Sinhalese.
As defined by Ania Loomba, in “Situating Colonialism and Postcolonial Studies,” colonization is “an implication of an encounter between peoples, or of conquest and domination” (1100). Violence is a result of colonization. Fanon elaborates, “For a very long time the native devotes his energies to ending certain definite abuses” (Fanon 1). M.I.A. devotes her musical energies to end the effects of colonialism that the Eelam nation continues to uncomfortably experience because of their illegitimacy as a nation. In doing so, M.I.A. acts as a public voice for a body of disenfranchised people.
According to Potter, Hip-Hop includes “lyric narratives of endurance … describing the alienation of the impoverished and the depression of marginalization” (Perry 1). In “Pull up the People,” M.I.A. resists the ideals of neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalist concepts, as Lawrence Grossberg describes, favor the self-interests of ambitious entrepreneurial individuals. M.I.A. implies that the collective body of people deserves recognition like the selected few from what Karl Marx, in “The German Ideology,” calls the “ruling class” (656). She sings:
Pull up the People, Pull up the Poor
Yeah, me got God and me got you
Every day thinking bout how me get through (Arular2005)
Frantz Fanon in “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness” argues, “unity can only be achieved through the upward thrust of the people, and under the leadership of the people” (Fanon 7). “Pull up the People” offers a critique of the lack of regard for the mass of marginalized individuals by neo-liberal governments. M.I.A.’s music is just as reflective of her political resistance as is her style of dress.
Mary Ryan Shaw, in Clothing: A Study in Human Behavior, examines fashion as an extension of one’s unique expression. Ryan Shaw states, “clothes are an expression of self” (Shaw Ryan 82). Therefore, analyzing the fashion choices of M.I.A. helps one to better understand her political position. M.I.A.’s style of dress varies from music video to music video. According to Mary Ann Roach and Joanne Eicher’s “The Visible Self: Perspectives on Dress,” “dress has meaning as well and form. The total visual effect or total form of dress can be analyzed by breaking it down into elemental aesthetic forms” (112). Furthermore, these elemental forms are representations of the individual’s total being, giving it meaning and substance (especially among radical musicians like M.I.A.).
XL news has announced the upcoming fashion line of M.I.A. Her interest with fashion forces one to look deeper into the political significance of her fashion choices. M.I.A. is often seen tugging at a T-shirt that offers some politically racy message. In an image posted online by The Magic Cauldron, M.I.A. wears a read shirt with white and blue letters that boldly reads: “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. M.I.A.” Her T-shirt is a warning sign of the potential danger lurking behind her lyrics. As she clearly states in her song, “Paper Planes,” “all [she] wanna to do is (BANG! BANG! BANG!) and (KA CHING!) Take your ” (2005).
“Sunshowers” also contains violent innuendo. However, the imagery in “Sunshowers” contains an ironic undertone of happiness. In the accompanying video, M.I.A. wears colors of green and beige that accentuate the beautiful day and blend in with the foliage of the jungle. Considering her usual Hip-Hop flavor, the setting of the jungle makes a daring statement about Sri Lanka’s maintenance of its nature and culture. Contrarily, she sings:
Sunshowers that fall on my troubles
Are over you, My baby
And Some Showers I’ll be aiming at you
Cause I’m watching you, My baby (Arular 2005).
In her lyrics, M.I.A. differentiates between two different types of showers: those that bring joy and those that metaphorically represent the pouring out of bullets from a semi-automatic handgun. Regardless of the strife that the ongoing civil war causes and the many lives that have been lost, M.I.A. attempts to hold on to a sense of happiness among her people. M.I.A.’s lyrics contradict the joyous imagery of the women and children splashing around in the river and playing with an elephant. “Sunshowers” illustrates her desire to maintain the stability of the community during such a hazardous time.
M.I.A.’s song and video “Galang” is not only a similar exposure of violence, it is also a critique of capitalism. According to XL News, “Galang,” in Jamaican patois, signifies the phrase “Go on.” She sings:
Galang, Galang
They say the River’s gonna run through
Work is gonna save you …
Sell it out to sell you
Sell it out to sell you (Arular 2005).
M.I.A. provokes and sarcastically encourages the capitalist industry to “go on” and exploit the disenfranchised. Furthermore, M.I.A proves to be unafraid to violently challenge the capitalist empire in defense for those who cannot speak for themselves. Amartya Sen, author of “How to Judge Globalism,” supports this notion stating, “contemporary capitalism…has established rules of trade and business relations that do not serve the interests of the poorer people in the world” (20). M.I.A., as she addresses the capitalist concept of a free market, is an activist for the victims of globalized capitalism.
Her nineties hip-hop style of bright colors and oversized gold earrings, reflects a period during hip-hop when political resistance was common among iconic African-American artists like Jay-Z, NWA and KRS-One. Patrick Neate, a fellow native of London and scholar, interviews Jay-Z to gain his perspective on capitalism. Jay-Z states, “it seems that these days the empire…is the free market and its only interest is profit” (Neate 57). M.I.A.’s style symbolically reflects this common perspective on politics by pioneer rap artists in America.
In Karl Marx’s “Wage, Labor and Capital,” a critique of capitalism, he states, “labor power…is a commodity” (Marx 659). M.I.A. addresses Marx’s theory of capitalism as a construct where laborers are exploited for the benefit of products that are sold for more than they cost to make. Not only does she resist capitalism through her lyrics, she also resists the political ideals of orientalism through her style of dress.
M.I.A. resists orientalist ideologies in her rejection of traditional Tamil Indian styles of dress in Sari wraps. Instead, M.I.A. wears everything from jeans, to T-shirts and shorts. Edward Said, in “Islam in the News” examines the dichotomy between the Orient and the West, categorizing the Orient as exotic and unknown. M.I.A attempts to establish the notion that there is no ideological separation between the West and the Orient. She cleverly brings both stylistic traditions together, resisting ideologies that support orientalist ways of thinking about culture. In her video “Jimmy,” M.I.A. embraces her Indian heritage by wearing a traditional Hindu dance costume decorated with gold coins, beads and hair ornaments. However, she also wears bright textiles and short dresses in the same video, displaying her identification with Western fashion. Although M.I.A. resists the political ideologies of capitalism, neo-liberalism, colonialism, and orientalism through her lyrics and dress, what she does embrace is the ideology of globalizing her work with the intention of influencing a vast population of fans.
In “Bukky Done Gone,” M.I.A. wears a nylon jump suit that favors those worn during the peak of Hip-Hop by African-American Hip-Hop stars of the eighties. Around the waist of her jumpsuit she wears a belly dancing hip scarf, adorned with gold beads and coins. Her outfit references two distinct and very different cultures: the Indian and the African American culture. She sings:
London, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
New York, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
Kingston, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
Brazil, Quiet down I need to make sound (Arular2005)!
This choice to address a variety of cultures reflects her embrace of global initiatives to erode the separating lines between nations, especially the lines between the cultures that have a direct influence on her music career and ideological perspectives. Patrick Neate plainly states, “hip hop is a global business” (Neate 58). This conversation about hip-hop as a global industry is important. As rising artists, like M.I.A., continue to address political resistance, it influences listeners across the globe to do the same. Karl Marx, in “The German Ideology,” proclaims, “the ideas of the ruling class are…the ruling ideas” (Marx 656). Indeed, M.I.A., as her image continues to globalize, is becoming apart of the music industry’s ruling class. As viewers, it is important to consider the kind of effects her lyrics and style has on her fan base.
It is difficult to get away from the remnants of globalization. Sen explains that even “the so-called anti-globalization protests have become among the most globalized events in the contemporary world” (22). Therefore, listeners are influenced today more than ever by musicians all over the world, making it more of a task for individuals to conceptualize their unique perspectives on political ideologies.
The discourse regarding the political agenda, among artists like M.I.A., is addressed in John Storey’s “Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture,” an examination of political pop music. Storey notes, “Politics is about power and pop music can be powerful” (126). Storey supports this notion that M.I.A.’s politically provocative lyrics can have a powerful impact on the way individuals view and respond to political ideologies. Thus, the reader is led to question M.I.A.’s ability to shake the political arena.
Neate feels that “just because hip hop is accessible globally, that doesn’t make it good” (Neate 59). This analysis challenges listeners to discover for themselves what “good” entails. Forget that fact that MetaCritic.com ranked M.I.A.’s first album, Arular, number seven among thirty other albums in 2007. Just because M.I.A. makes violent expressions sound hip, has a cool “swag” and she was rated the top British singer of 2006, does that mean it is acceptable for others to follow in her clearly radical footsteps? Storey admits, “There can be no doubt that the music industry has enormous cultural and economic power” (Storey114). However, individuals must determine what aspects of the ruling ideologies he or she wishes to accept and reject on there own terms, not because the ruling class says so. Individuals must not be influenced by the political power of globalization or by the notion that “the world is becoming a ‘single place’” (Lechner 2).
As Hip-Hop continues to become more and more of a global industry, musical artists like M.I.A. will have a greater affect on the ideological viewpoints of individuals from all over the world. M.I.A. has a great degree of power associated with her political lyrics and style of dress. Naturally, Hip Hop lovers will gravitate toward her style because it is hard to avoid an image that so frequently presents itself in many locations across the globe. However, it is best that fans take a deeper look into the experiences and ideological perspectives of influential musicians like M.I.A. in order to gain a better understanding of the “ruling ideas” that effect one’s political standpoint.
Is the idea of political resistance becoming just as global as the hip-hop industry? Are Hip-Hop lovers loosing power over which political ideologies they accept and reject?
Some may argue in favor of this idea, claiming the rising danger of radically expressive musicians and their power to challenge formal systems of governing. Some may argue in opposition of this idea, steadfastly believing that certain nations will never loose their control to the temporary influence of a trendy musician. Regardless, it cannot be denied that M.I.A., with her racy lyrics and radical style, is pursuing a path toward owning a degree of political power.
Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, better known as M.I.A., is a Tamilian hip-hop artist and rapper of Sri Lankan descent, born in Hounslow, London and raised in Sri Lanka. M.I.A. grew up during a perilous civil war between the Tamil minority of Northeastern Sri Lanka and the Sinhalese majority of the southwest. In London, M.I.A.’s family attempted to escape the violence that the civil war produced. Her father’s involvement with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was a major determinant in the relocation of M.I.A.’s family, forcing M.I.A. to experience a diverse cultural perspective, which she exerts through her music today. LTTE wishes to regain national legitimacy by resisting Sri Lankan colonization and reclaiming national territory in the Northeastern region.
M.I.A.’s father, Arul Pragasam (also known as Arular by his fellow Tamil Tigers), is a Tamil military activist and founding member of the Eelam Revolutionary Organization (EROS). The stated last name of M.I.A., Arulpragasam, is a combination of the first and last names of her Tamil father and an obvious reflection of her dedication to and involvement with the political issues that plague her native country. Additionally, her choice to entitle her first albumArular, after her father’s nickname, is representative of M.I.A.’s dedication to her father’s political endeavors.
In a 2002 interview with Pitchfork, M.I.A. addresses the initiatives of her father, stating, “He had idealistic views about changing the world for the better and fighting for people who don’t have a voice.” Pragasam’s desire to change the world influences M.I.A. to take on the same globalist initiatives. As the Hip-Hop music of M.I.A. continues to globalize, her resistance to the political powers imposed upon third-world countries, like Sri Lanka, is examined through her lyrics and sense of fashion. The political ideologies that M.I.A. so interestingly resists in her lyrics and style of dress include capitalism, neo-liberalism, colonialism and orientalism. This analysis of M.I.A.’s resistant, yet entertaining public persona is important because it influences fans across the world to also oppose political ideological structures.
Since 2002, M.I.A. has internationally entertained viewers of all class categories, including the less economically fortunate, with her politically potent music. In fact, Hip-Hop has always been a musical outlet for the disenfranchised. Rachel Sullivan, author of “Rap and Race: It’s Got a Nice Beat, But What about the Message,” examines the hidden space of political messages in rap music (Sullivan 605). M.I.A., on the other hand, is in no way discreet about her political agenda. Her image utilizes the historical tradition of Hip-Hop music, spreading politically filled messages to Sri Lanka, London, the United States and other nations that support Hip-Hop’s political acknowledgements. Her vocal style embraces the Hip-Hop and Rap traditions known for crossing national borders into a global industry.
Scholars have established Hip-Hop as a global industry that impacts the lives of various cultures all over the world. Tony Mitchell, editor of Global Noise: Rap and Hip Hop Outside the USA, argues, “hip hop … has become a vehicle for global youth affiliations and a tool for reworking local identity all over the world” (Mitchell 2). The market of young people that make up the global audience are influenced by this genre of music that was once specific to a local group but has become extremely mainstream and global. In agreement, Russell A. Potter, author of Spectacular Vernaculars: Hip Hop and the Politics of Postmodernism, states, “Even as [hip-hop] remains a global music, it is firmly rooted in the local and the temporal; it is music about ‘where I’m from,’ and as such proposes a new kind of universality” (Potter 146). Not only does the local originality of hip-hop influence young audiences globally, it also allows one to share a unique perspective of their own locality and position themselves on political issues, be they American or British-Asian.
M.I.A., with her British-Asian heritage, exerts her own identity by sharing her political experiences with the world. David Hesmondhalgh and Caspar Melville, in “Urban Break-beat Culture: Repercussions of Hip-Hop in the United Kingdom,” cultivate a direct analysis of British-Asians and their artistic endeavors to present themselves through Rap and Hip-Hop music. They proclaim, “What unites British-Asian rap is … a desire to assert a more complex sense of identity” (Hesmondhalgh and Melville 96). Indeed, M.I.A.’s artistic identity is complex, continuously picking up a larger and more curiously interested fan base. As M.I.A. popularizes, her MySpace page has become a place where one witnesses, first-hand, the impact she has on fans from all walks of life. Posted on M.I.A.’s MySpace page, a fan exclaims, “I love your Swagg.” A swag, or swaggar, is defined in the Hip-Hop culture as one’s fashionable style and/or way in which one carries them self. Music lovers across the globe are impressed with M.I.A.’s unique style and ability to express her political dissatisfactions in an entertaining way.
Hip-hop, since its birth, has been a tool for expressing political frustrations among the disenfranchised. Many British musicians, like M.I.A., understand “that to merely transpose U.S. forms would rob U.K. hip hop of the ability to speak to a disenfranchised British constituency in the way that U.S. hip hop so successfully spoke to, and for, its audience” (Hesmondhalgh/Melville 92). In London and abroad, M.I.A. takes on a verbal and physical image that addresses various political ideologies. Her lyrics and fashion are directly reflective of her position on political issues. Most importantly, fans are drawn “to aesthetic and cultural features of the form as much as to the direct expressions of political anger contained within certain versions of” Hip-Hop music (Hesmondhalgh/Melville 95). In other words, her politically radical “swag” is what is most alluring about this 28-year-old global Hip-Hop star. M.I.A. declares that her “problem is that politics is the first thing that defines who [she is]” (Pitchfork 2002). Her dedication to political Hip-Hop and her use of ideologically resistant lyrics is what makes her public persona successful.
Patrick Neate, author of Where You’re At, quotes Michel Foucault in his narration on the freedom of speech, saying, “We know perfectly well that we are not free to say just anything, that we simply cannot speak on anything, when we like, or where we like” (60). Contrarily, M.I.A. says what she feels and withholds nothing from her viewers. There is a sense of freedom in her lyrics that is reflective of the liberating position she bargains for in her real life encounters with war, politics and violence. Her lyrics are a true reflection of her personal perspective on political endeavors.
“, ” is a song about guerrilla warfare, military training, and the use of firearms in an underdeveloped society. Potter notes, “There is a violence … underlying hip hop’s linguistic militancy” (Potter 85). “, ” allows M.I.A. to express the violence she witnesses as a native of a country involved in a devastating war, resulting in over 65,000 deaths since 1983. She sings:
Competition coming up now
Load up, Aim, , , Pop! (Arular 2005)
The violence of Sri Lanka and the violence illustrated in M.I.A.’s lyrics are a direct affect of the colonial advances placed on the illegitimate nation of Eelam by the Sinhalese government. “Paper Planes” also implies the presence of colonization resulting in violence (specifically bio-chemical warfare). She sings:
bird flu gonna get you
made it in my stable
from the crap you drop
on my crop when they pay you (Kala 2007)
According to a study done by the Asian Pacific Development Journal, there are agricultural “controversies surrounding the post-independence period” that now affect the instability of the industry due to the civil war. M.I.A.’s lyrics directly resist the affects of colonialism that cause agricultural adversity and instigate bio-chemical warfare. Potter refers to Frantz Fanon’s analysis of colonialism, stating, “Frantz Fanon’s theorizations of violence as a means of resistance to colonial regimes are highly pertinent” (86). M.I.A. resists the ideology of colonialism that forces an inferior group, like the Tamils, to submit to a superior group, like the Sinhalese.
As defined by Ania Loomba, in “Situating Colonialism and Postcolonial Studies,” colonization is “an implication of an encounter between peoples, or of conquest and domination” (1100). Violence is a result of colonization. Fanon elaborates, “For a very long time the native devotes his energies to ending certain definite abuses” (Fanon 1). M.I.A. devotes her musical energies to end the effects of colonialism that the Eelam nation continues to uncomfortably experience because of their illegitimacy as a nation. In doing so, M.I.A. acts as a public voice for a body of disenfranchised people.
According to Potter, Hip-Hop includes “lyric narratives of endurance … describing the alienation of the impoverished and the depression of marginalization” (Perry 1). In “Pull up the People,” M.I.A. resists the ideals of neo-liberalism. Neo-liberalist concepts, as Lawrence Grossberg describes, favor the self-interests of ambitious entrepreneurial individuals. M.I.A. implies that the collective body of people deserves recognition like the selected few from what Karl Marx, in “The German Ideology,” calls the “ruling class” (656). She sings:
Pull up the People, Pull up the Poor
Yeah, me got God and me got you
Every day thinking bout how me get through (Arular2005)
Frantz Fanon in “The Pitfalls of National Consciousness” argues, “unity can only be achieved through the upward thrust of the people, and under the leadership of the people” (Fanon 7). “Pull up the People” offers a critique of the lack of regard for the mass of marginalized individuals by neo-liberal governments. M.I.A.’s music is just as reflective of her political resistance as is her style of dress.
Mary Ryan Shaw, in Clothing: A Study in Human Behavior, examines fashion as an extension of one’s unique expression. Ryan Shaw states, “clothes are an expression of self” (Shaw Ryan 82). Therefore, analyzing the fashion choices of M.I.A. helps one to better understand her political position. M.I.A.’s style of dress varies from music video to music video. According to Mary Ann Roach and Joanne Eicher’s “The Visible Self: Perspectives on Dress,” “dress has meaning as well and form. The total visual effect or total form of dress can be analyzed by breaking it down into elemental aesthetic forms” (112). Furthermore, these elemental forms are representations of the individual’s total being, giving it meaning and substance (especially among radical musicians like M.I.A.).
XL news has announced the upcoming fashion line of M.I.A. Her interest with fashion forces one to look deeper into the political significance of her fashion choices. M.I.A. is often seen tugging at a T-shirt that offers some politically racy message. In an image posted online by The Magic Cauldron, M.I.A. wears a read shirt with white and blue letters that boldly reads: “RUN FOR YOUR LIFE. M.I.A.” Her T-shirt is a warning sign of the potential danger lurking behind her lyrics. As she clearly states in her song, “Paper Planes,” “all [she] wanna to do is (BANG! BANG! BANG!) and (KA CHING!) Take your ” (2005).
“Sunshowers” also contains violent innuendo. However, the imagery in “Sunshowers” contains an ironic undertone of happiness. In the accompanying video, M.I.A. wears colors of green and beige that accentuate the beautiful day and blend in with the foliage of the jungle. Considering her usual Hip-Hop flavor, the setting of the jungle makes a daring statement about Sri Lanka’s maintenance of its nature and culture. Contrarily, she sings:
Sunshowers that fall on my troubles
Are over you, My baby
And Some Showers I’ll be aiming at you
Cause I’m watching you, My baby (Arular 2005).
In her lyrics, M.I.A. differentiates between two different types of showers: those that bring joy and those that metaphorically represent the pouring out of bullets from a semi-automatic handgun. Regardless of the strife that the ongoing civil war causes and the many lives that have been lost, M.I.A. attempts to hold on to a sense of happiness among her people. M.I.A.’s lyrics contradict the joyous imagery of the women and children splashing around in the river and playing with an elephant. “Sunshowers” illustrates her desire to maintain the stability of the community during such a hazardous time.
M.I.A.’s song and video “Galang” is not only a similar exposure of violence, it is also a critique of capitalism. According to XL News, “Galang,” in Jamaican patois, signifies the phrase “Go on.” She sings:
Galang, Galang
They say the River’s gonna run through
Work is gonna save you …
Sell it out to sell you
Sell it out to sell you (Arular 2005).
M.I.A. provokes and sarcastically encourages the capitalist industry to “go on” and exploit the disenfranchised. Furthermore, M.I.A proves to be unafraid to violently challenge the capitalist empire in defense for those who cannot speak for themselves. Amartya Sen, author of “How to Judge Globalism,” supports this notion stating, “contemporary capitalism…has established rules of trade and business relations that do not serve the interests of the poorer people in the world” (20). M.I.A., as she addresses the capitalist concept of a free market, is an activist for the victims of globalized capitalism.
Her nineties hip-hop style of bright colors and oversized gold earrings, reflects a period during hip-hop when political resistance was common among iconic African-American artists like Jay-Z, NWA and KRS-One. Patrick Neate, a fellow native of London and scholar, interviews Jay-Z to gain his perspective on capitalism. Jay-Z states, “it seems that these days the empire…is the free market and its only interest is profit” (Neate 57). M.I.A.’s style symbolically reflects this common perspective on politics by pioneer rap artists in America.
In Karl Marx’s “Wage, Labor and Capital,” a critique of capitalism, he states, “labor power…is a commodity” (Marx 659). M.I.A. addresses Marx’s theory of capitalism as a construct where laborers are exploited for the benefit of products that are sold for more than they cost to make. Not only does she resist capitalism through her lyrics, she also resists the political ideals of orientalism through her style of dress.
M.I.A. resists orientalist ideologies in her rejection of traditional Tamil Indian styles of dress in Sari wraps. Instead, M.I.A. wears everything from jeans, to T-shirts and shorts. Edward Said, in “Islam in the News” examines the dichotomy between the Orient and the West, categorizing the Orient as exotic and unknown. M.I.A attempts to establish the notion that there is no ideological separation between the West and the Orient. She cleverly brings both stylistic traditions together, resisting ideologies that support orientalist ways of thinking about culture. In her video “Jimmy,” M.I.A. embraces her Indian heritage by wearing a traditional Hindu dance costume decorated with gold coins, beads and hair ornaments. However, she also wears bright textiles and short dresses in the same video, displaying her identification with Western fashion. Although M.I.A. resists the political ideologies of capitalism, neo-liberalism, colonialism, and orientalism through her lyrics and dress, what she does embrace is the ideology of globalizing her work with the intention of influencing a vast population of fans.
In “Bukky Done Gone,” M.I.A. wears a nylon jump suit that favors those worn during the peak of Hip-Hop by African-American Hip-Hop stars of the eighties. Around the waist of her jumpsuit she wears a belly dancing hip scarf, adorned with gold beads and coins. Her outfit references two distinct and very different cultures: the Indian and the African American culture. She sings:
London, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
New York, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
Kingston, Quiet down I need to make a sound!
Brazil, Quiet down I need to make sound (Arular2005)!
This choice to address a variety of cultures reflects her embrace of global initiatives to erode the separating lines between nations, especially the lines between the cultures that have a direct influence on her music career and ideological perspectives. Patrick Neate plainly states, “hip hop is a global business” (Neate 58). This conversation about hip-hop as a global industry is important. As rising artists, like M.I.A., continue to address political resistance, it influences listeners across the globe to do the same. Karl Marx, in “The German Ideology,” proclaims, “the ideas of the ruling class are…the ruling ideas” (Marx 656). Indeed, M.I.A., as her image continues to globalize, is becoming apart of the music industry’s ruling class. As viewers, it is important to consider the kind of effects her lyrics and style has on her fan base.
It is difficult to get away from the remnants of globalization. Sen explains that even “the so-called anti-globalization protests have become among the most globalized events in the contemporary world” (22). Therefore, listeners are influenced today more than ever by musicians all over the world, making it more of a task for individuals to conceptualize their unique perspectives on political ideologies.
The discourse regarding the political agenda, among artists like M.I.A., is addressed in John Storey’s “Cultural Studies and the Study of Popular Culture,” an examination of political pop music. Storey notes, “Politics is about power and pop music can be powerful” (126). Storey supports this notion that M.I.A.’s politically provocative lyrics can have a powerful impact on the way individuals view and respond to political ideologies. Thus, the reader is led to question M.I.A.’s ability to shake the political arena.
Neate feels that “just because hip hop is accessible globally, that doesn’t make it good” (Neate 59). This analysis challenges listeners to discover for themselves what “good” entails. Forget that fact that MetaCritic.com ranked M.I.A.’s first album, Arular, number seven among thirty other albums in 2007. Just because M.I.A. makes violent expressions sound hip, has a cool “swag” and she was rated the top British singer of 2006, does that mean it is acceptable for others to follow in her clearly radical footsteps? Storey admits, “There can be no doubt that the music industry has enormous cultural and economic power” (Storey114). However, individuals must determine what aspects of the ruling ideologies he or she wishes to accept and reject on there own terms, not because the ruling class says so. Individuals must not be influenced by the political power of globalization or by the notion that “the world is becoming a ‘single place’” (Lechner 2).
As Hip-Hop continues to become more and more of a global industry, musical artists like M.I.A. will have a greater affect on the ideological viewpoints of individuals from all over the world. M.I.A. has a great degree of power associated with her political lyrics and style of dress. Naturally, Hip Hop lovers will gravitate toward her style because it is hard to avoid an image that so frequently presents itself in many locations across the globe. However, it is best that fans take a deeper look into the experiences and ideological perspectives of influential musicians like M.I.A. in order to gain a better understanding of the “ruling ideas” that effect one’s political standpoint.