Music Monday 15 :: M.I.A. "O Saya"

I'm pretty excited about M.I.A.'s Oscar nomination for the song "O Saya" from "Slumdog Millionaire".

O... Saya - M.I.A.

When I saw the "Slumdog Millionaire" I knew that the movie had an element that we don't often see in films. I like it when international films do well in the States. I want us to see how other people live: their lifestyle, their struggles, their happiness.

I thought that "Slumdog Millionaire" was driven by the music. It did not take long for me to notice that. The Indian music is superb throughout the film. "O Saya" has a nice and slow intro w/the chanting and the drums before M.I.A. gets ahold of it and rips. It's not a long rap at all, more like a cameo. But her style is so assured, staccato and unapologetic.

I can say that I officially slept on M.I.A. I have one of her cd's. A friend sent to me a few years ago. I skimmed it and never went back to it. Well, not never, but I should have trusted my friends instinct. I do think that M.I.A. and Lady Sovereign, another female British rapper, have a similar style. But I won't elaborate on that at this time.

One more quick point. M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" did not garner a great deal of radio play, at least not initially. However, when it did get some mainstream play, like on Dave Letterman, the gun shots were edited out.

Just a bit more about M.I.A.:

• she 's pregnant ... due any day now (update: baby boy born on 2.11.09)
  
• she wears many hats: vocalist, songwriter, producer and more
• she's a Brit
• she's won lots of awards and was nominated for two Grammy's this year fro "Swagger Like Us" and "Paper Planes".
• a quick Q&A w/M.I.A. from USA Today
  
• check out M.I.A. on Imeem
  

So now we wait ... Sunday, February 22, 2009 to see if M.I.A. gets a statue.