M.I.A. is reportedly close to leaking her fifth studio album Matahdatah and is accusing other artists of theft in the process. Through a series of tweets the rapper voiced her disgust at “big American artists” that have used both her art and her “refugee sentiments” to receive press for their views and work.
She also exposed that she was “on the verge” of unleashing the album following her controversial comments on the Black Lives Matter movement and a headlining performance at Afropunk.
SO ON THE VERGE OF LEAKING THIS LP - ESPECIALLY WHEN I GET TOLD TO "FIGHT UR OWN BATTLE" , "NOT YOUR MULE" REFUGEES GOT THEIR PLATFORM ETC
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) July 11, 2016
SURVIVOR !!!!! pic.twitter.com/8PCPF48aKn — M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) July 11, 2016
In a recent interview with Evening Standard, she gave her thoughts on other artists speaking up for Black Lives Matter and not other issues in the world, saying, “Is Beyonce or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter? Or this kid in Pakistan matters? That’s a more interesting question. And you cannot ask it on a song that's on Apple, you cannot ask it on an American TV program, you cannot create that tag on Twitter, Michelle Obama is not going to **** you back.”
According to Billboard, Matahdatah will feature song “Poc That Still a Ryda,” which serves as a musical response to these issues, and both of her SoundCloud releases “MIA OLA” and “Foreign Friend,” as well as a track produced by Skrillex, who had previously posted a photo of himself in the studio working on the album in 2015.
