Hip-hop star M.I.A. on her Oscar and Grammy nominations

Hip-hop artist M.I.A. recently rocketed from the experimental underground to the pinnacle of the entertainment world. "O Saya," her collaboration with Indian composer A.R. Rahman from the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, is one of three nominees for the best-song Oscar. And her track "Paper Planes" is in contention at this weekend's Grammy Awards for record of the year -- the Recording Academy's top honor.

Born Mathangi Arulpragasam in Britain, the future singer returned with her family to her parents' native Sri Lanka when she was 6 months old. The family, who are members of Sri Lanka's ethnic-Tamil minority, moved to Jaffna, in the island nation's north. Not long afterward, the country erupted into civil war between the Tamil Tigers and the Sri Lankan government, and violence consumed Jaffna.

As a child, Ms. Arulpragasam rarely saw her father, Arul Pragasam, who was involved in the Tamil-separatist movement -- though she says he was part of a more political faction than the violent and better-known Tigers.

At age 10 she fled with her mother, elder sister and younger brother first to India and then back to London, where her mother now works as a seamstress and M.I.A. attended art college.

CLICK HERE to read the full story

airs at 7pm and 11pm PT/12am ET on PBS

(check local listings)

CLICK HERE for details

This year’s race for the best original song Oscar is getting way more attention than usual – in part for who’s in the race and, in part, for who isn’t.

There are only three nominees out of 49 eligible songs this year – “Down to Earth” from “Wall-E,” and “Jai Ho” and “O Saya” from “Slumdog Millionaire” – due to the music Oscar’s weird ranking system that only nominates songs that scored higher than 8.25 out of 10 with its members. Bruce Springsteen’s “The Wrestler,” which just won the Golden Globe for best song, didn’t make the cut.

Now Peter Gabriel’s “Down to Earth,” which plays over the “Wall-E” credits is nice enough, but the original songs of A.R. Rahman really are a major part of “Slumdog Millionaire.” The same goes for M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” which is so dominant in one segment that it not only looks like the film was edited to fit the song, but that it was shot with that song in mind.

CLICK HERE to read the full story

Yesterday’s 2009 Oscar nominations brought disappointment to legions of Bruce Springsteen fans expecting the Jersey legend to score a nod for “The Wrestler.” But it made one pregnant Sri Lankan MC who resides in Brooklyn pretty damn happy:

“This is a great honor. Thank you to all the people who are supporting us and the making of a real story of a slumdog millionaire,” M.I.A. says. “Maybe I can afford to book Dave Chappelle at the baby shower now. Thank you again; My mum wants everyone to know what wonderful news this is for her.”

CLICK HERE to read the full story.

» men.style.com

INCLUDES PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED M.I.A. / A.R. RAHMAN COLLABORATION “O…SAYA”

NEW YORK… In composing the music for acclaimed director Danny Boyle’s intoxicating new film Slumdog Millionaire, now playing in select theaters, A.R. Rahman has conjured the sound of a city, fusing the frenetic scramble of daily life in Mumbai, India into beautiful fugues that ride upon the dust clouds kicked up by its everyday people.

From the movie’s first frames --- with children racing through alleyways, knocking over merchants and pottery, police kicking loose clay roof tiles, disrupted birds fluttering from gutters — we hear the sound of their commotion made manifest in “O… Saya.” It’s a rumbling hybrid of Bollywood and hip-hop, a brand new collaboration between Rahman and M.I.A. It’s the kind of cinematic moment where image and sound coexist. And that’s only the first five minutes.

Filmed in the streets and slums of Mumbai, India, Boyle needed just the right music to compliment the film’s cinema verité urban realism. He turned to internationally renowned composer A.R. Rahman (a huge star in South Asia—selling more than 100 million albums worldwide and 200 million cassettes—Rahman is one of the world’s top 25 all-time top selling recording artists.) The film’s score is central to the propulsive modern grit that pervades the story, but is also a nod to classic Bollywood productions where the music is front and center. And loud. Says Rahman, “We wanted it edgy, upfront. Danny wanted it loud.”

M.I.A.’s appreciation for Bollywood music led her to record much of last year’s Kala inside A.R. Rahman’s studio in India, although the two had never worked together until now. Referring to him in URB magazine as “the Indian Timbaland,” M.I.A. obviously jumped at the chance to work on “O… Saya” with the famed composer. Rahman says, “She’s a real powerhouse. Somebody played me her CD and I thought, ‘Who is this girl? She came here and knew all my work, had followed my work for ages. I said, ‘Cut the crap, this “my idol” crap. You have to teach me.’”

M.I.A. crops up again, later in the film, with the remix of her worldwide hit “Paper Planes” seemingly made for Slumdog, as the lyrics pronounce, “Sometimes I feel like sitting on trains…” while a light blue locomotive chugs and hurls its way through India, young boys perched up top in the sepia sunlight scoping out for a scrap of food.

Other songs on the soundtrack include “Gangsta Blues,” featuring hip-hop artist BlaaZe, which flutters with the rhythms of a film projector, capturing a bit of the madness of crowds as they disperse in a thousand directions to escape the claustrophobia of back alleys. And nothing quite prepares you for the triumphant climax, the overarching ode to joy that is “Jai Ho,” closing out the film in a rousing sing-a-long that’s had film audiences burst into spontaneous applause. As Rahman told Variety, “The energy of the film takes you through a roller coaster, and that’s one of the main inspirations for the whole music.”

“The propulsive score, by Bollywood soundtrack auteur A. R. Rahman, is hip-hop fusion of a very up-to-date kind” – Kurt Loder, MTV.COM

“The film is a visual wonder, propelled by A.R. Rahman’s hip-hopping score and Chris Dickens’ kinetic editing.” – Peter Travers, Rolling Stone

“Danny Boyle has upped the ante by hiring the great A.R. Rahman, the king of Bollywood music, to contribute one of his unmistakable propulsive scores.” – Kenny Turan, Los Angeles Times

The full track listing for Slumdog Millionaire Music From The Motion Picture:

1. "O... Saya" Performed by A R Rahman & M.I.A.

2. "Riots" by A R Rahman

3. "Mausam & Escape" by A R Rahman

4. "Paper Planes" Performed by M.I.A.

5. "Paper Planes" DFA REMIX Performed by M.I.A.

6. ""Ringa Ringa" by A R Rahman featuring Alka Yagnik & Ila Arun

7. "Liquid Dance" by A R Rahman featuring Palakkad Sriram & Madhumitha

8. "Latika's Theme" by A R Rahman featuring Suzanne

9. "Aaj Ki Raat" Performed by Sonu Nigam, Mahalaxmi Lyer & Alisha Chinoi

10. "Millionaire" by A R Rahman featuring Madhumitha

11. "Gangsta Blues" by A R Rahman featuring BlaaZe & Tanvi Shah

12. "Dreams on Fire" by A R Rahman featuring Suzzanne

13. "Jai Ho" by A R Rahman featuring Sukhvinder Singh, Tanvi Shah & Mahalaxmi Iyer

To listen original version of “Paper Planes” Click Here

To listen to “Swagger Like Us”: Click Here 

» www.interscope.com

» www.uptheantics.com

This year MTV is letting the fans decide who the nominees are for the VMA's! Voting is now open for the Best New Artist and Best Dancing In A Video categories. Make sure to go to vma.mtv.com to vote for the M.I.A. video for "Boyz" now! Voting closes Wednesday 8/6 at 11 AM EST.

FEATURED IN THE TRAILER FOR “PINEAPPLE EXPRESS,” THE SONG LIGHTS UP THE CHARTS LIKE SETH ROGAN AND JAMES FRANCO LIGHT UP IN THE MOVIE.

New York…M.I.A.’s “Paper Planes,” off her latest, Kala, jumps to #1 on iTunes electronic song chart and #12 on the iTunes singles chart after appearing in the trailer for ’ “Pineapple Express.” The movie stars Seth Rogan and James Franco and is out on Columbia Pictures August 6.

Previously landing at #73, “Paper Planes” sudden move to the Top15 is huge gain – do the math it’s like 5 times higher, or up like 125%. Artistically, Rhianna has been giving the song the stadium treatment, covering “Paper Planes” in the Glow in the Dark tour with Kanye West. To top it off KROQ has just added “Paper Planes” to their New Music Rotation.

Kala was voted #1 Album of the Year by numerous publications (including both Rolling Stone and Blender). Looks like M.I.A.’s chart numbers are suddenly synching with the critics ratings.

Check it out: http://www.interscope.com/artist/player/default.aspx/mid/2739/aid/555

» www.interscope.com

» vma.mtv.com

» www.mtvu.com

» secure.fanscape.com

» www.msnbc.msn.com