Mathangi Maya Arulpragasam MBE born 18 July 1975 known by her stage name MIA an acronym of Missing in Acton is a British rapper singer record producer and activist Her songs contain evocative political and social commentary regarding immigration warfare and identity in a globalised world Her music combines elements of alternative dance electronic hip hop and world music with eclectic instruments and samples She started out as a visual artist filmmaker and designer in 2000 and began her recording career in 2002 MIAs first two albums Arular 2005 and Kala 2007 received widespread critical acclaim for their experimentation with hip hop and electronic fusion The single Paper Planes from Kala reached number four on the US Billboard Hot 100 and sold over four million copies Her third album Maya 2010 was preceded by the controversial singleshort film Born Free Maya was her bestcharting effort reaching the top 10 on several charts Her fourth studio album Matangi 2013 included the single Bad Girls which won accolades at the MTV Video Music Awards MIA released her fifth studio album AIM in 2016 She scored her first Billboard Hot 100 numberone single as a featured artist on Travis Scotts Franchise 2020 MIAs accolades include two American Society of Composers Authors and Publishers ASCAP awards and two MTV Video Music Awards She is the first person of South Asian descent to be nominated for an Academy Award and Grammy Award in the same year She was named one of the defining artists of the 2000s decade by Rolling Stone and one of the 100 most influential people of 2009 by Time Esquire ranked MIA on its list of the 75 most influential people of the 21st century According to Billboard she was one of the Top 50 DanceElectronic Artists of the 2010s MIA was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire MBE in the 2019 Birthday Honours for her services to music
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