[:en]M.I.A – Humanitarian and Musician [:]

[:en]Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam is a vocalist, songwriter, composer, record producer and visual artist of Sri Lankan Tamil origin. She is best known by her stage name, M.I.A.. Her music style contains elements of grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall, electro, and baile funk. In 2005, her first album, Arular, was nominated for the Mercury Prize. In 2007, her second album, Kala, was voted Mixmag’s Album of the Month in the magazine’s September issue. Maya visited Liberia in December 2006 to meet war-affected people there including ex-child soldiers and film a documentary on the post war situation in the country with activist Kimmie Weeks.[:]