100 Greatest songs of the 00’s #10 M.I.A – Paper Planes

Released: 2007

There’s a thing about Britain which is as true now as it was if you arrived on the Island in..well, pick any century of the least three you like. That thing is ugly and denied by many who benefit from the system which supports it, but the awkward truth is that if you’re a refugee who arrives here, your voice might as well be nothing.

There are some exceptions to every rule though, and if for example you can kick a ball well you might end up begrudgingly allowed to participate in society here. This sort of access can also be gained if you’re in the arts, but that path is a less certain one. Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam arrived in South London from Sri Lanka in 1986, an Asian girl who rapidly became obsessed with hip-hop, adopting M.I.A as an identity and then melded sounds and cultures together on her debut album Arular.

It’s 2007 follow up Kala confirmed that there was more than just permission to speak. Co-produced with Diplo, the words to Paper Planes were a satirical jab at US Immigration after visa issues; speaking of living in New York later she mused “People don’t really feel like immigrants or refugees contribute to culture in any way.” The invective was accompanied by periodic sampled gunshots and a weary sounding sample from The Clash. Appropriately the track used was called Straight to Hell, a place where most people who just want a chance to live in a foreign land are invariably expected to live, to neither be seen, or heard.