I just found this article on M.I.A., the artist who sings "Paper Planes". She seems very interesting because she is a mainstream musician/artist and yet her music is very politically driven. She focuses most of her energy on her native country of Sri Lanka and the injustices done to the Tamil.

It's a really long article that gets into her fashion style, personal and stage life, but some things really caught my attention. Everyone knows the "Paper Planes" song from Slumdog Millionaire, but I doubt everyone knows about her political views and statements she makes through her music. She has been called a "terrorist sympathizer" and has been criticized for being "unsophisticated about the politics of Sri Lanka". In addition to this she in controversial in the way she dresses and acts as a celebrity. She was 9 months pregnant on stage and began to have contractions, she finished the performance even though she probably should have been in the hospital. She was also in a very revealing outfit at this performance.

I know a lot of celebrities act like this, but she sees herself as an activist. Credibility plays a huge role in who she is and how she adds to the Sri Lankan cause. Can one person be a fashion and pop star at the same time as being an activist? People like Bono and John Lennon have done this, but in a peace making way. M.I.A. on the other hand, is militant in her approach and has not received positive feedback from it and her fans don't seem to listen to the lyrics close enough to care.

M.I.A.'s Agitprop Pop