The gloves are off – again: M.I.A. has hit back at New York Times journalist, Lynn Hirschberg, in response to the writer’s less-than-flattering portrayal of her in a recent article.
The rapper claims she was misrepresented by Hirschberg and has posted an audio excerpt from the interview on her blog, as well as a new track called “I’m A Singer” in which she attacks politics, America, journalists, and racism. The track also includes the lyrics, “Why the hell would a journalist be thick as shit” and “You can talk shit to me I’m used to it/You make me hard with the wounds that I have to lick/You can pick on me and I can see it at a click” – an unashamed reference to the New York Times article.
The audio excerpt contains M.I.A. explaining her highly-publicised 2009 Grammy performance when she was heavily pregnant.
In the article Hirschberg wrote:
Although her publicist had a wheelchair ready and a midwife on call, Maya, who has a deep and instinctive affinity for the provocative, knew that this Grammy moment was not to be missed. It had everything: artistic credibility, high drama, a massive audience. The baby would just have to wait. The combination of being nearly naked, hugely pregnant, singing incendiary lyrics and having the eyes of the world upon her was too much to resist.
In the audio recording the rapper says:
“It wasn’t just about me getting to the Oscars or me going to the Grammys, that doesn’t mean anything, the whole point of that journey was so you can go, ‘Hey 50,000 people are going to die next month here’s your opportunity to help’ and no-one did, and they still died! It wasn’t about accolades or fame.”
The beef continues: M.I.A. has also said she will be posting her own version of the article on her blog in the coming days. It just keeps getting better and better.
Ryan McGinley has posted a brief behind-the-scenes look at the photo shoot he did with M.I.A. for the controversial article:
To hear “I’m A Singer” in full go to NeetRecordings.com.
Read Lynn Hirschberg’s article atNew York Times.
Image by: Christopher Polk via Getty
