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"Yeah, I got more records than the KGB, so uh, no funny business"
-Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam
If Sri Lankan hip-hop maven DeLon is to be believed, M.I.A. might not have been kidding when she said "All I wanna do is (bang bang bang bang)...and take your money." On July 29, he posted a remix video diss of the British rapper's "Paper Planes" on YouTube that claims M.I.A. used imagery from the Liberation Tiger Tamils of Eelam (LTTE), a Sri Lankan terrorist group.
The video is a graphic montage of terrorism victims, child soldiers, and the lady in question, set to a remix of "Paper Planes" that has DeLon bellowing, "Yo, here's for all you people that really think that M.I.A. is a freedom fighter, trying to dress up like her and shit. Let me give you some facts..." It also makes the not-so-subtle insinuation that M.I.A. has traded in her agitprop bona fides for dolla dolla bills and the depiction is, to say the least, unflattering.
This probably couldn't come at a worse time for M.I.A., herself Sri Lankan, whose song is being heavily promoted for the film Pineapple Express, which hits theaters today. According to the video, which cites the FBI, the LTTE "perfected the use of suicide bombers, invented the suicide belt, pioneered the use of women in suicide attacks, murdered some 4,000 people in the past two years alone, and assassinated two world leaders."
DeLon has drawn attention as a rising star in the international hip-hop scene, especially for his willingness to stand up to the LTTE, and is the first Sri Lankan/American to ever make it to the Billboard charts. His video is no longer available on YouTube, as it was given a cease-and-desist from Interscope Records for "endangering M.I.A.'s reputation as a freedom fighter." As a result, he's now filing a lawsuit against Interscope/UMG for infringement of his First Amendment rights. The video, which is most assuredly not safe for work, can still be downloaded here, as well as his label's homepage. We'll keep you updated as the story unfolds.
Related links:
News: M.I.A. stops touring, maybe forever
CeylonRecords.com
M.I.A. on MySpace
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She is talented and no matter what race, religion or the nationality credit goes to her for what she has achieved. But what is not impressive is how she is trying to justify and guard the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Elam (LTTE) one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world. Her father is an active leader of this group and moved to UK as a refugee. In many of her videos and logos she uses the graphics which is so close to LTTE flag and other signs. Once she had said in an interview that Sri Lankan government is trying to genocide Tamils from Sri Lanka. It's not surprising to hear that from LTTE member. The other way around is happening in Sri Lanka for about 30 years now this LTTE group has destroyed the country by bombing the main cities killing thousands of civilians in villages in a barbarian way. Now they are keeping innocent Tamil civilians as hostage and fighting with the Sri Lankan army for a separate country. The normal Tamil civilians are suffering because of these terrorist groups forcefully interference. LTTE have so many child soldiers. If a family refuse to giver their teenage son or daughters, LTTE kills the whole family. This LTTE garillas have strong connections with other most dangerous terrorist groups like Hamas, al-Qaeda round the world. Hope M.I.A would stop brag about the LTTE killers and continue her performance with clean hands.