M.I.A.

The radical Sri Lankan rapper, who has hinted that her excellent new album AIM might be her last, opens up about the artists and music that have shaped her.

- Kevin O' Donnell

The first album I bought with my own money

It took me ages to save money to buy my first record. I think it might have been a Bobby Brown

< 1 > album. Apache Indian’s “Movie Over India” was the first white-label record I ever got. And my first single must have definitely been a pop record like Paula Abdul < 2 > ; that was, like, a record you discover because it was on the shelf at the front of the store, and it comes on and you’re like, “I’m gonna go buy that!”

The song that inspired me to become an artist