This is the year of M.I.A. She’s won a Grammy, been nominated for an Oscar, raised the roof at Coachella, had a baby and now she’s one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people.
In a behind the scenes video segment from her photo shoot with Time, M.I.A. discussed how she infuses her experiences as a refugee from Sri Lanka into her music. “I can sing about songs with gunshots in the background because I’d heard them,” she said. “It’s almost like my music has been a way to smoke out the hatred that’s been bubbling underneath what’s going on in Sri Lanka. If there’s 300,000 people who are trapped and they’re dying, it should be talked about. It should be brought to the table.”
I guess T-Pain’s campaigning for votes didn’t work, but M.I.A.’s Slumdog Millionaire collaborator and Oscar winner A.R. Rahman did land a spot on the list. For M.I.A.’s video segment, click here, and for the complete list of the 2009 Time 100, click here.