Genre-Smashing M.I.A. Samples ‘The Lion King’ On New Song

Britain’s M.I.A. has released two new tracks on Soundcloud, one of which, Ola, samples Lebo M.’s well-known intro to The Lion King theme The Circle Of Life.

M.I.A. shared the tracks on Soundcloud and Twitter last night and tweeted, “pirates! throw that shit on dj sites WORLDWIDE no borders – b 4 Disney shut it down!” We’re assuming the sample hasn’t been cleared.

Ola features the Lion King sample alongside jangly piano and a truly danceable beat. On both this track and the short second track Foreign Friend, M.I.A. revisits themes of borders, immigration and refugee rights.

M.I.A.’s fifth studio album Matahdatah is set for release sometime in the near future. She has so far released two other singles from the album, Swords and Borders.

The artist also released an extended version of Matangi‘s Boom Skit in February as a diss-track about the NFL’s lawsuit concerning her performance at the 2012 Superbowl.

Listen to the new tracks below, while you can.

Listen: M.I.A., Ola and Foreign Friend

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