M.I.A. has said that her upcoming fifth album Aim could be her last because she wants to focus on other things.
The rapper’s forthcoming album is due out on 9th September and yesterday, she debuted Go Off, a collaboration with Skrillex from the album. While chatting with Radio 1 host Annie Mac, she was asked whether this album would be her final effort.
“Yeah, I think so. I wanna go and do some other stuff and take some time out,” she replied (via NME).
“I’m sure I’ll put music out and make music, but as an album, this just came together after [November 2015 single] Borders and it just seemed like it wrote itself very quickly. I had to just go with it.”
The record is her first since 2013’s Matangi and follows some frustration with her label leading her to want to leak the record.
“SO ON THE VERGE OF LEAKING THIS LP – ESPECIALLY WHEN I GET TOLD TO “FIGHT UR OWN BATTLE” , “NOT YOUR MULE” REFUGEES GOT THEIR PLATFORM ETC,” she wrote on Twitter this week before finally announcing a release date.
It comes just as she has been dropped from UK festival Afropunk because of her views on the Black Live Matter movement.
“It’s interesting that in America the problem you’re allowed to talk about is Black Lives Matter,” she told the Evening Standard.
“It’s not a new thing to me — it’s what Lauryn Hill was saying in the 1990s, or Public Enemy in the 1980s. Is Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter? Or this kid in Pakistan matters? That’s a more interesting question.”
“Afropunk has always stood side by side with the thousands of people globally who are involved with our events each year, from the fans attending an Afropunk showcase for the first time, to the headline artists playing for capacity crowds on our main festival stages,” Afropunk organisers wrote, dropping the headliner from the event.
“A key part of the Afropunk ethos has always been educating one another, breaking down boundaries and sparking conversation about race, gender, religion, sex, culture and everything that makes life worth living. This exchange has meant receiving wisdom, as well as imparting it in the most respectful way possible, with the participation of our entire community of fans, creators and artists. This community is something we are incredibly proud of, and this community will always be a priority for us.”
A new headliner will be announced to join SZA, Benjamin Booker, Soulection and more.
Listen: M.I.A. – Go Off
