Yo, YO!  Hope everyone’s enjoying their Friday night on the eve of this August 23rd/24th  2008 weekend!  We’re back, with another so hot, so real episode of Weekend “Wee”deos!  This weekend, we feature a video from M.I.A., a Sri Lankan born rapper who is topping the charts with her new single, Paper Planes (you may have heard it on the Pineapple Express movie trailer).

M.I.A., born Mathangi “Maya” Arulpragasam, has been in the rap scene for quite some time now with many controversially charged songs, but her new single, Paper Planes, is her first hit to smash the top 40 charts.  Last week Paper Planes, from her sophmore album Kala, reached the #5 spot on top 40 list.  The Paper Planes video has already accumulated over 10 MILLION views on Youtube.  Check it out…

So what the hell is this song about?  You can read the lyrics here.  Some opinions on what it’s about are also posted on this link.  “I fly like paper, get high like planes”…

Here is a little bit of background on M.I.A (provided by Suite101.com):

Born in London, England, her family moved to their homeland of Sri Lanka when M.I.A. (born Maya Arulpragasam) was six months old. The family later relocated to Madras, India.

Civil war in Sri Lanka forced the family to flee the country and M.I.A. returned to London later in life to study art. Her music, a mix of hip-hop, electronica and dancehall became a big hit with local DJ’s and garnered the attention of Record Company XL, for whom she recorded her debut album Arular in 2005.

At the beginning of this year, her first single from Kala, “Jimmy” danced all the way up to number 16 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart, giving her a taste of the recognition and respect this talent deserves. Kala was released in August of 2007.

M.I.A also performed this song on David Lettermen’s The Late Show.  Check out the performance and Lettermen’s introduction of the Sri Lankan rapper:

Man…got this song swirlin’ in my head now!!!  Have a good weekend everyone!

Update:  We have just received a link (thanks ‘Tesh!) to the new Singh is Kinngh Music Video.  Enjoy!

Image from New York Times

Who says Bollywood can’t hang in the US!?  Snoop Dogg is making his Bollywood debut in a hot track in the Singh is Kinng movie.  Snoop met up with Akshay Kumar this summer in Chicago to shoot the video for the Singh is Kinng soundtrack, which also includes RDB.  The song fuses bhangra with rap, which is becoming a popular mix of music among many desi urban artists these days.

“I really dig how much music is infused with the movies” in Bollywood, Snoop Dogg said in an e-mailed response to questions. “Lots of hip-hop tracks sample Indian music, and a lot of their music sounds like it was influenced by hip-hop,” he said. “We’re putting together something real big” in India, that will include collaborations, live shows and “more movies with some of my Bollywood homies.”

Read full Snoop Dogg Singh is Kinng Article

Drop it like it’s hottttttttttttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!   BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!

Read Other SABAsearch Blog articles related to this topic:
Hip Hop Looks for “Bling” in South Asian Market

I went to Sammy’s last night (Thursday) and saw probably the greatest sight I’ve seen in a while… The Spazmatics! They’re a group that covers 80’s music. So if you love the 80’s you absolutely need to check them out. They play at Sammy’s (on Grey and Main in Downtown Houston) every Thursday night at 10pm. For those of ya’ll in Austin, they play there on Wednesday nights as well. Plus, you might get inspired by their outfits as well.. very fashion forward! Check out their sight for more info. Enjoy!

www.thespazmatics.net