At the beginning of February, Beyoncé won Super Bowl 50 with her inspired performance of one-day-old track “Formation.” Now, Queen Bey is gearing up for a stadium tour and facing a bit of a backlash in the form of lackluster protests and scheduled police force boycotts due to the politically charged elements of her halftime show appearance. Knowles shouldn’t worry about this uproar, though, because she’s in good company with regards to NFL halftime show blowback—just ask M.I.A. whose cameo in Madonna’s 2012 jumble of lights ignited its own shitstorm.
A quick refresher: Arulpragasam flipped the bird at the camera for a split-second and was promptly sued by the football conglomerate for almost $17 million. While the details of the settlement remain private, M.I.A. released a track on 2013’s Matangi entitled “Boom Skit” that directly referenced the event.
This morning, the outspoken artist released a reworked and extended version of “Boom Skit” called “Boom ADD.” The new version of the track starts with an excellent voicemail from Arulpragasam’s lawyer in which he explains the specifics of the NFL’s case against her. (Props to that guy for really laying the snark on thick when referencing to the National Football League’s “fantastic reputation.”) Then, after the original “Boom Skit” lyrics run their course, M.I.A. takes the fight globally by shining a light on the continued exploitation of India’s culture and people by the US.
The release date for M.I.A.’s fifth full-length Matadatah is unknown, but the album is still currently slated for 2016.
(via Consequence of Sound)
