I bongo with my Lingo, — M.I.A.

"Can I get Control? Do you like me Vulnerable? Im armed and Im equal More fun for the people..."

"No one ever gives those kids the microphone and says, Tell us, what the fuck is going on. They dont show them because none of them know how to talk to you. It took me 20 years to get over here, learn the language, become a pop star and say, Finally, I get the microphone! This is what I was going to say if I got it when I was 10."

"As soon as I came to England, really, I must have about spent two or three months bouncing around the pop world trying to get an idea of what England was. I wasnt really motivated by anything else. And nothing really inspired me. I was really confused about who I was and where I stood in society, you know what I mean? You come there and you just dont know what the hell is going on. And then I remember the first house we stayed in and I watched Top of the Pops and it was like- woah! It was the first music show that I saw on TV. I saw Madonna, Whitney Houston. It was amazing"

"Nobody wants to be dancing to political songs. Every bit of music out there that’s making it into the mainstream is really about nothing. I wanted to see if I could write songs about something important and make it sound like nothing. And it kind of worked."

"I feel the reason why Im really like outspoken and stuff is because all of these things were inflicted upon me, and I never went and caused any trouble, you know? I just feel like I was kind of skipping along in some country and somebody decides to drop a bomb and shake up my life and then its all been survival from then on. And thats the reality for thousands - and millions - of people today. Why should I get censored for talking about a life that half the time I didnt choose to live?"

"GAVRAS: Well, he’s bigger than a pop star. I mean, when he came to Paris in 2007, he was supposed to stay at the Hôtel de Marigny, which is the best hotel. But Gaddafi came with a tent. It was this huge flagged tent—just him and his army guards, who were all girls. They were in these crazy leopard outfits. I mean, Gaddafi is way better dressed than any pop star in the world."