M I A Kala
My wife was already a fan, and I rather liked her story: Maya is a Tamil who was raised in various countries because her father was one of the Tamil Tigers and her mother raised her as a refugee. She first tried visual arts, reinterpreting terrorist propaganda, then, fashion design. Finally, she settled on Hip hop as a career. I just like how patternless that story is: from politics to citizenship, to Arts, to crafts, to commerce it doesn't really fit into a neat category.
But how's the music? Well, that's why this record, and not her first. This one is more interesting musically. It references early 1980's New Wave (New Order and the Clash, most prominently) and Zulu drumming, and Bollywood productions, and so on. Truly world music. The lyrics aren't always that smart, but there is some cleverness. Overall, it's more intriguing than beautiful. Call it a "B". I'm still not the biggest fan of Hip Hop aesthetics, but, I have to admit Paper Planes is a catchy song. (This is still better.)
