If you’re suffering from a hangover or a migraine, then M.I.A.’s latest offering will add another jolt to your senses. The British artist of Sri Lankan Tamil descent, M.I.A., née Maya Arulpragasam, ambushes listeners on MAYA with refreshingly conscious lyrics backed by heavy electric beats and head-bopping sounds — alarms, explosions, guns blasting and coins jingling. She vents about terrorism (“Lovalot”), drugs (“Teqkilla) and sex (“XXXO”) on the party-starting singles. Then, she catches you a little off guard with the Caribbean-inspired tempo on “It Takes A Muscle.” MAYA will definitely grab the attention of YouTube disciples with the CD cover art and counsel youth seduced by Islamic terrorists. –yvette caslin
