Arular

Motivated by his wish to support the Tamil militancy on the island, her father became a political activist, adopting the name Arular, and was a founding member of The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students EROS, a political Tamil group that worked to establish an independent Tamil Eelam.

HW Pick: Maya’s Harlem State « 2009

M. I.A.'s previous album titles are "Kala" and "Arular" - the names of her parents.

MuchMusic.com | Blog 2010

But where M. I.A.'s first two albums -- 2005's wonderful "Arular" and 2007's masterful "Kala" -- boasted supreme hooks, "Maya" only bares gruesome teeth.

Album review: M.I.A.'s 'Maya,' missing in action 2010

But where M. I.A.'s first two albums - 2005's wonderful "Arular" and 2007's masterful "Kala" - boasted supreme hooks, "Maya" only bares gruesome teeth.

Album review: M.I.A., "/\/\ /\ Y /\" 2010

Janelle Monáe, from Kansas City, Kansas, is one of the most inventive, original female artists to attract mainstream attention since M.I.A. introduced her London-Sri Lankan sound with "Arular" in 2005.

Christine Huang: Janelle Mon��e: A New American Icon 2009

Check out her first album, "Arular" and then her most recent one, "Kala."

Weekend Video - M.I.A. & Slumdog The Year in Pictures 2009

The 28-year-old's dance-savvy blend of bass-laden hip-hop, Caribbean raga and cut-and-paste politicism is so unusual, it's made her new CD, "Arular," one of the most talked-about debuts this year.

PERISCOPE 2007

Images of tanks, machine guns and grenades are pitted against bright tribal colors on the sleeve of "Arular"; onstage recently M. I.A wore a sequined track suit with a camouflage-graffiti T shirt.

PERISCOPE 2007

Unable to record the follow up to 'Arular' in the States as planned, M.I.A., a. k.a Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, a former refugee and daughter of a Tamil Tiger rebel, upped sticks and recorded 'Kala' in Jamaica, Liberia and India instead.

Lead Stories from AOL 2010

Unable to record the follow up to 'Arular' in the States as planned, M.I.A., a. k.a Mathangi 'Maya' Arulpragasam, a former refugee and daughter of a Tamil Tiger rebel, upped sticks and recorded 'Kala' in Jamaica, Liberia and India instead.

Lead Stories from AOL 2010