Kala

Kala is the second studio album by British musician M.I.A., released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music and alternative hip hop to urumee melam, a style native to the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob. M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first a... more

Kala is the second studio album by British musician M.I.A., released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music and alternative hip hop to urumee melam, a style native to the state of Tamil Nadu, South India. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob. M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. Tracks for the album were recorded during 2006 and 2007 in various locations around the world, including India and Trinidad. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur after M.I.A. was refused a visa to re-enter the country. Kala was hailed by critics and was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart and topped the magazine's Top... less