Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam (born July 17, 1975) is a British vocalist, songwriter, composer, record producer and visual artist, and a Tamil of Jaffna origin. Best known by her stage name, M.I.A., her work in music often features a range of elements of genres including grime, hip-hop, ragga, dancehall and electro.

An accomplished visual artist by 2002, M.I.A. came to prominence in early 2004 through file-sharing of her singles "Galang" and "Sunshowers" on the Internet. In 2005, her debut album, Arular, was nominated for the Mercury Prize. Her second album, Kala, was released in 2007 and awarded the title Album of the Year by both Blender and Rolling Stone. M.I.A. was also included on USA Today's "100 Most Interesting People of 2007".

There are four known artists under this name: (1) Progressive band from Argentina active in the 70s. (2) German minimal electro/techno producer. (3) American Punk/Hardcore band active in late 70s. (4) A British female artist with Sri Lankan roots. (1) Formed in the mid 70s, Independent Musicians Associated (MIA) was a group of musicians, technicians and drawers gathered together by Lito and Liliana Vitale’s parents. They produced their own records and concerts in an independent way. Their musi