Culture

M.I.A.'s Album Finally Got a Release Date After She Threatened to Leak It

M.I.A. is caught up in drama with her record label once again—but this time it seems to have work out in her favor. 

By Zach Schonfeld
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This article is from the archive of our partner .

M.I.A. is caught up in drama with her record label once again—but this time, things seem to have worked out in her favor.

Frustrated with the repeatedly delayed release of her well-anticipated fourth album, Matangi, the British singer took to Twitter this morning and threatened to leak the record herself and "make a new one by the time [Interscope is] ready":

Apparently appalled at the thought that any corporate entity would confound her plans, she also tweeted "who would stop MATANGI from coming out?" Hours later, Matangi, which M.I.A. has described as "paul simon on acid," got a new release date: November 5. The timing probably isn't a coincidence. Who knows if it'll be pushed back again.

It's not the first time the artist has butted heads with Interscope over the record. In January, she claimed she'd handed in the album in 2012, but Interscope had rejected it for being "too positive," so "we're having a bit of an issue at the label." At the time, she thought it'd be released in April.

Nor is it the first time she's used Twitter to express frustration and threaten to bypass the usual channels. Last month, she hinted at a Kickstarter to get her long-awaited documentary finished after funding apparently held it up. Her director released a teaser on his Tumblr—against the label's stated wishes—then announced he was quitting the whole thing.

SPIN speculates that this could be a publicity stunt. (Similar allegations have swirled around Stephen Colbert's Daft Punk/MTV debacle this week.) But given M.I.A.'s past frustrations with Interscope and well-known propensity not to censor herself on Twitter (or at the Superbowl for that matter), that seems improbable.

More likely, it's evidence that the artist's impatience (and love of social media) sometimes can get her what she wants.

Her fanbase probably won't complain.

This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.