M.I.A. Breaks Hiatus to Pay Tribute to K-Swift

Radio and club DJ K-Swift, who passed away earlier this year in a swimming pool accident, tirelessly championed her hometown's bombastic brand of hip-hop/dance music known as Baltimore club. Swift's longtime record label, Unruly Records, will release a tribute album, K-Swift's Greatest Hits, on December 23rd, which will show just how far the DJ's evangelistic fervor spread. "I'm a big fan of Baltimore club music and the movement that Unruly Records has established," says Sri Lankan MC M.I.A., who hosts the 36-track compilation. M.I.A., who has been taking time away from music since announcing her pregnancy in October, agreed to host the disc out of her appreciation for Swift, who is among the only female DJs to host a Number One rated radio show and a nationally syndicated mixtape show. On the day of the album's release, BET's The Deal will host a tribute to Swift.

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Song Stories

“The A Team”

Ed Sheeran | 2011

This debut track from the then-20-year-old British singer-songwriter has a dark story behind it. Sheeran says he culls songwriting inspiration from "viewing other people's situations," which, for the heroine in "The A Team," involves drug addiction and prostitution that began as a teen. Sheeran paints the woman's trials with haunting imagery such as "But lately her face seems/Slowly sinking, wasting/Crumbling like pastries." "I did a gig at a homeless shelter, [and the song] is about one of the women there. It's her story," he said.

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