M.I.A. Set to Bring Up-and-Comers to HARD Fest in NYC and L.A.

M.I.A. will return to the stage this summer with two festival dates in New York and L.A — and she's bringing along plenty up-and-coming protégés from her N.E.E.T label to support her, including hotly tipped acts Sleigh Bells and Rye Rye. The Sri Lankan MC has scheduled two dates in New York and L.A. for the HARD Festival, her first dates in support of her new album due out this summer. The L.A. date on 17th is a day-long, two-stage affair taking place at Los Angeles State Historic Park; the New York date will happen at Governors Island. Tickets, starting at $45, go on sale March 26th and are available at the fest's official site. The lineup features an impressive roster of up-and-coming hip-hop, indie-rock and electronic acts, including Theophilus London, Skream, Destructo and 12th Planet. More artists will be announced for both dates shortly.

Expect M.I.A. to unveil plenty of songs from her eagerly anticipated new record, due out this summer. "I just want to be real, whatever that is," M.I.A. told Rolling Stone about the disc in January. "Even if my songs are shit, and if I have flaws and if I'm confused, if I offend people or if I don't offend people, I might try to work it out in public, just so you know that it's OK to think, that thinking's not a dirty word."

Related Stories:
• New M.I.A. Song "Space Odyssey" An Attack on "New York Times"
• M.I.A. Teams With Blaqstarr, Verizon Workers for Summer Disc
• M.I.A.'s Global Party: The Futuristic Pop Star on Her Decade's Journey

• 
  MUSIC 100 Greatest Debut Albums
• 
  MOVIES 'Star Trek' Is Crazy Good
• 
  TV 10 Shows to Watch This Summer
• 
  POLITICS No Price Big Banks Can't Fix

Song Stories

“1999”

Prince | 1982

“I don’t consider myself a great poet,” Prince told Rolling Stone. “I just know I’m here to say what’s on my mind.” In the case of the apocalyptic party anthem “1999,” he was worried about then-president Ronald Reagan’s foreign policies. The song’s melody is based on a riff borrowed from the Mamas and Papas’ “Monday, Monday,” and Prince originally envisioned the first verse with three-part harmony but later split the vocals between himself and members of the Revolution. Because Warner Bros., with whom Prince was locked in a contractual battle, owned the original’s masters, Prince rerecorded the song and appropriately released that version in 1999.

More Song Stories entries »

Twitter