Ok, now that the Ginger-Geonocide video hype has blown over, I finally listened to ‘Born Free’ and it is great! M.I.A. may have done herself a small disservice by pairing the song with such a controversial video only because it distracts from the track itself. ‘Born Free’ is a stunningly simple but layered track. M.I.A. wisely samples Suicide’s ‘Ghost Rider‘ and heightens the electroclash sound that has made her (and that band) famous. She is one of the few hip hop acts that can sample punk/rock without sounding disingenuous in either genre. (Listen/Download below.)
MIA, Born Free:
Also check out the David Starfire remix of the demo, Theres Space For Ol Dat I See:
say it like slam 