Graffiti the Ghost

Hellloooo! This is MIA...UPDATE: Diplo interview

Morning Becomes Eclectic with Nic Harcourt has been one of my favorite radio shows since I discovered their online archives about 6 months ago. There is an amazing wealth of footage here, everyone from Alison Kraus to Thievery Corporation, and very recently MIA. If you've been under a rock and haven't heard of MIA yet, allow me to enlighten you. Maya Arulpragasam is a Sri Lankan who came to London as a refugee. She proceeded to study art and eventually to become the MC phenomenon we now know as MIA. She comes to The Independent this Friday May 13, but you can check her out now on Morning Becomes Eclectic.


If you view the clip pay special attention to the DJ playing with MIA. This southern boy's name is Diplo, and he hails originally from Tupelo, Mississippi but was raised in a bait shop in Florida. Am I the only one who finds that really hot? Yeah? Ok, nevermind.



Anyway, I first heard the buzz surrounding Diplo last year when music blogs started picking up some tracks from his "Favela On Blast" recording. Diplo collected a lot of this music, called Baile funk, out of the favelas (sort of shanty towns) that dot the hills of Rio when he travelled through Brazil. Baile Funk is like Miami Bass meets Portuguese rap. Unfortunately "Favela on Blast" is hard to find right now, but I tracked down a site that's hosting some clips of the straight dope here. (via Boom Selection) Anyway, Diplo was integral in bringing this music back to the States from Brazil, and we all owe him a huge debt of gratitude for it, cause this is some good shit.

You can get a double dose of this hottie on Friday, first at the MIA show and then later at 1015 Folsom. SF's own Subalicious crew has been kind enough to bring him out to play there along with Andrew Weatherall, Keith Tenniswood and an amazing lineup of local talent. Check it out.

UPDATE: Diplo interview on NPR. The interview goes into his relationship with MIA, as well as his obsession with Baile Funk. Turns out he also does an after school music program for inner-city kids in Philly. Damn. Nice one. Thanks to Doctor Otto for the link.

posted by Jess @ 11:10 AM