Ew: Madonna Makes M.I.A. Her Back Up Cheerleader

by Rosemari

Seeing M.I.A. (again) in 2010

I have been a long-standing M.I.A. fan and when I heard that she was going to sing on Madonna's new album, I was intrigued.  After all, Swagga Like Us with one of the best hip hop songs of the decade and and her performance at the Emmy's on her due date was one of the most kick-ass things I've ever seen a pregnant woman do (if you missed it, here's the best video I could find).


M.I.A. pushed the envelope.  She never apologized for her style, her unique (at least for the music industry) femininity that didn't try to hide that she was a woman of color or be a sex kitten for someone else, and speaking up about the things that were important to her (particularly issues regarding Sri Lanka).  Sure, I once got sprayed by a supersoaker filled with vodka at one of her concerts.  But she was a nonconformist, international, young female rock star and sexy in her own terms.  And I needed that. And so did hip hop (can video vixens get any more trite at this point?). 





So, today I watched the new Madonna's video, Give Me All Your Luvin. It features both Nicki Manaj and M.I.A. as backup dancers to Madonna and appear to be more of an afterthought than anything else.  If M.I.A. had been featured in such a supporting role by a male performer, shaking her pom-poms in the background without much of an opportunity to really show off her musical creativity, I would have been disappointed. But this? Really, it's just insulting.  


Everything I loved about M.I.A. was twisted around in this video. M.I.A.'s cheer-leading uniform, her blonde wig, the product placement.  And, worst of all, those ridiculous spiked heels.