MIA talks Lovebox, Britpop and getting sued for $16m
Get excited, people: it’s mere hours until establishment-baiting, globe-trotting, London-born pop sensation MIA takes to the stage at Lovebox festival. We spoke to her during her most recent US tour to find out what she’s been planning for this big homecoming gig (literally: she lives in east London, just around the corner from Victoria Park). A temple of lights, Hindu-inspired visuals promoting free speech and art and – just maybe – a hologram of Julian Assange? This won’t be your typical festival headline set.
The rapper and singer also told us about her time on the ’90s Britpop scene, when she used to hang out with Damon Albarn and Elastica’s Justine Frischmann (‘they were so tough’), and about the punk spirit that’s missing from today’s mainstream music: ‘You are only successful in the pop world if you are totally fucking wrong.’ She even brushed on the forbidden topic of the $16 million lawsuit she’s currently facing for giving the middle finger during the Superbowl halftime show in 2012. Basically, she more than lived up to her reputation as pretty much the coolest pop star in the world.
Read the full interview now, then find out which other acts we can’t wait to see at Lovebox. If you’re at Lovebox, go check out our photobooth!