Not all is well in the world of M.I.A. With her album Matangi constantly getting pushed back due to some behind-the-scenes problems with M.I.A.’s label, it seemed like Matangi would never see the light of day. The female rapper thus took it upon herself to drop the video for one of the album’s tracks, “Bring the Noize,” as a show of good faith for her fans. A planned documentary to coincide with the release, directed by long-time M.I.A. friend, Steve Loveridge, also had its production halted.
Annoyed by the major label execs’ politics, Loveridge himself leaked a teaser to the M.I.A. documentary he had been compiling footage of over the years. Featuring archival interviews with Kanye West, Diplo, Spike Jonze, and more, the documentary looked not only at M.I.A.’s popularity, but also her family life surrounding her father’s noted ties with the Tamil Tiger Guerillas sect in Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, the odds of the documentary being released are relatively slim. Loveridge shared a private email exchange between himself and a Roc Nation representative over the weekend in which he simply brushes the rep away. The documentary still has support from M.I.A., so it’s possible that it could find life in the future, although it would have to jump hurdles to escape the legal ramifications and ties with Roc Nation. M.I.A. hinted at a possible Kickstarter to help fund the production costs:
im gonna need @kickstarter and my fans to help make this exsist , ive been black listed through normal channels !!!!!!!
— M.I.A (@MIAuniverse) July 7, 2013
Even if you’re not a fan of M.I.A., the ties between herself and her father are interesting enough themselves. I’ll be keeping an eye out for this documentary; hopefully some kind of agreement can be met so it can still follow the release of Matangi, which is scheduled for a fall release… for now.
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