Happy Birthday, M.I.A.!

Today, July 18, marks M.I.A.'s 43rd birthday.

The British-raised, Sri Lankan-bred hip-hop artist, born Mathangi Arulpragrasam in London, England, relocated to her family's native country at 6 months old. Prior to her breakout hit "Galang" in 2004, the politically-charged rapper had a successful career as a a visual artist. Her paintings were influenced by the Tamil rebellion as they fought for their independence in the early 1980s.

Near the end of 2004, M.I.A. and Diplo dropped the celebrated Piracy Funds Terrorism mixtape, but it was her debut album, Arular, that propelled her to worldwide stardom the following year. The infectious, high-energy LP blended hip-hop, reggae and dance, making for an international smash. Arular peaked at No. 190 on the Billboard 200 chart shortly after its release. Some of M.I.A.'s other notable projects include 2007's Kala and 2010's MAYA, with both landing in in the Billboard 100 Top 20 in their respective years.

M.I.A.'s biggest solo hit came in the form of 2008's "Paper Planes," which landed at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rappers like Kid Cudi remixed the RIAA-certified triple-platinum track, proving her sound to be a mainstay in the hip-hop circuit. This was only solidified after T.I. and Jay-Z sampled the track for their 2008 Top 5 banger "Swagga Like Us," featuring Kanye West and Lil Wayne. The five rhymers performed the hit at the 51st annual Grammy Awards ceremony in 2009 after taking home the Grammy for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group—a nine-months pregnant M.I.A. undoubtedly stole the show.

Lately, M.I.A has appeared on several hip-hop albums, including A$AP Rocky's At.Long.Last.A$AP on "Fine Whine" and N.E.R.D.'s No_One Ever Really Dies on "Kites" with Kendrick Lamar in 2017.

Happy Birthday, M.I.A.!

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