Today marks the 15th anniversary of M.I.A.’s debut album Arular. While the album wasn’t as huge as its follow-up, Kala, it would eventually be considered one of her best by a number of publications. On top of being featured in the book, 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, Rolling Stone ranked Arular at No. 52 on its list of the 100 best albums of the 2000s. NME placed the album at No. 50 on their own best-of-2000s list, while Pitchfork gave it the No. 54 slot on theirs.
To celebrate the birthday, M.I.A. released a new song, called “OHMNI20209” — her first release since 2017’s “P.O.W.A.” Along with the track itself, M.I.A. delivered a message to fans, saying, “Free music to get you the f*ck up outta bed! Here’s the beginning.”
The song can be found on her Patreon account, which she launched earlier this year to deliver new content to fans. “I’m doing a Patreon, because I make so much stuff and record so many things that aren’t music and don’t fit on other platforms,” M.I.A. told Rolling Stone. “I’m still making music, putting out the 6th album which is nearly finished, on a normal label, same as the others.”
To hear “OHMNI20209,” visit M.I.A.’s Patreon page here.
