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Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

M.I.A.

Tetragrammaton with Rick Rubin

Rick Rubin

Arts, Society & Culture, Philosophy

4.61.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 October 2025

⏱️ 121 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

M.I.A. is a music artist, producer, and creative force, known for blending electronic, hip-hop, and world music. Hailing from London with Sri Lankan roots, she gained international recognition with her debut album Arular and breakthrough hits like “Galang” and “Paper Planes.” Her later albums, including Kala and Matangi, continued to explore themes of identity, globalization, and politics through bold production and visual art. Beyond music, M.I.A. has directed films, exhibited artwork, and remained an outspoken advocate for refugee and immigrant rights. ------ Thank you to the sponsors that fuel our podcast and our team: Athletic Nicotine https://www.AthleticNicotine.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Squarespace https://Squarespace.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ LMNT Electrolytes https://DrinkLMNT.com/tetra Use code 'TETRA' ------ Sign up to receive Tetragrammaton Transmissions https://www.tetragrammaton.com/join-newsletter

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Tetragrammaton I was on this island and I had not much of a direction, but I was going to be a painter.

0:32.1

And I studied at St. Martens, and I was really into art and film.

0:36.2

But not music, really. But I was into music, but it was

0:39.9

there was not going to be your path. Yes, I was a hundred percent of music fan. Yes. I knew all of my

0:47.3

beats, all of my stuff, all of my artists, like even before I was a teenager, I would trek

0:52.3

like halfway across London to find the right to a inch. And I was a teenager, I would trek halfway across London to find the right 12 inch.

0:55.7

And I was obsessed. And even in London, when I would hang out or bunk school and explore London,

1:07.6

I would be drawn to meeting friends based on their music taste. Obviously, most teenagers

1:14.3

are, but I would hear, like, people play music out of their window, and I would literally

1:18.5

knock on their door and be like, hey, I want to be your friend, you know? Like, because there was

1:23.4

no phones, cell phones, or there's no other way of finding people back then.

1:29.0

So you would just walk down the street.

1:30.8

And if you knew that song is like a banging song.

1:35.3

If they're listening to that, that's someone I want to talk to.

1:38.8

Exactly.

1:39.3

And if you met people on the underground tubes and they were, wearing a t-shirt that said a certain song,

1:45.8

and you're like, okay, that's my best friend, do you know?

1:48.4

It was just like that.

1:49.6

So I realized that all of my life, like everyone I had around was met through this musical thing.

1:56.5

But I never wanted to be a musician.

1:58.1

But my musical friend, who was in a band, called Elastika,

2:03.8

she wanted to go somewhere.

...

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