"Yeah manmade power Stood like a tower Higher Higher, Hello And the higher you go you feel lower, oh I was close to the edge Staying undercover, staying undercover And with my nose to the ground I found my Sound"

"I'm here to paint what's written on your face Cause these are the days We are losing our ways To find better ways To say what nobody says"

"Do you know that cost of AKs Up in Africa 20 dollars ain't shit to you But that's how much they are So they gonna use the shit just to get far"

"All I want to do is [gunshots, cash register ring sounds] take your money... No one on the corner has swagga like us Hit me on the banner prepaid wireless We pack and deliver like UPS trucks Already going hell just pumping that gas."

"Can I get Control? Do you like me Vulnerable? I'm armed and I'm equal More fun for the people..."

"I bongo with my Lingo, Beat it like a wing yo From Congo to Columbo, Can't sterotype my thing yo"

"Who the hell is huntin' you? In the BMW How the hell they find you? 1 4 7'd you Feds gonna get you Pull the strings on the hood One Paranoid you Blazing through the Hood."

"Spike Jonze: "I met her right before she put out her first record, in 2005, and she insisted she wasn't a musician. To this day, she doesn't consider herself a musician. She has this wide range of talents and influences — she's a Sri Lankan refugee who didn't speak a word of English before she was 10, yet she's also a child of Chuck D and the Pixies and Fight Club and MySpace. There are no borders for her. She made me realize that you don't have to be from the West to have a favorite Biggie song. We are all listening to the same music. Last summer she was performing in Philadelphia, and she showed up at the venue, and it was an armory building. She felt kind of weird about it and decided she wasn't going to perform there unless she acknowledged that, so she found a group of Army veterans against the Iraq war and had them come and speak as her opening act. That's her mission — it's personal and evolving, focused but totally spontaneous. She's always for the underdog. And no matter how many times she's on the Grammys, she'll always see herself as the underdog.""

"Ruben Fleischer: "..The principle idea behind M.I.A.'s artwork is to have pretty heavy/political ideas, but to present them in a poppy candy-coated wrapper. So someone might buy her painting because it is pretty to the eye, and not necessarily consider that it is a rebellious image that she is presenting. However, after they've had it for a while, they might start to think - why do I have a pink tank on my wall? … I think that ["Galang"] is a very successful video in that we have true images of revolution playing on MTV. However, because there's lots of pretty colors and a pretty girl dancing, no one blinks an eye. Hopefully we have succeeded in subconsciously starting the revolution." May, 2005 [after directing music video for "Galang"]"

"Romain Gavras:"

"Mike Nichols: Interviewer: Are you going to the afterparty? Nichols: I don't know, is there another party, after the party? Interviewer: Yeah. After your dinner. Nichols: I didn't know that. I don't think I'm invited. Interviewer: Do you listen to M.I.A.? Nichols: Yes! [at MoMA "Party in the Garden" 2008]"

"Kat Graham:"

"Leighton Meester: "I like fun music, too, like M.I.A. She has good things to say.""

"David Hasselhoff: "M.I.A. is one of the hottest things around.""

"Danny Boyle: "When I use somebody's song in a film, I like them to see the movie, if possible, so they know how it's used. She came into the cutting room and watched it. You get a lot of people giving you notes on films when you're making them, and most of them are rubbish, to be honest. People might think they're good. Well, she came in told me the film was very good, but said, "Do you want some notes?" She gave me two specific notes, both of which we included in the film, essentially saying, "If you do that there, you'll understand why he gets on the show." She's very smart.""

"Claire Danes: "M.I.A. Sunshowers: It's impossible for me to resist dancing whenever I hear it.""

"Aziz Ansari: "I was like a little girl at a John Mayer concert. “She stole my heart, man. It’s too much: the talent, the beauty. It’s more than this little Aziz can take.” I approached M.I.A. after her show, speaking in our native Tamil (“We’ve got a lot in common. Not a big deal.”). I said "Romba Nalla Paatu" which translates to "very good songs". She smiled, got in her car, and left. She didn’t contact me or anything after that. I guess we didn’t exchange information.” “People keep asking if she’s called me and I keep telling them no." [http://niralimagazine.com/2007/04/comedic-giant/"

"A. R. Rahman: "She’s a real powerhouse...Somebody played me her CD and I thought, ‘Who is this girl? She came here and knew all my work, had followed my work for ages. I said, ‘Cut the crap, this “my idol” crap. You have to teach me.""

"M.I.A.: He looks like he always has gel in it. Hold on. [to taxi driver] Can you pull over, please? I’m at Notting Hill Gate station."

"GAVRAS: I’d love to have his hair. He has very good curly, shiny hair."

"M.I.A.: I’d love to raid his wardrobe."

"GAVRAS: Well, he’s bigger than a pop star. I mean, when he came to Paris in 2007, he was supposed to stay at the Hôtel de Marigny, which is the best hotel. But Gaddafi came with a tent. It was this huge flagged tent—just him and his army guards, who were all girls. They were in these crazy leopard outfits. I mean, Gaddafi is way better dressed than any pop star in the world."

"M.I.A.: If he were a pop star, he’d be, like, Prince or something."

"GAVRAS: Yeah, he’s the best-dressed man on the planet."

"M.I.A.: No. My fashion icon is Colonel [Muammar al-] Gaddafi, and he always has been. He’s rock ’n’ roll."

"The crow does not hide its prey, but calls for others to share it; So wealth will be with those of a like disposition."

"When no food is given to the ear, Then let a little be given to the stomach."

"The ignorant are like useless, brackish soil; They exist and that is all."

"Even the ignorant may appear very worthy, If they keep silent before the learned."

"The learned are said to have seeing eyes; The unlearned have only two sores on their faces."

"Whatever things a man gives up, By those he cannot suffer pain."

"Those who give way to great anger are like the dead: Those who are free from anger are free from death."

"Just as the hand that strikes the ground cannot fail, So is the ruin certain of him who cherishes anger."

"Anger kills both laughter and joy; What greater foe is there than anger?"

"Not every light is a true light; To the wise the light of truth is light itself."

"How can kindliness rule that man Who eateth other flesh to increase his own?"

"Real kindness seeks no return; What return can the world make to rain clouds?"

"To turn away a guest is poorest poverty; To bear with fools is mightiest might."

"The wound that’s made by fire will heal, But the wound that’s made by tongue will never heal."

"To use bitter words, when kind words are at hand, Is like picking unripe fruit when the ripe fruit is there."

"The gruel that children’s little hands have stirred Is sweeter than nectar."

"The worth of a wife is a man’s good fortune; His jewels are his good children."

"There is no greater wealth than Virtue, And no greater loss than to forget it."

"As the quality of water changes with the nature of the soil; So will a man’s reason vary with the quality of his friends."

"When you are about to badger the weak, Then imagine yourself before a more powerful man."

"All life will press palms together in prayerful adoration"

"How can he practice true compassion"

"If men must beg to live, May the Creator also go wandering and perish."

"Reasoning with a drunkard is like Going under water with a torch to seek for a drowning man."