Kala (album)

Kala (album)

Kala is the second studio album by British Tamil musician M.I.A., released in August 2007. The album features musical styles ranging from dance music to alternative hip hop and makes extensive use of world music, particularly South Asian music such as that of the urumee, a drum used in gaana music native to Tamil Nadu, India. It was mainly written and produced by M.I.A. and Switch, and features contributions from Timbaland, Diplo, Afrikan Boy and The Wilcannia Mob.

M.I.A. named the album after her mother, in contrast to her first album Arular, which was named after her father, and stated that her mother's struggles in life are a major theme of the recording. She began recording the album in early 2006 and worked on the tracks in various locations around the world, including India, Jamaica, Australia, Liberia and Trinidad. Planned sessions in the United States failed to occur, after M.I.A. was refused a long-term work visa to enter the country.

Kala was ranked as one of the best albums of the year by several publications. It reached number 18 on the Billboard 200 chart, 172 places higher than Arular, and topped the magazine's Top Electronic Albums chart. In the United Kingdom it reached number 39 on the UK Albums Chart, 59 places higher than her debut album. Kala has spawned the singles "Boyz", "Jimmy" and "Paper Planes".