M.I.A. Talks Motherhood & Music

Singer/rapper M.I.A. is pregnant with her first child – she and her fiancé Benjamin Brewer will welcome their baby in February.  The 31-year-old jokes if she gets much bigger, she's going to have to wear kaftans but says she won't let impending birth slow her down.

M.I.A. (real name Mathangi Arulpragasam) is busy despite getting close to her due date.  She's got three songs on the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack and has launched a record label – N.E.E.T – to bring politically charged music to the forefront.

She recently spoke with USA Today via phone:

Q: Have you picked out baby names?
A: Not really. I need to see the baby and see who it is, what kind of personality it'll have. I need to give a name that is the character of the child. We're quite relaxed about the whole thing.

Q: And naturally, the kid will be a musician, right?
A: I think my baby is going to start off making club music. That's all I've been listening to. Of course, you never know. When you want someone to do something, it ends up doing the opposite. It might end up being an accountant. We actually don't want our kid to do music, so we're going to buy it loads of instruments … so that it will completely rebel and go the other way.

Q: How will motherhood change your music?
A: In one way I feel like you do feel more connected with the whole planet. You feel really across the board. When I sing, I have to be aware that someone can hear me inside. It's really strange. I definitely feel less angry.

Q: Has the film bug hit you, now that Slumdog Millionaire is getting Oscar attention?
A: I'd love to make a movie. I told Danny (Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire's director) that. I went to film school. I went to art school, but I studied film. That's always been one of my things. Still … music is so much easier because it's like an individual expression.

I think her baby bump is adorable!

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