M.I.A. is returning with a new album, M.I.7, and the first single, “Everything,” is out now.
The project arrives April 17, and it’s being framed as a full-on faith record. According to the release, M.I.7 is “rooted in prayer, the Book of Revelation and the Ark of the Covenant,” and it features the Sunday Service gospel choir.
M.I.A.’s move toward explicitly Christian music also doesn’t come out of nowhere. Back in 2022, she spoke to RELEVANT about her conversion, saying a vision of Jesus in 2017 led her to become a born-again Christian.
“Even when I had no belief in Jesus Christ and Christianity, and even when I was 100 percent comfortable in Hinduism, it was a Christian God that turned up to save me,” she said.
So while M.I.7 may be a surprising release on paper, it is also the clearest sign yet that M.I.A. is turning that spiritual shift into music. Instead of just referencing her faith in interviews, she is now building an entire album around it.
M.I.A. has also drawn criticism in recent years for some of her public comments, which include spreading 5G-conspiracies and making sveral anti-vax comments.
The album follows 2022’s Mata and is split into 16 tracks, even though M.I.A. has described it as seven “songs.” Along with the new release, she is also preparing to head out on tour with Kid Cudi this spring.
