Swagga Like Her

MIA and her swagga at the Grammy Awards.

MIA is the type of girl girls need. I want to frame photos of her and put them up in school auditoriums across the nation. I want to nominate her for Secretary of Womanhood Done Right and appoint her to a Global Office of Girl Power. She's a singular sensation full of great beats and lyrics that slip substance in through the side door of catchy, clever, dancey songs. And she rocks a pregnant belly better than any mama-to-be I've seen in a long time. No one on the corner's got swagga like her: smart, gorgeous, feminine, tough, and totally unafraid to wear whatever the heck she feels like. I salute her. MIA 2016. Here's more evidence for my case:

M.I.A. sounds off
by CNN_International

I'm so happy that she is procreating.

Advanced Screening

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See-Line Woman

There almost aren't words for how much I love Nina Simone. Almost. The High Priestess of Soul sang emotion into songs like no one else. Whether it was her exuberant joy or bone-breaking sadness, you can feel it hit your eardrums and go straight for your gut. Her music is simple and made of pure talent, it defies time and genre. Today Simone's songs are inspiring fresh art. The contemporary remixes of her older works are some of my favorite sonic experiences and shouldn't be missed, but nothing compares to Ms. Simone doing Ms. Simone. With a glittering shimmy, a sly shake, and a firm grasp on everyone around her, Nina takes her song "See-Line Woman" for a live ride:

I love how much she's glittering, but how tough she's being. This video only confirms my theory that everyone needs a little Nina in their lives, even babies. If you've got a tiny tot to dress, get them in a Nina Simone onesie from Reckon pronto.

They'll be shimmying and shaking in no time. Well, they'll probably do that anyway, but now they'll look super-cool doing it!

You Know You Rock When...

You know why I love M.I.A.? Well, there are many reasons, but for today I love her because she can sport anything--even a big ol' baby belly--like it's the thing to rock. I mean I almost want a bump of my own as an outfit accessory after seeing her in this photo. Ok, ok, not really. Almost.

The other reason I'm loving on her today? The above photo of Ms. M.I.A. with the boys from MGMT is from GQ's Men of the Year issue which hits newsstands today. She's obviously not a man. That's how cool she is. She defies gender. She is the man.

Need more convincing? This'll do it:

I apologize that you had to watch that crazy man/child in the glittery golden hat, but M.I.A. teaching kids to dance is worth it.

Image: Mark Seliger for GQ

Rock Out With Your Baby Bump Out!

M.I.A. makes a preggers belly the hottest shiz to pop since her debut album.

I love me some M.I.A. and you know that baby is gonna be born with a platinum mike in her hand. Sending congrats her way. Pitchfork has an interview with the child bearing beatstress queued up for Wednesday. Don't miss it, aight?

Image: Kathryn Yu for Pitchfork Media.com