M.I.A. Teams Up With Baauer On “Temple”: Listen

Maybe this is just me looking for parallels as I contemplate a writeup for this Baauer–M.I.A. collab, but the two have had somewhat similar career arcs. What I mean is, the similarities are there if you want them to be. Baauer became a viral sensation thanks to the “Harlem Shake” meme in 2013, and then he inevitably dropped out of mass consciousness almost as quickly. M.I.A. was hugely successful with “Paper Planes” in 2008, which was as viral as a song could get at a time when the very concept of going viral had, well, gone viral. And, it pains me to say this, but her impact on pop music has undoubtedly declined since then. The two artists have also worked with Diplo and thrive in a pan-cultural, globe-trotting space that sometimes gets them hit with accusations of cultural appropriation. So a collab makes sense.

They link up on “Temple,” which also features Korean rapper G-Dragon. It’s unsurprisingly a melting pot of sounds, so M.I.A. is right in her zone and fires off some mean bars. It’s off Baauer’s debut album Aa, which is finally out on Friday (March 18).

Hear it below.