M.I.A. Unimpressed With Beyoncé's #BlackLivesMatter Support: 'It's Not A New Thing To Me'

Beyoncé’s most recent offering, ‘Formation’, was the most political declaration of her career so far, with its music video supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, and its accompanying performance at the 2016 Super Bowl courting controversy for its allusions to the Black Panthers.

However, while many were impressed to see Bey using her platform to champion a cause close to her heart, it seems rapper M.I.A. has a rather different opinion on the matter.

Instead, she feels that artists like Beyoncé, as well as Kendrick Lamar, could be championing other causes, claiming the Black Lives Matter is “not a new thing”.

Speaking to ES magazine, she explained: “It's interesting that in America the problem you're allowed to talk about is Black Lives Matter.

"It's not a new thing to me - it's what Lauryn Hill was saying in the 1990s, or Public Enemy in the 1980s. Is Beyoncé or Kendrick Lamar going to say Muslim Lives Matter? Or Syrian Lives Matter? Or this kid in Pakistan matters? That's a more interesting question.

"And you cannot ask it on a song that's on Apple, you cannot ask it on an American TV programme, you cannot create a tag on Twitter, Michelle Obama isn't going to hump you back."

M.I.A. - who was raised in Sri Lanka before moving to India and eventually London as a child - has used her music to highlight the refugee crisis, most notably in her ‘Borders’ music video last year.

Read her full interview for yourself in the new issue of ES Magazine, out now.