M.I.A. - Galang

What this video is

Released first as a 500-copy vinyl-only indie single in 2003, 'Galang' and its music video became one of the earliest documented cases of a song achieving viral international propagation via internet filesharing, MySpace, and club play before major-label distribution. The video's aesthetic — built from M.I.A.'s own Turner Prize-nominated visual art practice — fused Sri Lankan Tamil diaspora symbolism, London street…

Why it matters

A landmark artifact at the intersection of experimental hip-hop, dancehall, and electro, 'Galang' and its video defined a new visual grammar for the Global South diaspora art-pop genre. Its DIY fine-art aesthetic — unprecedented in mainstream music video production — demonstrated that an artist's…

The director

Ruben Samuel Fleischer (born October 31, 1974, Washington D.C.) is an American director who earned a history degree from Wesleyan University before entering the industry as a production assistant on Dawson's Creek and later assisting director Miguel Arteta.…