M.I.A. and the Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary

Three weeks ago hip hop artist, M.I.A. spoke about the on-going situation in Sri Lanka. M.I.A. spent much of her youth there as a member of Sri Lanka's minority Tamil population, which she says is the victim of "systematic genocide." Sri Lanka's Foreign Secretary, Dr. Palitha Kohona, who took exception to M.I.A.'s remarks.



AND CONGRADS TO M.I.A on her newborn son!!


M.I.A., who performed at the Grammy Awards last Sunday despite experiencing labor contractions, has given birth to a baby boy, she said on her MySpace page.

The unnamed baby was born on Wednesday, and is "healthy, fine, beautiful and the most amazing thing ever on this planet," according to her Web posting on Saturday.

The baby's father is musician Benjamin Brewer, son of Canadian liquor scion Edgar Bronfman, chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group. The location was not disclosed.

M.I.A., 31, whose real name is Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, was born in Britain but raised in Sri Lanka, where her father agitated for an independent Tamil state. She achieved fame with her second album "Kala," a cross-cultural mishmash of beats, slogans and lyrical drama. Her ubiquitous single "Paper Plane," which incorporates elements of an obscure Clash track, received a Grammy nomination for record of the year.