The popular mainstream artist has revealed that she had embraced Christianity after having a vision of Jesus, which she now believes to be "real."
Rapper M.I.A. is now a born-again Christian. This was the revelation made by the 46 year old recording artist Mathangi "Maya" Arulpragasam, who was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in London as a refugee with her family who fled the Sri Lankan Civil War. M.I.A., whose name means "Missing in Acton" referring to a town in London, shared in a recent interview that she had a vision of Jesus Christ in 2017 that turned her world upside down.
In a recent interview with Zane Lowe on Apple Music, M.I.A. recounted how that vision of Jesus convinced her to convert to Christianity despite being raised Tamil and Hindu. The artist explained, "Since then, my head has been in a totally different place. Being a Tamil and being a Hindu, I was very comfortable that I'd arrived finding myself. Which is, I think, going to be weird for America to process."
M.I.A. then revealed, "But I had a vision and I saw the vision of Jesus Christ."
Rapper Explains Her Experience of Seeing Christ for the First Time
M.I.A. described her experience of having a vision of Jesus Christ as a "very creatively a crazy thing" that turned her world "upside down." She remarked, "Everything I thought and believed was no longer the case," which she believed was a "sign that something major was going to happen in the world" and that people had to know Jesus Christ.
M.I.A. admitted that before having a vision of Jesus Christ, she believed the concept of Christianity was "basic." When Lowe asked her if she was a "born-again Christian now," the artist answered affirmatively. She explained further that when she experienced having a vision of Jesus Christ and converted to Christianity, she initially "couldn't let go of the Tamil side."
Christian Artist Explains Her Influences
M.I.A. was raised Hindu by her Sri Lankan Tamil parents. When she was just six months old, she and her family were displaced by the Sri Lankan Civil War, forcing them to flee to the United Kingdom as refugees. In 2000, she began her artistic career as a visual artist, filmmaker, and designer. Two years later, she launched her recording career.
For a time, however, M.I.A. was banned from entering the U.S. due to her controversial lyrics and alleged support for the Tamil Tigers, a Sri Lankan guerrilla group that the American government has labeled as a terrorist organization, the Christian Post reported. Now, the Christian artist is preparing to release her new record called "MATA" under her new label, Island Records. The first single off "MATA" is called "The One," which is now streaming. She shared that half of the new record is influenced by her childhood, but that the messaging will be informed by her Christian faith.
M.I.A. assured fans that, "I'm still me. That's still my language," and that the only thing that might have changed is her message, which was "to get to a peaceful place." She also recognized how some of her fans might reject her for being a Christian artist.
"If I'm coming back now saying 'Jesus is real,' there's a point," M.I.A. explained. "Basically, all of my fans might turn against me because they are all progressives who hate people that believe in Jesus Christ in this country."
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