M.I.A. awarded MBE in 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours
M.I.A. was named in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.
British rapper and popstar M.I.A. has been named Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire — MBE — as part of the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours. Birthday Honours are awarded to British citizens who are recognised for their significant contribution to British culture. M.I.A. is being honoured for her contribution to the arts, a career which has included albums such as Arular and Kala, singles like “Paper Planes” and “Bird Flu,” and, most recently, the documentary Matangi / Maya / M.I.A.
“I'm honoured to have this honour, as it means alot to my Mother,” M.I.A. wrote of the honours on Instagram, “She is one of the 2 women in England who hand stitched these medals for the last 30 years. After receiving asylum my mum and cousin took this job in 1986, because it was the only non English speaking manual labour she could find … No matter how I feel or what I think, my Mother was extremely proud of the job she had.”