2005 saw a run on baile funk-– ramshackle Miami Bass and bluster from Brazilian teen MC's-- supported by very little context other than how well Edu K blended into Tone Loc. I tried, probably too hard. It's just music, maybe, but what can I say, I was trying to impress M.I.A.

In retrospect, her buddy Diplo-- who released his own favela funk mix-- is looking less like the hipster Oakenfold and more like the Alan Lomax of peoples on the verge. First, his dalliances with Ms. Arulpragasam put her sloganeering naiveté on blast, but backed her with a distractingly inventive mix of all things hot. Nerds loved it, loved her. And, because of a mixtape, people knew where Sri Lanka was. Arular came quick and doused the flames of internet hateration of her political convictions by revealing her as the estranged daughter of a Tamil freedom terrorist and not just some art school dilettante. Much easier to handle her raised fist when it's a tribute to Daddy and not, say, "Bulls On Parade." Ultimately, though, she was discounted for selling her music to Honda and not Apple, like a proper revolutionary, and this by critics who thought Eminem's "Mosh" was a bold political statement. Still, Arular was one of 2005's best, and that was before things got really weird at Dad's house. If she was green and gawky during her intro, let's see what age and worsening conditions in Sri Lanka might do to her approach. Maybe the Bomb Squad will come out of retirement.

As M.I.A. lays in wait, Diplo continues his run on Brasil, signing Bonde Do Role to his new label, Mad Decent (make sure to subscribe to his podcast), executive producing a documentary on Rio's favela music scene, and playing shows in Sao Paulo this weekend (April 19, 21). He should probably call his publicist on that last one. SP's been murkolating since last Friday, imprisoned gang bosses launching large-scale mayhem via smuggled-cell phone correspondences (What you know, Queen Bee?) as a reaction to the government's transfer of a gang leader and several hundred other prisoners to a remote facility. For perspective, this multiplied city-wide and this in every prison. Bodying cops and civilians, razing public buses, taking over penitentiaries, and holding hostages at shiv-point. All told, 115 dead, including 32 police officers, a handful of regular people, and a shitload of poor kids. In order to regain order and control of the city, SP police swept through the slums on Monday and Tuesday, killing 70 gang members and arresting another 113. The prison uprisings were also quelled, and all hostages were released. I assume the prisoners just went back to playing hackysack in the yard since the authorities didn't release any details.

Good luck, Wesley aka Diplodocus aka That Shook Dude in Brazil.

UPDATE: MIA denied entry into USA. I guess INS takes her lyrics more seriously than ILM.

And, realizing the Edu K reference was random, here's a video for the Solid Groove remix of his, "Sex-O-Matic." The unofficial video, with footage of bizarre avian mating rituals, is a clever enough metaphor and preferable to the ass-on-teenboy-face of the original, which gets really boring after 50 viewings.