Metrics: Your queen to be

ATG sizes it all up.

Through 2007's universally hailed Kala, Sri Lankan-born crossover starlet, M.I.A., has become a dominating figure in the indie world. Her rhymes lean on the sort of organic tip, mostly accompanying asides over her dense, worldy beats.

Yeah bro, she's pretty out there.

Despite prominent soundtrack roles on summer blockbusters and Oscar season contenders, her long-overdue hip-hop credentials weren't validated until Sunday night's massive a-list Grammy gig. The Kanye West-conceived "Swagga Like Us," initially, sampled "Paper Planes" not as homage but ridicule: no no honey, no one on the corner has swagga like us.

For hip-hop fans weaned on Pete Rock's drums over concrete machismo (myself included), her music is a bitter pill, an acquired taste at best. The game didn't think twice about her critical slam dunks, though we should have used said accolades to pad stats.

Sunday night M.I.A. stood there looking imposing and pregnant, singing a looped sample, but her presence spoke volumes; her host genre came around. The commercial and critical apex of the moment (Hova, West, T.I., Weezy) made room.

To this, ATG says, "it's about fucking time."

There was a period ten years ago when Foxy Brown and Lil Kim exchanged blows and sales spikes, feuding over the title of queen bee. Today they couldn't make the final roster on an "I Love Money" team.

Since, I dunno, 2002, Missy Elliott's genius reigned and she's been the default queen of hip-hop. Missy attacked gender roles through Hype Williams' fish eye lens, but as her stacks and hits piled, she slid back to the management, production end of her empire where she resides today.

M.I.A. is a breath of fresh air in a fresh pair. A Parliament-Funkadelic castaway badass with sonic chops. Her confrontational (if evasive) political sympathies are, simplistically put, the most badass thing about her. Homegirl is down with a terrorist group of Sri Lankan rebels on the United States' shit list and she got on the Grammys, the most cookie-cutter, weiner-ass suckfest in entertainment. 

Truthfully, her actual rapping is mood-oriented filler, but I'll take her attitude, outlook and total package over, well, anyone else.

Long live the queen of hip-hop.

- Ramon Ramirez