M.I.A. has announced that her first album since 2016's AIM is called MATA and due this year via her new label home, Island Records. The first single is "The One," which was produced by Rex Kudo (Post Malone, Juice WRLD, etc) and T-Minus (Drake, Kendrick Lamar, etc), and here's what she said to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 about it:

I was in a really happy place. And I know that it was the pandemic, and kind of everything was hitting the fan, but I'd got to a place that was really happy. I did want to make that nice, happy record. Almost like the record that everyone wanted you to make when you made Paper Planes. Then everyone's like, "Why the hell did you make Maya? That was such a depressing record.” In hindsight, it makes sense to people, but at the time everyone was like, "That's the worst record in the world." Now, I feel like, "Okay, well, you know that other record that everyone wanted? This is what it would've been.” I guess it is just about sticking to what you are and the truth. I think, at the end of the day, that is also what this record is about to me, is still trying to find truth. In a way, it's kind of rebellious because everybody's expecting me to put out that really havoc… Everyone's expecting that, but it's not, that's not what it is. It's about the battle of the ego versus you finding yourself and you finding the spiritual leader. Spirituality within, whatever form is given to you. I think that's really interesting, when you think everything, you get challenged by the universe. And that happened to me. Really I'm just here to share that.

About the new album overall, she added:

I think there's a bit of a battle on the record. That there is a bit of a clash, but the clash is like your ego and spirituality. Those are the clashes. Because as a musician, you need some ego, otherwise you can't do it. Also the genre of music that, genres I should say, is all very much like egocentric. It's not like I'm an artist that came through gospel or something. For me, it was like to have that journey, and also, it was a significant time to discuss like Islamophobia…talking about wars in the Middle East, and things like that.

Listen to the new song and view her list of upcoming tour dates below…

M.I.A. — 2022 Tour Dates
06-01 Stockholm, Sweden- Grona Lund
06-02 Funen, Denmark – Heartland Fest
06-10 Barcelona, Spain – Primavera Sound
06-11 Dijon, France – VYV Festival
06-12 Marseille, France – Marsatac Festival
06-17 Lyon, France – InVersion Festival
06-18 Montendre, France – Freemusic Festival
07-08 Oeiras, Portugal – NOS Alive
07-09 Biscay, Spain – BBK Bilbao Live