Kala

The London-via-Sri Lanka art-punk funkateer came on like she knew she was kind of a big deal, and backed up her bravado. M.I.A.’s second album restyled hip-hop as one big international block party, mixing up beatbox riddims, playground rhymes, left-field samples and gunshots. It’s a dance-off in a combat zone.

Kala’s cover artwork landed spot #43 of Billboard’s The 50 Greatest Album Covers Of All Time.