MIA: 'Bad Girls' - Single review

"Live fast, die young/ Bad girls do it well," Maya Arulpragasam chants on the intro to her latest single. Given that it's a line loaded with the kind of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll fluff that most of today's chart hoggers are spouting, it was probably the last thing we expected to hear from the politically-minded Sri Lankan. Then again, it's also a line that few could pull off so spectacularly.

It's been a while since she stepped up to the role of hustleress - anyone remember 'Paper Planes' and 'XXXO'? - but 'Bad Girls' serves as a timely reminder that she can cook up a chart-friendly hit when and if she so chooses. "My chain hits my chest when I'm banging on the radio," she brags nonchalantly over a Middle Eastern hip-hop beat courtesy of Britney hitmaker Danja. It may be as controversial as a KitKat, but thankfully she's still ballsy enough to release this against her Madonna hook-up.

Watch the 'Bad Girls' music video below: