Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism and Vicki Leekx: Difference between pages
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{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Vicki Leekx
| type = Mixtape
| artist = [[M.I.A. (artist)|M.I.A.]]
| cover = Vicki-leekx-tracklisting.jpg
| border = yes
| alt =
| released = 31 December 2010
| recorded = 2010
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Dance music|Dance]]<ref name="Pitchfork" />
* [[electronic music|electronic]]
* [[hip hop music|hip hop]]
}}
| length = 36:17
| label =
| producer = {{hlist|[[Danja (musician)|Danja]]|[[Munchi (DJ)|Munchi]]|[[M.I.A. (artist)|M.I.A.]]|[[Diplo (DJ)|Diplo]]|[[Blaqstarr]]|[[Switch (house DJ)|Switch]]|[[Rusko (musician)|Rusko]]|VIIXIIV (Sugu Arulpragasam)|So Japan}}
| prev_title = [[Maya (M.I.A. album)|Maya]]
| prev_year = 2010
| next_title = [[Matangi (album)|Matangi]]
| next_year = 2013
}}
'''''Vicki Leekx''''' is the second [[mixtape]] by British recording artist [[M.I.A. (artist)|M.I.A.]]. It was released on 31 December 2010. Following the release of her album ''[[Maya (M.I.A. album)|Maya]]'' earlier in 2010, M.I.A. announced she would be releasing a mixtape on the final day of the year. ''Vicki Leekx'' incorporates reworked versions of tracks from ''Maya'' alongside new material, and was reported as having been inspired by the 2010 [[WikiLeaks]] controversy, although much of its content is not politically inspired.
==Background==
[[File:Miamayatour2011peaceandlovea.jpg|upright|left|thumb|M.I.A. performing in 2011]]
M.I.A. released her third album ''[[Maya (M.I.A. album)|Maya]]'' in July 2010 to mixed reviews.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/music-hub/2010/jul/23/gig-alerts-mia/|title=Gig Alerts: M.I.A.|first=Alana|last=Harper|date=23 July 2010|access-date=28 July 2010|publisher=[[WNYC]] Radio|work=The Culture Site|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725223808/http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/music-hub/2010/jul/23/gig-alerts-mia/|archive-date=25 July 2011|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/07/27/2010-07-27_mia_offers_free_nyc_show_in_response_to_disastrous_hard_performance_on_governors.html|title=M.I.A. offers free NYC show in response to disastrous Hard NYC performance on Governors Island|first=Anthony|last=Benigno|date=28 July 2010|access-date=28 July 2010|publisher=[[Daily News (New York)|New York Daily News]]|work=New York Daily News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/07/taking_sides_is_the_mia_backla.html|title=Taking sides: Is the M.I.A. backlash a result of truffle fry angst or crummy songs?|last=Price|first=Allison M.|date=15 July 2010|access-date=28 July 2010|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> In early December, she announced on Twitter that she would be following it up with a [[mixtape]] to be released on 31 December, stating "vicky leekx {{sic}} mixtape coming new years eve! layin bad minds to rest 2010!" The mixtape was uploaded online from [[Bangkok]], Thailand, after she sent it via [[YouSendIt]] to a friend,<ref name="3newsmia">{{Cite episode|title=Big Day Out interview – MIA – Entertainment – Video – 3 News|series=3 News|credits=David Farrier (Interviewer), M.I.A. (Interviewee)|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-interview---MIA/tabid/312/articleID/195201/Default.aspx|location=Auckland, New Zealand|network=[[3 News]], [[TV3 (New Zealand)|TV3]]|airdate=20 January 2011|minutes=20:50|access-date=28 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714224427/http://www.3news.co.nz/Big-Day-Out-interview---MIA/tabid/312/articleID/195201/Default.aspx|archive-date=14 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> stating "VICKILEEKX up/loaded in BANGKOK! thank u, for being a dope ass people/city. cant seem to leave please kick me out! or i wont go!" [[Exclaim!]] writer Josiah Hughes contended that the latter portion of the message referred to events which had occurred during the year including the album's mixed reviews and her clashes with journalists and former collaborator [[Diplo (DJ)|Diplo]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/News/mi_plans_ivicky_leekz_i_mixtape_for_new_years_eve|title=M.I.A. Plans Vicky Leekx Mixtape for New Year's Eve|work=[[Exclaim!]]|date=3 December 2010|access-date=19 January 2011|first=Josiah|last=Hughes}}</ref>
Shortly before Christmas, the website vickileekx.com began displaying a countdown to the mixtape's release in the form of animated water rising up a dateline, and on 30 December M.I.A. uploaded a [[TwitPic]] showing the track listing and credits.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://idolator.com/5729012/mia-vicki-leekx-tracklisting|title=M.I.A. Decides To Keep With Internet Theme For 'Vikki Leekx' Tracklisting|work=[[Idolator (website)|Idolator]]|publisher=[[Buzz Media]]|date=30 December 2010|access-date=21 January 2011|first=Erika|last=Brooks Adickman}}</ref> Zach Baron, writing for ''[[The Village Voice]]'', contended that the singer deliberately chose to release the mixtape at the point in the year when internet traffic is traditionally at its lowest, so as "not to feed the online content machines that chewed her up this year".<ref name="VV" /> In 2011, M.I.A. shared a demo of the song "27", which she had initially planned to include on ''Vicki Leekx''. The song was a tribute to [[Amy Winehouse]], who had recently died and joined the [[27 Club|titular club]] of musicians who have died at that age.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |date=2011-07-24 |title=M.I.A. Posts Amy Winehouse Tribute Track, '27' |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mia-posts-amy-winehouse-tribute-track-27-469110/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Music and lyrics==
The material included reworked tracks and out-takes from ''Maya'',<ref name="VV">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.villagevoice.com/music/2011/01/mias_vicki_leek.php|title=M.I.A.'s ViCKi LEEKX Mixtape: A 2010 Victory Lap and a Notice To The Haters|first=Zach|last=Baron|work=[[The Village Voice]]|date=3 January 2011|access-date=19 January 2011}}</ref> with previously unreleased material.<ref name="Indy">{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-catch-mias-mixtape-if-you-can-2177871.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220817/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/caught-in-the-net-catch-mias-mixtape-if-you-can-2177871.html |archive-date=17 August 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Caught in the Net: Catch M.I.A's mixtape if you can|first=Larry|last=Ryan|date=7 January 2011|access-date=24 January 2011|work=[[The Independent]]}}</ref> Some of the tracks, including "Let Me Hump You" and "Gen-N-E-Y", had been made available by M.I.A. earlier in the year at a series of website addresses.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/MI-Lemme_Hump_You_ft_Blaqstarr|title=M.I.A."Lemme Hump You" (ft. Blaqstarr)|work=[[Exclaim!]]|first=Gregory|last=Adams|date=30 September 2010|access-date=13 January 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004153419/http://exclaim.ca/MusicVideo/ClickHear/MI-Lemme_Hump_You_ft_Blaqstarr|archive-date=4 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="spin">{{cite web|url=https://www.spin.com/2010/12/free-download-mias-wild-new-mixtape/|title=Free Download: M.I.A.'s Wild New Mixtape|work=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]|first=kevin|last=O'Donnell|date=31 December 2010|access-date=26 January 2011}}</ref> The tracks "Meds and Feds" and "Steppin' Up" from ''Maya'' appear in radically altered forms, including the removal of the heavy guitar played by Derek E. Miller of the group [[Sleigh Bells (band)|Sleigh Bells]] on the original version of the former.<ref name="Popmatters" /> A reworked version of "[[Bad Girls (M.I.A. song)|Bad Girls]]" was later released as a single and included on her 2013 album ''[[Matangi (album)|Matangi]]''.<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Lipshutz |first=Jason |date=2012-01-30 |title=M.I.A. Returns with 'Bad Girls' Single: Listen |url=https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/mia-returns-with-bad-girls-single-listen-508296/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |magazine=Billboard |language=en-US}}</ref>
{{Listen
| pos = right
| filename = Vicki Leekx.ogg
| title = ''Vicki Leekx''
| description = The mixtape features heavy percussion, [[Auto-Tune]]d vocals, and contains attacks on "imitators, haters, and [...] psychos" and "bitches who are fame hoes".
}}
A number of reviewers made a connection between the mixtape's title and the 2010 [[WikiLeaks]] controversy.<ref name="Indy" /><ref name="LAT">{{cite web|url=http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2010/12/mia-releases-new-wikileaks-inspired-mixtape-vicki-leekx.html|title=M.I.A. releases new Wikileaks-inspired mixtape, Vicki Leekx|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=31 December 2010|access-date=24 January 2011|first=Randall|last=Roberts}}</ref> Although the mix opens with a quote about the leaking of information and subsequent legal and political attacks from [[Julian Assange]], founder of Wikileaks, delivered by a female voice,<ref name="LAT" /><ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/948593/billboard-bits-chris-brown-reveals-more-collabs-mia-drops-vicki-leekx-mixtape|title=Billboard Bits: Chris Brown Reveals More Collabs, M.I.A. Drops 'Vicki Leekx' Mixtape|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=31 December 2010|access-date=24 January 2011|first=Monica|last=Herrera}}</ref> much of the content is not related to the controversy or politically themed.<ref name="Pitchfork" /> Musically, the mixtape is less abrasive in style than the [[industrial music|industrial]]-influenced ''Maya'', but the lyrics contain a number of attacks on "imitators, haters, and [...] psychos" and "bitches who are fame hoes".<ref name="VV" /> The female voice heard at the start, identified by reviewers as the "title character", returns sporadically during the mix speaking internet slogans.<ref name="Pitchfork" /> At different points the music incorporates heavy percussion, [[Auto-Tune]]d vocals, and "[[Bhangra (music)|bhangra]]-style" sounds similar to those heard on her second studio album ''[[Kala (album)|Kala]].''<ref name="spin" /> Most of the mix is at a high tempo, although it slows towards the end, where the longest sections are found.<ref name="Popmatters" /><ref name="Pitchfork" />
==Release and reception==
<!--DO NOT REMOVE ALBUM RATINGS TEMPLATE. MAXIMUM TEN REVIEWS.-->
{{Music ratings
| MC = 75/100<ref name="mc">{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/vicki-leekx/mia|title=Reviews for Vicki Leekx by M.I.A.|work=[[Metacritic]]|date=31 December 2010|access-date=16 September 2016}}</ref>
| rev1 = ''[[Consequence of Sound]]''
| rev1Score = C−<ref>{{cite web|last=Young|first=Alex|date=19 January 2011|url=http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/01/album-review-m-i-a-vicki-leekx-mixtape/|title=M.I.A. – Vicki Leekx Mixtape|website=[[Consequence of Sound]]|access-date=17 December 2014}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[MSN Music]]'' ([[Robert Christgau#Consumer Guide|Expert Witness]])
| rev2Score = B+<ref name="Christgau"/>
| rev3 = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev3Score = 7.8/10<ref name="Pitchfork">{{cite web |last=Breihan |first=Tom |date=7 January 2011 |title=Pitchfork: Album reviews: M.I.A.: Vicki Leekx |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14970-vicki-leekx/ |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=7 January 2011}}</ref>
| rev4 = ''[[PopMatters]]''
| rev4Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Popmatters">{{cite web | url = http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/135862-m.i.a.-vicki-leekx/ | title = M.I.A.: ViCKi LEEKX | access-date = 21 February 2011| last = Schiller | first = Mike | date = 21 January 2011 | website = [[PopMatters]]}}</ref>
| rev5 = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev5Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{cite magazine | url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/vicki-leekx-20110104 | title = Vicki Leex by M.I.A. | access-date = 21 February 2011 | last = Sheffield | first = Rob | date = 4 January 2011 | magazine = [[Rolling Stone]]}}</ref>
| rev6 = ''[[Slant Magazine]]''
| rev6Score = {{rating|3.5|5}}<ref name="Slant">{{cite web |last=Cole |first=Matthew |date=7 January 2011 |title=M.I.A.: Vicki Leekx – Music Review |url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/m-i-a-vicki-leekx/2353 |work=[[Slant Magazine]] |access-date=8 January 2011}}</ref>
| rev7 = ''Sputnikmusic''
| rev7Score = {{rating|4|5}}<ref name="Sputnik"/>
}}
''Vicki Leekx'' has been downloadable for free since 31 December 2010.<ref name="Sputnik"/> In 2021, M.I.A. released the song "Babylon" and auctioned it as a [[non-fungible token]] alongside an extended version of ''Vicki Leekx'', with proceeds going to the [[Courage Foundation]].<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2021-11-12 |title=M.I.A. Reveals New Song 'Babylon' That's Up for NFT Auction |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/m-i-a-new-song-babylon-nft-auction-1257244/ |access-date=2024-10-23 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref>
In its review of the mixtape, Sputnikmusic commented that "Maya Arulpragasam might have had a rough year, but with ''Vicki Leekx'', she's ended it with a bang".<ref name="Sputnik">{{cite web |last=Tao |first=Conrad |date=31 December 2010 |title=Maya's got mujahadeen, can't sing, and ends the year with a bang. |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/40982/M.I.A.-VICKI-LEEKX/ |work=Sputnikmusic |access-date=1 January 2011}}</ref> Tom Breihan, a writer from ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', commented that in "its brief onslaught of sneery fun, ''Vicki Leekx'' only occasionally reaches the dizzy pop heights of ''[[Arular]]'' and ''[[Kala (album)|Kala]]''. But it does give us an M.I.A. who, once again, seems to be having a blast doing what she's doing. And it's great to learn this M.I.A. still exists".<ref name="Pitchfork" /> The track "Bad Girls" was listed as "Best New Music" by the same website.<ref name="PitchforkBadGirls">{{cite web |last=Lambert |first=Molly |date=30 January 2012 |title=M.I.A.: "Bad Girls" Track Review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/12074-mia-bad-girls/ |work=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |access-date=28 July 2024}}</ref>
Matthew Cole, reviewing the mixtape in ''[[Slant Magazine]]'', described ''[[Maya (M.I.A. album)|Maya]]'' as "an act of musical self-immolation from a self-styled outsider uncomfortable with her own marketability" but that ''Vicki Leekx'' was an "ensuing ground-zero dance party" to follow up such a "levelling of her image".<ref name="Slant"/> Mike Schiller, writing for webzine ''[[PopMatters]]'', was positive in his review but stated that the mix sounded like "an artist throwing ideas at a wall and seeing what sticks".<ref name="Popmatters" /> In consumer guide for [[MSN Music]], critic [[Robert Christgau]] gave ''Vicki Leekx'' a B+ rating,<ref name="Christgau">{{cite web |last=Christgau |first=Robert |date=11 March 2011 |title=Buck 65/M.I.A. |url=http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/expert-witness-blogpost.aspx?post=18be6608-1dac-4613-a254-edf9597a1248 |work=[[MSN Music]] |access-date=12 March 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110405051806/http://social.entertainment.msn.com/music/blogs/expert-witness-blogpost.aspx?post=18be6608-1dac-4613-a254-edf9597a1248 |archive-date=5 April 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> indicating "remarkable one way or another, yet also flirts with the humdrum or the half-assed".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg90/grades-90s.php |title=CG 90s: Key to Icons |last=Christgau |first=Robert |publisher=[[Robert Christgau]] |date=15 October 2000 |access-date=12 March 2011}}</ref>
==Track listing==
Although the mixtape consists of a single 36-minute file, the artwork released to accompany it lists twenty "tracks".<ref name="vickileekxtracklist" />
{{Track listing
| title1 = Intro
| length1 = 0:16
| title2 = The World
| length2 = 1:58
| title3 = Bamboo Go
| length3 = 0:58
| title4 = Illy Girl
| length4 = 0:46
| title5 = Super Tight
| length5 = 1:27
| title6 = Let Me Hump You
| length6 = 2:10
| title7 = WWW/Meds/Feds
| length7 = 1:57
| title8 = Steppin/Up
| length8 = 1:01
| title9 = Go at It
| length9 = 1:32
| title10 = Vicki Intermission
| length10 = 0:20
| title11 = Gen -N-E-Y
| length11 = 3:05
| title12 = [[Bad Girls (M.I.A. song)|Bad Girls]]
| length12 = 2:13
| title13 = Dutch Dutch
| length13 = 0:19
| title14 = Marsha/Britney
| length14 = 2:16
| title15 = Tamil Beat Munchi
| length15 = 1:17
| title16 = Listen Up
| length16 = 2:48
| title17 = Mudersounds Munchi
| length17 = 2:30
| title18 = Overdrive
| length18 = 3:12
| title19 = You My Love
| length19 = 3:08
| note19 = featuring Rosaly
| title20 = Get Around
| length20 = 3:28
}}
==Personnel==
The artwork released to accompany the mixtape credits the producers, listed as M.I.A. herself, [[Danja (musician)|Danja]], Munchi, [[Diplo (DJ)|Diplo]], [[Blaqstarr]], [[Switch (house DJ)|Switch]], [[Rusko (musician)|Rusko]], VIIXIIV (a pseudonym for her brother Sugu Arulpragasam) and So Japan, and featured vocals by Rosaly Pfeffer, credited [[mononym]]ously as Rosaly.<ref name="vickileekxtracklist">{{cite web | url=http://www.rap-up.com/2010/12/30/tracklisting-mia-vicki-leekx-mixtape/|title= Tracklisting: M.I.A. – 'Vicki Leekx' (Mixtape)|access-date= 30 December 2010 | work= [[Rap-Up]]}}</ref> The name of [[Future Brown|Nguzunguzu]], a duo which includes Asma Maroof, M.I.A.'s tour DJ,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/2010/11/todays_new_releases_hanni_el_k.php|title=Today's New Releases: Hanni El Khatib, Nguzunguzu, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Complete Anthology of American Folk Music|first=Lainna|last=Fader|work=[[LA Weekly]]|date=30 November 2010|access-date=19 January 2011}}</ref> is also prominently displayed, although it is unclear what involvement the duo had in the project.
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{M.I.A.}}
{{Authority control}}
[[Category:Albums produced by M.I.A. (rapper)]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Diplo]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Danja (record producer)]]
[[Category:M.I.A. (rapper) albums]]
[[Category:2010 mixtape albums]]
[[Category:Albums free for download by copyright owner]]
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