Indie music was making all sorts of bold moves in the later aughts as dance and hip-hop started weaving itself into the indie mainstream. The peak started in 2007 with artists like Bloc Party, MGMT, Arctic Monkeys, and most notably, the queen herself, M.I.A.

After releasing her debut Arular in 2005, the political activist musician was gaining recognition quickly in the indie AND mainstream world with singles like "Sunshowers" and "Galang."

In 2007, right on the heels of her sophomore album release, Kala, M.I.A was one of the most anticipated performers at Lollapalooza that year. Her set took place exactly 13 years ago today, on August 3rd, and she pulled together a 15-song setlist that featured songs off both records.

The set opened with her South Asian inspired dance hit "Bamboo Banga" and featured several songs off Kala like "World Town," "Jimmy," and most excitedly, the live debut of the record's hit single "Paper Planes."

While "Paper Planes" on the surface is an addicting, down-tempo hip hop track, M.I.A.'s lyrics are impactful and relatable to immigrants around the world. It describes her struggles with obtaining a work visa to get into the US due to the country's heavy discrimination toward immigrants from third world countries.

"I fly like paper, get high like planes / If you catch me at the border I got visas in my name / If you come around here I make 'em all day."

The song went on to become her most commercially successful hit. Watch her performing the anthem for the very first time, where she sang the song while climbing the stage's scaffolding -

See what other songs M.I.A. performed at Lolla that year:

Lollapalooza just threw a livestream event in lieu of a festival this year - check out the highlights over at our Lolla2020 Blog!