"Teqkilla" is a song by British recording artist

M.I.A. Mia, Mía, MIA, or M.I.A. may refer to: Music Artists * M.I.A. (rapper) (born 1975), English rapper and singer * M.I.A. (American band), 1980s punk rock band from Orange County, California * MIA. (German band), a German rock/pop band formed in ...

from her third studio album, ''

Maya Maya may refer to: Ethnic groups * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Mayan languages, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (East Africa), a p ...

'' (2010). The track was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam,

Rusko Rusko () is a municipality of Finland. It is located in Western Finland and is part of the Southwest Finland region. The municipality has a population of () and covers an area of of which is water. The population density Population densi ...

Switch In electrical engineering, a switch is an electrical component that can disconnect or connect the conducting path in an electrical circuit, interrupting the electric current or diverting it from one conductor to another. The most common type o ...

, John Hill and Cherry Byron-Withers. Production of the song was handled by M.I.A., Rusko, Switch and Hill. The song references

alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...

and

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...

in its lyrics. M.I.A. namechecks several brands of alcohol, notably

Chivas Regal Chivas Regal () is a blended Scotch whisky produced by the Chivas Brothers subsidiary of Pernod Ricard in Scotland. History Chivas Regal was created in 1909 by Chivas Brothers Master Blender Charles Stewart Howard as a 25-year-old luxury wh ...

, owned by

Seagram The Seagram Company Ltd. (which trade name, traded as Seagram's) was a Canadian multinational beverage and during the last few years of its existence, entertainment Conglomerate (company), conglomerate formerly headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. ...

, which in turn belonged to her then-fiancé

Benjamin Bronfman Benjamin Zachary Bronfman (born August 6, 1982) is an American businessman and musician. Bronfman is a founding partner and board member of Global Thermostat, a direct air capture company that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Early ...

's family. The song was released worldwide as a

digital download Digital download may refer to: *Downloading, the processing of copying data to a computer from an external source *Digital distribution, a method of downloading software or audio-visual media as opposed to buying it at a traditional point of sale * ...

, under license to

XL Recordings XL Recordings is a British independent record label founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes. It has been run and co-owned by Richard Russell since 1996. It forms part of the Beggars Group. It releases an average of six albums a year. T ...

and

N.E.E.T. Recordings N.E.E.T. Recordings was a vanity record label of Sri Lankan English hip hop recording artist M.I.A. as an imprint of Interscope Records in 2008. N.E.E.T. is an acronym for " Not in Education, Employment or Training". The first artist signed to ...

, on 16 June 2010 as the fourth single from the album. The 'Lost My Fone Out wiv Nicki Minaj Remix' of the song was made available in July 2010, and features a guest verse by

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

. M.I.A. performed "Teqkilla" at the

2010 Scream Awards Billed as ''Scream 2010'', the 2010 ceremony of the Scream Awards, run by Spike TV, was the fifth annual iteration of the awards. The awards ceremony was held on Saturday, 16 October 2010 at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and was broadcast ...

, and during the Maya Tour in 2010 and 2011. No music video was made for the single.

Critical response

The track received mixed opinions from music critics. It has been described as "a little insubstantial" and a "throwaway", and its lyrics referred to as "inane" and "nonsense". Some also criticized the track's running time of over 6 minutes. On the other hand, "Teqkilla" was noted for its "rousing beat" and "catchy chorus", and named not only "one of the better songs from the album", but also one of the 10 best M.I.A. songs ever.

Track listing

;Digital download # "Teqkilla" – 6:19

Charts

Release history

References

{{M.I.A. 2010 singles 2010 songs Electronic songs Industrial hip-hop songs M.I.A. (rapper) songs Songs about alcohol Songs written by M.I.A. (rapper) XL Recordings singles Songs written by Switch (songwriter) Songs written by John Hill (record producer) N.E.E.T. Recordings singles