The Sri Lanka-bred, British-based dancehall sensation's tour is supporting her first major label album, "Arular," released in March on Interscope Records. The homebrew release "Piracy Funds Terrorism," in which she collaborated with mixtape specialist Diplo, became a club favorite last year.

M.I.A.--born Maya Arulpragasam--escaped Sri Lanka with her family during the height of civil war in that country. Her father--a civil engineer--joined the Tamil insurgency fighting the government, and the rest of her family fled to England, where she later attended art school and began performing in British dance and hop clubs.

She built the tracks for "Arular" on a simple sequencer in her own home, according to an interview on National Public Radio, then enlisted the help of producers such as Steve Mackey, formerly of British pop band Pulp, to help flesh out the tunes.

M.I.A. will make an appearance Aug. 7 at the free Central Park Summerstage concert in New York before beginning her headlining tour.