M.I.A.'s journey to hip-hop discovery was a lot more intense than most people's. A Sri Lankan whose father was a militant political activist, she discovered the art form after moving to London as a refugee at age 11 and learning English.

An established visual artist, it took M.I.A., whose real name is Mathangi Arulpragasam, years before she started experimenting with music. But when she did her profile caught on fast. Almost immediately she garnered attention with catchy demo song Galang, which infuses hip-hop and world music with club beats.

Since that release in 2003, she has been a hipster staple at mega-festivals such as Austin City Limits, Lollapalooza and Coachella, where she played last weekend.

She'll be at La Zona Rosa in Austin on Thursday and at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas on Friday. Tickets are roughly $30 (by the time service charges are totaled) at both locations. But you'll have to get clever if you want to see her in Austin. The show is already sold out.

-- Craig Kapitan