After announcing her engagement to the son of Warner head honcho Edgar Bronfman, British/Sri Lankan rap diva M.I.A. pocketed a cool $100,000 for a 30-minute gig on Sunday.
M.I.A., real name, Maya Arulpragasam, plans to marry Bronfman’s son, rock guitarist Benjamin Brewer as soon as possible.
Coincidently, M.I.A.’s work visa expires at the end of June which means she has to leave her NY apartment and exit the country — unless she’s married to an American by then.
M.I.A.’s troubles with immigration are well-documented. She was denied entry to the States in 2006 because her father was once a solider in a terrorist organization.
M.I.A. once said she wanted to marry Kanye West so she could qualify for a green card. Apparently she wasn’t joking.
The 27-year-old performed for 30 minutes at an MTV Movie Awards after-party sponsored by Target and Converse One Star on Sunday. During her performance, she jumped on top of a photo booth and told the crowd she was making $100K for the gig: “I’m going to use it to build schools in Liberia,” she said. “It costs $52k to build a school for 1,000.”
If she can get it, maybe T.I.’s demand for $100K for nightclub appearances doesn’t sound so ridiculous after all.
Photos: Wireimage/Getty
