"Boyz" is a song recorded by artist M.I.A. for her second album Kala (2007). The song was written and produced by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam and Dave "Switch" Taylor and composed in recording sessions held in several countries. A combination of the native styles and influences of these regions and her traditional and electronic musical roots, the song sees M.I.A. mock and simultaneously praise men for various character traits. "Boyz" was one of the first songs that the artist composed for the album and was released as the album's lead single through XL Recordings and Interscope Records on 11 June 2007, in 12-inch single, CD single, digital download and USB flash drive formats. It additionally appeared in an enhanced EP format for its CD single release, and appeared on the How Many Votes Fix Mix EP edition. On 24 April 2007, "Boyz" received its world premiere on the BBC Radio 1 radio station in London.
An uptempo dance song, "Boyz" draws from West Indian soca and Tamil gaana influences, incorporating electronica and club music influences to a 4/4 beat bassline. Displaying elements of worldbeat, its instrumentation consists of urumee drum percussion, trumpets, tambourines, electronic scratches and synths. Its lyrics make reference to male bravado, warlords, motorcycle and dirty track riding and dance moves originating from Jamaica, a country that inspired the song's composition. "Boyz" placed at number nine on the Rolling Stone "100 Best Songs of 2007" list and ranked one of the best songs of the year and the decade by Blender Magazine, NME, Eye Weekly and PopMatters.
The single's accompanying music video was directed by Jay Will Williams and M.I.A., presenting the singer-rapper dancing with several male dancers from Jamaican dance crews surrounded by colourful lo-fi computer-animated graphics, garnering critical acclaim for its subversive nature and triggering a new dance and graphic design revolution in music and videos.
"Boyz" was nominated for the "Viral Woodie" at the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards. The song made appearances in many television shows and video games since its release, and featured in the film Eat Pray Love. "Boyz" reached number seven on the Canadian Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart and number ninety-nine on the Billboard Pop 100. Peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales, eight places higher than "Galang", "Boyz" gave M.I.A. her first top ten charting single and the record for the first artist of Sri Lankan and Tamil descent to have a top ten charting single in Billboard history and the first to chart on the Billboard Pop 100. "Boyz" was also part of her set list on the Kala Tour (2007) and People vs. Money Tour (2008).
Background
Written and produced by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam and Dave "Switch" Taylor, "Boyz" was the first official single to be released from M.I.A.'s second studio album Kala and one of the first songs composed for the album. During an interview with The Big Issue following the release of debut album Arular, M.I.A. stated that she was looking forward to writing her second album the next year, spending six months in Jamaica and collaborating with high-profile American producers.
The songwriter was unable to gain a long-term work visa to enter the US in 2006 and access the demos she had composed and stored at her New York flat. With the visa denial, she ended up couch-surfing, sleeping at other people's houses in London, as her constant touring on dates in Canada, Argentina and Brazil meant that she no longer had a home in England. She said in an interview "I had to start from scratch with what was around me. The thing is, I get bored easily, and I don't see the point of doing something twice. I made Arular in London; I'd already made a real London album. I just thought, fuck it. If I'm gonna couch-surf in London, I might as well go and couch surf in India or Liberia." M.I.A. opted to record the album at a variety of locations around the world, beginning by travelling to India following the release of "Bucky Done Gun" and the last date of her Arular Tour in Japan in February 2006. She said of her decision "I wanted to get out of people's view: to go and spend time learning about myself and trying to be better. Not really technically better, but I just wanted to be better as a human being. And it's really hard to do that when you make club music."