Did Interscope delay M.I.A.’s new album because it was 'too positive'?

LOS ANGELES – Never one to hold back, controversial performer Mathangi “M.I.A” Arulpragasam  has revealed that her fourth studio album has been delayed due to her label, Interscope Records, considering it to be “too positive” to appeal to her fan base.

Best known for her “Slumdog Millionaire” song "Paper Planes," which featured lyrics like “Pirate skulls and bones, sticks and stones and weed and bombs,” she was also widely condemned for flipping the bird during her live Super Bowl performance with Madonna last year, and for tweeting out a New York Times reporter’s phone number following an article belittling her political activism.

But M.I.A may be trying to change her ways, telling an Australian news outlet that she thought she had finished her self-titled “Matangi" until bigwigs at Interscope told her the upbeat tracks didn’t gel with her scandal-driven public persona.

"I finished it and then I handed the record in, like a couple of months ago," she said. "At the moment, I've been told it's too positive. So we're having a bit of an issue at the label. They're like 'You need to like darken it up a bit'."

M.I.A said she is attempting to meet the requests of her label, and that the much-anticipated album – which was initially slated for a December release – will not hit stands in April.

Interscope did not respond to a request for comment, however a source closely connected to the Universal Music Group-owned record label cautioned that there is always a method to the M.I.A madness.

“Everything she does is for publicity,” the insider said.