"M.I.A. VS THE SYSTEM" [PHOTO & VIDEOS]: Songwriter Calls Out Grammys For Stealing Stage Design in Bob Marley Tribute, Says "I'm Keeping a Steal Log This Year"

Recording artist M.I.A. announced on her Twitter account that the Grammy Awards' Bob Marley tribute stage design was a rip off of her stage set. Her tweet has since been deleted, but it read, "I'm keeping a Steal Log this year here the one for Jan / Feb > MIA $500 > GRAMMYS $5000000." It also included a link to her Tumblr site, which had a post comparing the two performances in screengrabs and the message: "My ideas came from my life. My set was based on Tamil Hindu temple. Not Bob Marley. " At the bottom of the post, M.I.A. ended the post with, "If U wanna see the real thing or get it first come to a M.I.A. Show!" (Now imagine those quotes in capital lettering. That is how M.I.A. writes things on the Internet)

The Tumblr post in question has been provided above this article. As you can see, there are definitely some similarities but maybe not enough to cause such a fuss over. During the Bob Marley tribute at the Grammys, 2D squares were set up as the backdrop, changing between the colors of the Jamaican flag. The performance included Rihanna, Bruno Mars, Sting, and Damian and Ziggy Marley together on stage for the tribute. For M.I.A.'s backdrop, a green 3D cube was used. Videos providing a better glimpse into this theft accusation are below. What do you think?

M.I.A. is kind of like the pot calling the kettle black. Her musical styles have ranged from dancehall, hip-hop, and house to freestyle, reggae and dubstep, to name a (very) few. She admittedly samples and borrows from such acts like The Clash and Opal in order to get her "found-art" sound. In 2010, M.I.A. called Lady Gaga a "good mimic" saying the "Fame Monster" rips off Grace Jones and Madonna. M.I.A. continued by saying Gaga "sounds more like me than I f------ do!" So her judgment is a little all over the place.

So who do you think is next on M.I.A.'s "Steal Log?" Maybe she will see a military story talking about how a soldier is "missing in action" and get in a huff over the acronym? Or maybe she will spot somebody at the Oscars holding a microphone and take the Internet with "BUT THATZ MY THINGG," or something along those lines. My point is that it is 2013; everything is technically a "rip off" of something. There is no way around it and the claims will just get more and more ridiculous.