Boyz is a dose of M.I.A. as we’ve come to expect: an edgy and abrupt dance track with a wicked island flare and M.I.A.’s unmistakably tough and sexy voice. If this single was a just a single, that would suffice as a review.
However, this disc comes with an entire extra encoding that boasts dozens of photos from the shoot for the Boyz, the video itself and the making of the video. This could be considered overkill; but then so could the insatiable hunger of fandom, and as long as the demand is out there, for heaven’s sake, fill it.
To top is off, the CD has, in addition to the 3 main versions of Boyz (the full track, as well as a cappella and instrumental), there are additional tracks that break the song down into its most rudimentary individual parts (drums, horns, synths and vocals). The point of this is to encourage the recipient to remix and re-edit at will.
Although the presentation of the enhanced material is surprisingly simple, the over-all package is pretty damn cool for a CD single.
