Much has been said about this song's esoteric nature: who is Sali? What are they railing against? Is this a joke? Our specific point of contention, however, is that midway through the song, producer Goldilocks sampled the alarm sound from iPods/iPhones, a setting called, descriptively, "Alarm." This also happens to be the selfsame sound we wake up to every morning, at six different points between 7am and 8:22 (we are paranoid about oversleeping). It is as startling in "Toldya" as it is at the semi-crack of dawn, and the alarm sample is a disturbing trend—we heard it in a random dancehall song recently, can't remember which—possibly coming for the airhorn's position as universally understood buck DJ tag. THIS IS THE REAL SCOURGE, PEOPLE! Otherwise, it works as a Do the Right Thing-style call to arms: Wake upppp! Sali is, obviously, a mystery for now, but just like the shadow government and Nicholas Cage's National Treasure, everything will someday be revealed. Also, the MIA verse is a sample. Official quote via Sali via MIA's publicist: "SALI would like to clarify that the song 'TOLDYA' is not a 'collaboration' with MIA as has been misquoted in the press. It features her vocals sampled from a previous recording."
Download: Sali f. MIA, "Toldya (via Sali Music)
