Grammy-award winning femcee M.I.A. has been through a rough few months since announcing her departure from Roc Nation at the top of the year, and it seems she just can’t get a break. Her fourth album ‘Matangi’ spent much of 2013 being pushed back until her label finally decided to release it during the hectic fourth quarter and was shut out by the likes of Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus with very little promotion. Around the same time, reports began surfacing that detailed M.I.A.’s $1.5 million suit against her from the 2011 NFL SuperBowl incident. The incident, which spawned outcries from parents over M.I.A. giving the camera a middle finger gesture during Madonna’s live half-time show, has kept the rapper in and out of courts for just shy of a year now. In addition to the fine, the NFL wants a public apology – neither of which M.I.A. is willing to do. The rapper took to her YouTube channel to declare the NFL’s claims as a waste of time, money, and a “massive display of powerful corporation dick-shaking”.

To make matters even worse, M.I.A.’s hotly anticipated documentary about her artistry and rise to fame has been placed on indefinite hold because of – you guessed it – funding issues. The film, which was originally planned to become a major motion picture release, was produced by the femcee and longtime collaborator Steven Loveridge. M.I.A.’s documentary also features Diplo and Kanye West, and seeks to give her fans insight into her inspiration and artistic realms. Possibly due to the controversial nature of M.I.A.’s lyrics, the documentary has been “blacklisted through normal channels”. Although work is still being done on the project, there’s no way it will ever be released without proper funding and major corporation backing. The SuperBowl incident was a huge blow to M.I.A.’s future in the rap game, but there’s hope that her banned documentary will spark interest in her future releases. Watch the uncensored clip of M.I.A.’s #bannedintheusa documentary below.