Are you a fan of podcasts?
Yes. I want to set my own one up because I’ve given up music so what am I going to do? My kid goes to school and I’m just sat there. I started writing my [life] story and thought, ‘This is a podcast. I can’t be bothered to write it down…’ [Laughs] Years have gone by so I feel like I’m going to start losing my memory soon; I’ve got to get it out.

You recently said on Twitter, “People will always drag you down or try to flip the truth. You have to be mentally strong to do this.” How do you ensure your mental strength doesn’t slip?
I stepped into [the industry] late. I got a record deal when I was 27 or 28. These days that’s when you retire but I came into it knowing what it was and I’d already gone through so much. That’s what I mean, [my life] is a f*cking podcast of many seasons [laughs]. When I stepped into music I’d already done, like, 10 lives, this just seemed like the normality I found in my life. You have to check yourself all the time.

You once said that you don’t often get approached by brands for collaborations – why do you think Mercedes were different?
They’re different because they’re a German brand. I don’t think German brands are scared of me because they’re used to the idea of multicultural situations. They don’t have a wall up.

You’ve travelled a lot – where have you visited that you’d most like to return to?
Blackpool! My son is obsessed with Blackpool. I’ve taken him to so many nice places in the world but he’s always like, “Oh my God, I went to Blackpool and it was amazing”. It’s like being in a Ken Loach movie where you see one bumper car going round a ride and it’s really slow and everyone’s in another world. But he’s in his element when he’s there…

And what country is left on your bucket list?
I just went to the Maldives for the first time. I was a bit depressed on the plane because that’s where honeymooners go… I was like, “This is going to be torture.” [Laughs] But when I was there, there were more interesting things to think about. I was moved by it because the Maldives is sinking due to the water levels. They might have to evacuate and move to Sri Lanka. It was really weird for me as a refugee [from Sri Lanka] to go to this paradise and they’re going to go to the country where I was a refugee from. It’s mind-bending.

Force of nature: M.I.A on music, mentoring and her podcast plans