M.I.A. says Kid Cudi didn't have the guts to fire her directly ... claiming she found out she'd been dumped from his tour when her son called from school and told her she was out.

The "Paper Planes" artist revisited her fallout with Cudi during an appearance on the New York Times' "Popcast," claiming the two still haven't spoken about her removal from the tour. M.I.A. says she never received a call from Cudi or his team and even tried to speak with him after the controversy erupted, but says he wouldn't meet with her.

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According to M.I.A., she was in another state when her son called and casually broke the news ... saying, "My son called me from school. He's like, 'Oh, I guess you're coming home.'"

M.I.A. says she had no clue what he was talking about until he sent her posts announcing she'd been removed from the tour.

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As TMZ previously reported, M.I.A. blasted Cudi after he dropped her from his "The Rebel Ragers Tour" following backlash over controversial comments about immigrants she made during a Dallas stop. Cudi told fans he wasn't going to keep someone on the bill who was upsetting concertgoers.

M.I.A. also disputed the criticism that followed, saying a false narrative about her politics took on a life of its own online. She suggested her identity as an immigrant became part of the backlash, saying that's something no one can take away from her regardless of how she's portrayed in the media.

The interview comes on the heels of M.I.A.'s $2.8M lawsuit against Cudi, in which she claims he breached their agreement by removing her from the tour.