"
Paper Planes" is a song by British musician
M.I.A. for her second studio album
Kala (2007). The song was written by Maya "M.I.A." Arulpragasam,
Topper Headon,
Mick Jones,
Wesley "Diplo" Pentz,
Paul Simonon and
Joe Strummer and produced by Diplo with additional production by
Switch. A denouement following stereotypical perceptions of
immigrants,
violence and M.I.A.'s troubles securing a visa to the US while
recording her second album, the song's development was motivated by her
not knowing the reasons behind her "stupid visa problem...aside from
them thinking that I might fly a plane into the Trade Center – which is
the only reason that they would put me through this...". During the
recording sessions, she wanted to create a song about daily experiences
of immigrants, while listeners could interpret the chorus' protagonist
as being anyone from street hustlers to gun-selling corporations. "Paper
Planes" was released for download in August 2007 and as the album's
third
single by
XL Recordings and
Interscope Records on February 11, 2008.
The song includes a sample of "
Straight to Hell" by
The Clash. "Paper Planes" is a
downtempo rap song ballad, with a
folk style melody considered less
dance
influenced than the other songs on the album. Igniting wide acclaim
upon release, contemporary critics complimented the music direction and
the subversive, unconventional subject matter of the piece, citing its
chorus and its lyrical humour in the promotion of
globalization, reaffirming that through these the song continued M.I.A.'s political dance revolution in music.
Rolling Stone,
Rockdelux,
Stylus,
NME and
The Guardian
ranked "Paper Planes" highly in their lists of the best songs of the
year, the 2000s decade and of all-time. The song won the Indie Award for
Favourite International Single at the 2009
Canadian Independent Music Awards and the
American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) recognized the song as one of the most performed ones of 2008 at the
ASCAP Pop Music Awards. Several artists have covered the song and released their own remixes.
Achieving much international commercial success, the single peaked in
the top twenty in Belgium, Denmark, Canada, the United Kingdom and the
United States. Her first top twenty single in the UK and her next top
ten charting song in Canada following "
Boyz" (2007), it reached the top ten of seven
Billboard charts and peaked at number four on the
Billboard Hot 100 in the US. The single reached two positions higher than "Boyz" to top the
Billboard Hot Dance Singles Sales chart. The song became XL Recordings' best selling single, is
certified triple-platinum by the
Music Canada (CRIA) in Canada and the
Recording Industry Association of America in the US, where it is ranked the fifty-ninth most downloaded song in the digital era and certified Gold by the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand in New Zealand. The song has sold 3.6 million copies in the US, becoming the seventh
best-selling song by a British artist in the digital era and one of the biggest
crossover hits in the country by a solo artist.
On 3 December 2008, the song was nominated for the
Record of the Year at the
51st Grammy Awards. "Paper Planes" was sampled in rappers
T.I. and
Jay-Z's single "
Swagga Like Us".
M.I.A. gave a well received performance of both singles at the Grammy
ceremony on the night she expected her first son's birth. The appearance
of "Paper Planes" in the film trailer for
Pineapple Express (2008) and the film
Slumdog Millionaire the same year greatly increased its international popularity. The single's accompanying
music video,
filmed in New York City, showed M.I.A. walking and dancing with friends
along the streets of the city, selling sandwiches to local people and
paper planes flying overhead. The song was performed on
Late Show with David Letterman and has regularly featured on M.I.A.'s concert tours since 2007.
