"Paper Planes" is the hit single and stand out track from M.I.A.'s second album, which Rolling Stone named "album of the year" for 2007.
The song concerns M.I.A.'s problems with visas and certain perceptions of immigrants. It features a guitar riff sample from the song "Straight to Hell" by The Clash.[1] Its chorus features gunshots and cash register sounds. M.I.A. explains the gun sounds as a joke, an answer to having problems entering the U.S. She thought that the worst thing for someone to say would be, "What I wanna do is come and take your money", and hence said it in the song with sound effects. She went on to state that "people don’t really feel like immigrants or refugees contribute to culture in any way. That they’re just leeches that suck from whatever".[2]
M.I.A. worked on the song with Diplo in London.[3]
The song is played through the trailer for the film Pineapple Express.
A music video for the song was directed by Bernard Gourley.[4] Its planned premiere on TRL was December 17, 2007,[5] but it was made available on MTV's website two days earlier.[6]
This video is shot in the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. It was originally planned to be shot in a factory on the border of Ecuador, but was not due to M.I.A.'s time constraints while touring the U.S.[7]
In the video, M.I.A. appears as an immigrant that sells bread on a van to several other New Yorkers. At the sound of the gunshots, there appear quick shots of street signs, people, and restaurant signs. Mike D and Adrock of the Beastie Boys make cameo appearances in the video. Paper Planes has peaked at #1 on MuchOnDemand's Daily Ten.
A remix of the song featuring tour mates Rye Rye and Afrikan Boy was uploaded to M.I.A.'s MySpace and another remix featuring Bun B and Rich Boy has also circulated. On February 11, 2008, an EP containing remixes of "Paper Planes," titled Paper Planes - Homeland Security Remixes was released digitally on 7digital. This included the above remixes, as well as a remix by DFA, Scottie B, and a remix of the Kala track "Bamboo Banga" by DJ Eli. On February 12, 2008, the EP was made available for digital download on iTunes in the US. The tracklisting differed slightly, with the Bamboo Banga remix replaced with a remix of "Paper Planes" by Adrock. A physical 12" vinyl release of the EP is set to be released on March 24, 2008.
M.I.A. performed a censored version of the song on the Late Show with David Letterman on September 21, 2007. The song's gunshots were replaced with ambiguous "popping" sounds, which left her visibly surprised during the performance.
The version released by MTV in December and the version uploaded to M.I.A.'s YouTube account differ greatly. In the MTV version, M.I.A.'s vocals are doubled, the gun sounds are replaced with ambiguous popping sounds, the gun loading sound is replaced with a cash register sound, and the word weed is removed. Following general fan disapproval of the leaked MTV version of the video, M.I.A. stated in a MySpace blog entry on December 16, 2007 that MTV's decision to change the sound disappointed and angered her; she felt that the video she had recorded for the song was already much more safe and mainstream than her regular videos.[7] She said "To the bloggers who are lazy enough to follow the MTV link and post up and comment on the sound when that hasn't been compromised...makes me sad...the song is what I wanted to preserve in this case."[7] She also referenced the Late Show performance, stating that what she had originally heard and agreed to in a sound check to replace the gunshot sounds was different from what was played at the taping.[7]