Paper Planes

"Paper Planes" is a song by British rapper M.I.A. from her second studio album, Kala (2007). The song was written by M.I.A. and Diplo. The song's backing track is a replayed sample of the 1982 song "Straight to Hell" by The Clash, and the members of The Clash are credited as co-writers of the song. The chorus of "Paper Planes" was widely speculated to be based on the chorus to the 1992 song "Rump Shaker" by Wreckx-N-Effect, although that song's writers are not credited. It was produced by Diplo with additional production by Switch. "Paper Planes" was released for download in August 2007 and as the album's third single by XL Recordings and Interscope Records on 11 February 2008. "Paper Planes" is a downtempo rap ballad, with a folk style melody considered less dance-influenced than the other songs on the album. 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 received wide acclaim upon release, with contemporary critics complimenting its music direction and the subversive, unconventional subject matter of the piece, citing its chorus and its lyrical humour in the promotion of globalization. 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. It was also nominated for Record of the Year at the 51st Grammy Awards in 2009. "Paper Planes" peaked in the Top 20 in Belgium, Denmark, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. M.I.A.'s first Top 20 single in the UK and her next Top 10 charting song in Canada following "Boyz" (2007), it reached the Top 10 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 is certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand in New Zealand. The song has sold four million copies in the US."Paper Planes" is regarded as one of the best songs of its decade, and has appeared in several lists of the greatest songs in popular music. Several artists have covered the composition or released their own remixes, with rappers T.I. and Jay-Z sampling it in "Swagga Like Us". The song has regularly featured on M.I.A.'s concert tours since 2007.