Hip Hop Music Paper Planes by MIA an Evaluation Essay

M.I.A. on Letterman Singing "Paper Planes"

The recorded live performance of "Paper Planes" by hip hop artist M.I.A. on David Letterman's Late Night in 2007 is the focus of this paper. M.I.A.'s performance is a solo act (with a single back-up singer) as well as a DJ (who is at the rear of stage and not in the spotlight). The venue is Letterman's show and M.I.A. performs before a live studio audience. The performance drew some controversy as the "gunshots" that are supposed to ring out as part of the effect of the show's music were muted and diminished so that instead of loud bangs they came across as toy pop gun sounds. When this first happened in the performance, M.I.A. actually stopped and looked behind her to her crew as though she was surprised at the diminishment in one of the more emotional impactful moments in the song, which is about how passports are manufactured illegally in border towns so that people and criminals can come and go, regardless of the lives that are lost in the process. M.I.A. is drawing attention to a serious issue in this song, and the gunshots used in the sound effects of the song are supposed to deliver an emotionally wrenching punch to the psyche -- but on television the producers apparently decided that the violent sound of gunshots was too provocative.

Nonetheless the performance retained the core elements of the song. There was the staple sampling of popular hip hop artitstry. In this case, M.I.A. sampled the melody of "Straight to Hell" by the Cure, an alternative English band from the 1980s. This sampling actually gives a great deal of support to the music of M.I.A.'s "Paper Planes" and makes the song especially catchy even for persons who do not generally listen to hip hop. Thus, the song has cross-cultural appeal and this is due to the fact that it samples an 80s pop band's music, which is liked by persons who are not necessarily of the typical hip hop audience, and the song's textual content brings a socio-political message that is also impactful for audiences. For this reason the song was a hit and remains popular for fans of both hip hop and alternative music: M.I.A.'s incorporation of The Cure's melody from one of its own songs drives the hip hop lyrics in a melodically pleasant and harmonious way that makes the song one that can be listened to again and again. It has a very rhythmic and mellow pace to it, even as it incorporates aggressive sounds like gunshots and aggressive/satirical lyrics like, "All I wanna do is [Bang! Bang! Bang!] and take your money!"

In the performance, M.I.A. is on stage wearing her large trademark dark sunglasses. She is also wearing a brown uniform that looks like a UPS uniform with brown blouse and brown shorts that show off her legs. The uniform choice is a style that is supported by one of the lyrics in the song, which says, "Pack and deliver like UPS trucks -- already going…