"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.

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