Probably my favorite artist on the underground music scene for a few years , her raw and highly metaphorical music may soon become pop mainstream here in the States. Keeping her from said "accomplishment"? Censorship for one, righteousness for another. Her newest single "Paper Planes" is a novelty. The official video is here. A YouTube reproduction is here (listen to the song, watch only the last minute or so). From that, fourletteredword pretty much nails the subtext on the head:

international relations are similar to the drug game. she's characterizing the US as a dealer...the dealer that's on top of things...

there are a couple references too..."pirate skulls and bones (yale...), sticks and stones and weed and bombs...runnin when we hit 'em..."..."no one on the corner (in the world of politics) has swagger like us".

we do as we please..."some of them i murder...some i let go"...we bang bang bang and take your money...

Subtle? Not so much. Uncommon vocabulary for an artist on the verge of the mainstream? You bet. Then again, maybe it speaks volumes about how far we've come in discussion of America's role on the international stage, where stakes are probably highest in the 3rd world. After all, you can't be against anything we do internationally without being inherently anti-America. Sri Lanka born, she knows poverty and violence first-hand. In that respect, we're all ignorant, so I find it compelling that stories and opinions have found an audience through entertainment. Sadly, MTV is compelled to neutrality and advertiser/stock-holder subservience, who either ignore or intentionally avoid the immense educational value that visual and audial ideas like "Paper Planes" brings to the mainstream public forum.