Japanese Cartoon - Heirplanes (Directed by 13thWitness)

Lupe Fiasco and his new musical endeavor, Japanese Cartoon deliver their new visual interpretation for “Heirplanes.” The single first made it’s appearance on their first album In the Jaws of The Lords of Death , which if you didn’t get a chance to get a copy, you can do so here. Meanwhile, the video was directed by the 13th Witness and executive produced by Sky Gellaty. Here’s what Lupe had to say about the music video:

I want my music to sound like somebody chasing you through the forest with ax. That’s what I want my music to sound like. Like somebody chasing you through the woods with a chainsaw. What does the soundtrack to that? “Heirplanes,” video okay. Let’s chase somebody through the woods with a chain saw.

The other part to it was spreading the message. If you listen to the record, the whole record is about social justice. It’s about social change, but in a very vehement, almost violent kinda way. Where I think you should be violently peaceful as possible. You should be as vehemently peaceful and notoriously peaceful as you can in the same way some people are just violently violent or violently war-like.

That was just kinda like my ideology for the record, for the album, for the songs. It needs to be as energetically peaceful the same way people are energetic about negativity. People are very energetic and vehement about giving you negative things. They’re very clever and witty about giving you the most negative most destructive thing from alcohol to cigarettes to what have you. It’s very clever. Very energetic. But at the end of the day, it’s something that’s gradually destroying you.

That was kinda like our premise. That kinda bleeds into different parts, iInto videos, photos and different parts of the album. So specifically for “Heirplanes,” it was just kinda like, ‘Let’s have the setting like an old horror movie or something like, something kinda real cheesy, hokey.’ We’re chasing these people, and on the surface it’s like, ‘Yo why you chasing these girls through the woods? Are you trying to like kill these girls? Are you trying to kidnap these girls? What is this?’ It’s like, ‘No, we’re trying to change the world.’

The whole song “Heirplanes” is about no monarchy. No real need to question the people who are in power or the techniques and the tactics that they use. If you go through and start listening to the lyrics and break down the hook and different stuff like that, its kinda questions the authority of what’s going on.

That’s why we’re chasing these girls through the woods. It’s like that’s the point. It may seem as not as direct as saying that, but it’s like, I got somebody’s attention because we’re chasing these girls through the forest. Now that I got your attention, ‘Do you really know what your congressman is doing?’

It’s just like that artistic thing, but less on a message thing and more on an art thing.It was just kinda like, ‘I want my music to sound like chasing somebody through the woods with a chainsaw.’