A Milli

"A Milli"
Single by Lil Wayne
from the album Tha Carter III
Released	March 11, 2008 (Radio) April 23, 2008 (Digital)
Format	CD, digital download
Recorded	2007
Genre	Hip hop
Length	3:41
Label	Cash Money, Universal Motown
Writer(s)	Dwayne Carter, Jr.
Producer	Bangladesh
Certification	2× Platinum (RIAA)
Lil Wayne singles chronology
"Lollipop" (2008) "A Milli" (2008) "Love in This Club, Part II" (2008)

"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is the second official single, and the official street single from Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III.

Background

"A Milli" was played several times when sampling the record before its release,^[1][2] and was originally slated to appear on Tha Carter III in multiple versions as "skit-like" tracks, featuring artists such as Tyga, Cory Gunz, Hurricane Chris, Chamillionaire and Lil Mama^[3] though the tracks never made the final cut. They were rumored to appear on the re-release of Tha Carter III, until Wayne revealed that the aforementioned album would be a rap rock album called Rebirth with no connection to Tha Carter III.^[4] "A Milli" was ranked the #1 Hip-Hop song of 2008 by MTV.^[5] The song samples "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Vampire Mix)" by A Tribe Called Quest and "Don't Burn Down the Bridge" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.

Music video

The music video was shot on June 23, 2008, in Los Angeles, California (the same day he shot the video for "Got Money").^[6]

The video premiered on 106 & Park July 2, 2008. It consists of Lil Wayne preparing for the shoot of his following single "Got Money". The video, which was directed by Dayo Harewood, Dwayne Carter (Lil Wayne himself) & Jeff Panzer,^[7] features appearances by Birdman (giving Wayne his brand new car for his record sales), Lil Twist, T-Streets, Gudda Gudda, Kidd Kidd and Brisco.

Critical reception

The song won the Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards.^[8][9]

Blender ranked this the #1 song of 2008.^[10]

Rolling Stone named it the 63rd best song of the 2000s decade.^[11]

Time critic Josh Tyrangiel named this the #4 song of 2008.^[12]

The song was also ranked as the number one of 2008 in the MTV News Bigger Than Sound poll.^[13]

Remixes

The official remix, dubbed "A Milli Freemix", was made by Wayne to thank his fans, celebrating his first week sale of one million copies of Tha Carter III. In the remix, Wayne also hints at production of 'Tha Carter IV'.^[14] A lot of artists have freestyled over the beat including: Amil, Chamillionaire, Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Game, Kendrick Lamar, Trey Songz, Chris Brown, Lil' Mama, Trina, Asher Roth, Ne-Yo, Fabolous, Cassidy, Papoose, Drake, Jadakiss, Dutch rapper Sef, French rapper Teki Latex and Danish hiphop duo Nik & Jay. There have also been verses by smaller rappers such as Wax, Lil Crazed, Traphik, D-Pryde, and An0maly. Also released was a dubstep remix by Datsik and Excision.

Chart performance

"A Milli" has peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100, making it Lil Wayne's second top ten and second highest peaking song on the chart as a lead artist. It has reached #1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, making it his second number one song on that chart. It was also able to top the Hot Rap Tracks as his previous single "Lollipop". To date A Milli sold 2,053,000 digital copies.^[15]

Track listing

1. "A Milli" (Clean)
2. "A Milli" (Explicit)
3. "A Milli" (Instrumental)
4. "A Milli" (Acapella)

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[16]	54
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[17]	163
US Billboard Hot 100[18]	6
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[19]	1
US Pop 100 (Billboard)[20]	34
US Rap Songs (Billboard)[21]	1

References

1. ^ Reid, Shaheem ((2008-06-03)). "Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III Preview: Does The Year's Most Anticipated Hip-Hop LP Live Up To The Hype?". MTV News. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1588601/20080603/lil_wayne.jhtml. Retrieved 2008-06-04. 
2. ^ Paul W Arnold (March 6, 2008). DX-clusive: Jae Millz speaks on deal with Lil Wayne. HipHopDX. Accessed March 7, 2008.
3. ^ Shaheem Reid (April 29, 2008).[1]. MTV. Accessed May 2, 2008.
4. ^ Lil Wayne Wants A Carter III Do-Over - News Story
5. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1601236/20081212/lil_wayne.jhtml
6. ^ Update: Lil Wayne Shooting 'Got Money' Video
7. ^ Steven Gottlieb (July 24, 2008). WATCH IT: Lil Wayne "A Milli" Video Static
8. ^ http://www.grammy.com/grammy_awards/51st_show/list.aspx#07
9. ^ MTV News Staff (2009-02-08). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1604545/20090208/story.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-02-09. 
10. ^ http://www.blender.com/articles/default.aspx?key=45697&pg=10
11. ^ http://www.rockonthenet.com/archive/2009/rs100songs2.htm
12. ^ Time, December 22, 2008, pages 47-8.
13. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1601017/20081209/lil_wayne.jhtml
14. ^ A Milli Free Mix Accessed August 16, 2008^{[dead link]}
15. ^ http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74360/week-ending-may-1-2011-songs-even-divas-struggle/;_ylt=Aieo0d1IfEz.YSYE4keHbBwPwiUv
16. ^ "Lil Wayne Album & Song Chart History" Canadian Hot 100 for Lil Wayne. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
17. ^ Zywietz, Tobias (February 6, 1997). "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L - LZ Love". Zobbel.de. Tobias Zywietz. http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/CLUK_L.HTM. Retrieved November 19, 2011. 
18. ^ "Lil Wayne Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for Lil Wayne. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
19. ^ "Lil Wayne Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Lil Wayne. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
20. ^ "Lil Wayne > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. http://allmusic.com/artist/lil-wayne-p384397/charts-awards/billboard-singles. Retrieved November 19, 2011. 
21. ^ "Lil Wayne Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Rap Songs for Lil Wayne. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved November 19, 2011.

Preceded by "Heaven Sent" by Keyshia Cole

U.S. Billboard Hot R&B Hip-Hop Songs number-one single August 23, 2008

Succeeded by "Take a Bow" by Rihanna