"A Milli"
Single by Lil Wayne
from the album Tha Carter III
ReleasedFebruary 13, 2008 (2008-02-13)
Recorded2007
GenreHip hop
Length3:41
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Bangladesh
Lil Wayne singles chronology
"Lollipop"
(2008)		 "A Milli"
(2008)		 "Love in This Club, Part II"
(2008)

"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is a song by American rapper Lil Wayne. The song was released February 13, 2008, as the second official single from his sixth album Tha Carter III.

Background

The original version of this song leaked early on several mixtapes. Then, a second version, with the first verse from the album version, a verse from Cory Gunz and the final two verses from the original version, was leaked prior to the album version. "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, 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 number one hip hop song of 2008 by MTV.[5] The song samples "Don't Burn Down the Bridge" by Gladys Knight & the Pips.[6] The sample is different in both early and final versions. While the early version plays the sample as it is,[7] the final version adds a filter effect to the sample. In addition, the main vocal sample is from the Vampire Mix of "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo" by A Tribe Called Quest.[8] The line "I'm okay, but my watch sick" was originally from "Go Crazy" by Young Jeezy.[9]

Critical reception

The song won the Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards.[10][11]

Blender ranked it the number one song of 2008.[12]

Rolling Stone named it the 10th best song of 2008,[13] the 63rd best song of the 2000s,[14] and the 486th best song of all time.[15]

Time critic Josh Tyrangiel named "A Milli" the number four song of 2008,[16] and it was ranked as the number one song of 2008 in the MTV News Bigger Than the Sound poll.[17]

Complex ranked its beat the 31st greatest hip hop beat of all time.[18]

Chart performance

"A Milli" peaked at number six 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 at the time. It has reached number one 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 like his previous single "Lollipop". As of 2011, "A Milli" has sold 2,053,000 digital copies.[19]

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 hinted at the production of Tha Carter IV.[20]

An electronic remix by duo Sidepiece was released on January 13, 2023.[21]

Music video

The music video was shot on June 23, 2008, in Los Angeles, California, (the same day as the video for "Got Money").[22]

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, Lil Wayne and Jeff Panzer,[23] features appearances by Birdman (giving Wayne his brand new car for his record sales), Lil Twist, T-Streets, Gudda Gudda, Kidd Kidd and Brisco.

Track listing

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

Charts

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Germany (BVMI)[35] Gold 150,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[36] Gold 400,000‡
United States (RIAA)[37] 6× Platinum 6,000,000‡
United States (RIAA)[38]
Mastertone 		Platinum 1,000,000*

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (June 3, 2008). "Lil Wayne's Tha Carter III Preview: Does The Year's Most Anticipated Hip-Hop LP Live Up To The Hype?". MTV News. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  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).. MTV. Accessed May 2, 2008.
  4. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (October 21, 2008). "Lil Wayne Wants A Carter III Do-Over – News Story". Mtv.com. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  5. ↑ Reid, Shaheem (December 15, 2008). "Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' And More Top Hip-Hop Songs Of 2008; 50 Cent Pledges Loyalty To Eminem: Mixtape Monday – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' – Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  7. ↑ simperative (March 20, 2008), Lil Wayne ft. Corey Gunz – A Milli (FULL, CDQ, Dirty), archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved May 16, 2017
  8. ↑ "Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' – Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  9. ↑ "Lil Wayne's 'A Milli' – Discover the Sample Source". WhoSampled. Retrieved May 16, 2017.
  10. ↑ "The 51st Annual Grammy Award Winners List". Grammy.com. Archived from the original on October 11, 2010. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  11. ↑ MTV News Staff (February 8, 2009). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
  12. ↑ "Blender's 1001 Downloads: The Top 144 Songs of 2008". Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved December 31, 2009.
  13. ↑ "Readers' Rock List: Best Songs of 2008". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on July 17, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2013.
  14. ↑ "Rolling Stone: 100 Best Songs of the Decade (2000–2009): 51–100". Rock on the Net. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  15. ↑ "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. September 15, 2021. Archived from the original on September 18, 2021. Retrieved September 18, 2021.
  16. ↑ Time, December 22, 2008, pages 47–8.
  17. ↑ "The Best Songs Of 2008, In Bigger Than The Sound – Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. December 10, 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  18. ↑ "The 100 Greatest Hip-Hop Beats of All TimeLil Wayne "A Milli" (2008)". Complex. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  19. ↑ Grein, Paul (May 4, 2011). "Week Ending May 1, 2011. Songs: Even Divas Struggle | Chart Watch – Yahoo! Music". New.music.yahoo.com. Retrieved March 1, 2012.
  20. ↑ "Lil' Wayne – A Milli (Free-Mix)". djbooth.net. Retrieved April 12, 2018.
  21. ↑ Meadow, Matthew (January 13, 2023). "Lil Wayne & SIDEPIECE join forces for first-ever official 'A Milli' remix". Your EDM. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  22. ↑ "Update: Lil Wayne Shooting 'Got Money' Video". Rap-up.com. June 22, 2008. Retrieved August 22, 2012.
  23. ↑ Steven Gottlieb (July 24, 2008). WATCH IT: Lil Wayne "A Milli" Video Static
  24. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  25. ↑ "Chart Log UK: DJ Steve L – LZ Love". zobbel.de. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  26. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  27. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved November 19, 2011.
  28. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  29. ↑ "Lil Wayne – Awards". AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 23, 2016. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  30. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Rhythmic)". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  31. ↑ "Lil Wayne Chart History (Hot Dance/Electronic Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Hot 100 Songs – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  33. ↑ "Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  34. ↑ "Rhythmic Songs – Year-End 2008". Billboard. Retrieved November 26, 2019.
  35. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Lil Wayne; 'A Milli')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  36. ↑ "British single certifications – Lil Wayne – A Milli". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved June 19, 2023.
  37. ↑ "American single certifications – Lil Wayne – A Milli". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 27, 2022.
  38. ↑ "American single certifications – Lil Wayne – A Milli". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved September 29, 2020.
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