"A Milli", abbreviated occasionally as "Milli", is the second official single, and the official street single from Lil Wayne

Lil Wayne

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. , better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper. At the age of nine, Lil Wayne joined Cash Money Records as the youngest member of the label, and half of the duo, The B.G.'z, with B.G.. In 1997, Lil Wayne joined the group Hot Boys, which also included...

's sixth studio album

Studio album

A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...

, Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 10, 2008 on Cash Money Records. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream...

.

Background

"A Milli" was played several times when sampling the record before its release, and was originally slated to appear on Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III

Tha Carter III is the sixth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released June 10, 2008 on Cash Money Records. It follows a long string of mixtape releases and guest appearances on other hip hop and R&B artists records, helping to increase his exposure in the mainstream...

in multiple versions as "skit-like" tracks, featuring artists such as Tyga

Tyga

Michael Stevenson , better known by his stage name Tyga , is an American rapper signed to Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records. He is of Vietnamese and Jamaican descent...

, Cory Gunz, Hurricane Chris

Hurricane Chris (rapper)

Chris Dooley, Jr. , better known by his stage name Hurricane Chris, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2007 hit single "A Bay Bay" from his debut album 51/50 Ratchet. In 2009, Chris released his second album Unleashed.- Early life :Hurricane Chris was born and raised in the Cedar Grove...

, Chamillionaire

Chamillionaire

Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...

 and Lil Mama

Lil Mama

Niatia Jessica Kirkland professionally known as Lil Mama, is an American rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, and dancer.-Early life:...

 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

Rap rock

Rap rock is a cross-genre fusing vocal and instrumental elements of hip hop with various forms of rock. Rap rock is often confused with rap metal and rapcore, subgenres that include heavy metal-oriented and hardcore punk-oriented bands, respectively....

 album called Rebirth

Rebirth (Lil Wayne album)

Rebirth is the seventh studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released February 2, 2010, on Cash Money Records, Young Money Entertainment and Universal Motown. Originally set to be released in early 2009 before several delays, the album was produced primarily by Cool & Dre, DJ Infamous, DJ...

with no connection to Tha Carter III. "A Milli" was ranked the #1 Hip-Hop song of 2008 by MTV

MTV

MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....

. The song samples "I Left My Wallet in El Segundo (Vampire Mix)" by A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest

A Tribe Called Quest is an American hip hop group, formed in 1985, and is composed of rapper/producer Q-Tip , rapper Phife Dawg , and DJ/producer Ali Shaheed Muhammad. A fourth member, rapper Jarobi White, left the group after their first album but rejoined in 2006...

 and "Don't Burn Down the Bridge" by Gladys Knight & the Pips

Gladys Knight & the Pips

Gladys Knight & The Pips were an R&B/soul family musical act from Atlanta, Georgia, active from 1953 to 1989. The group was best known for their string of hit singles on Motown's "Soul" record label and Buddah Records from 1967 to 1975, including "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" and "Midnight...

.

Music video

The music video was shot on June 23, 2008, in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 (the same day he shot the video for "Got Money

Got Money

"Got Money" is the third single by American recording artist Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III . The single features singer-songwriter T-Pain. Both T-Pain and Lil Wayne use the auto-tune effect in the song. The single was released as a digital download on iTunes on May 27, 2008...

").

The video premiered on 106 & Park

106 & Park

106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show...

July 2, 2008. It consists of Lil Wayne preparing for the shoot of his following single "Got Money

Got Money

"Got Money" is the third single by American recording artist Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III . The single features singer-songwriter T-Pain. Both T-Pain and Lil Wayne use the auto-tune effect in the song. The single was released as a digital download on iTunes on May 27, 2008...

". The video, which was directed by Dayo Harewood, Dwayne Carter (Lil Wayne himself) & Jeff Panzer, 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

Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance

The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....

 at the 2009 Grammy Awards.

Blender

Blender (magazine)

Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities....

ranked this the #1 song of 2008.

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...

named it the 63rd best song of the 2000s decade.

Time

Time (magazine)

Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...

critic Josh Tyrangiel

Josh Tyrangiel

Josh Tyrangiel is a journalist, and editor of Bloomberg Businessweek. He joined the magazine following its acquisition by Bloomberg L.P. in December 2009. Prior to joining Bloomberg Businessweek, Tyrangiel was deputy managing editor of TIME magazine and managing editor of TIME.com...

 named this the #4 song of 2008.

The song was also ranked as the number one of 2008

2008 in music

2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...

 in the MTV News

MTV News

MTV News is the news division of MTV, one of the first and most popular music television network in the U.S., as well as some of MTV's related channels around the world. MTV News began in the late 1980s with the program The Week In Rock, hosted by Kurt Loder, the first official MTV News correspondent...

 Bigger Than Sound poll.

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

Tha Carter IV

Tha Carter IV is the ninth studio album by American rapper Lil Wayne, released on August 29, 2011 through Young Money Entertainment, Cash Money Records and Universal Republic Records...

'. A lot of artists have freestyled over the beat including: Amil, Chamillionaire

Chamillionaire

Hakeem Seriki , better known by his stage name Chamillionaire, is an American rapper, record producer, and entrepreneur. He is the CEO of Chamillitary Entertainment. Chamillionaire is also the founder and an original member of The Color Changin' Click...

, Jay-Z

Jay-Z

Shawn Corey Carter , better known by his stage name Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is one of the most financially successful hip hop artists and entrepreneurs in America, having a net worth of over $450 million as of 2010...

, Busta Rhymes

Busta Rhymes

Trevor Tahiem Smith, Jr., better known by his stage name Busta Rhymes ,Smith is an American rapper, producer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the alias Busta Rhymes after NFL wide receiver George "Buster" Rhymes...

, Game, Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar , formerly known by his stage name K. Dot, is an American rapper, and songwriter. He first gained major attention after the release of his 2010 mixtape O D. In 2011, his album Section.80, released exclusively through iTunes, instantly ranked as one of the top digital hip-hop releases...

, Trey Songz

Trey Songz

Tremaine "Trey" Aldon Neverson , better known by his stage name Trey Songz, is an American singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. His debut album, I Gotta Make It, was released in 2005, while his second album, Trey Day, was released in 2007...

, Chris Brown, Lil' Mama, Trina

Trina

Katrina Laverne Taylor , better known by her stage name Trina, is an American rapper, songwriter and model from Miami, Florida. Trina first gained notoriety in 1998 with her appearance on Trick Daddy's second studio album www.thug.com to the single "Nann Nigga"...

, Asher Roth

Asher Roth

Asher Paul Roth is an American rapper.-Early life:Asher Roth was born and raised in Morrisville, Pennsylvania, a small town about 20 miles northeast of Philadelphia. His mother, Elizabeth , is a yoga instructor, and his father, David Roth, is the executive director of a design firm...

, Ne-Yo

Ne-Yo

Shaffer Chimere Smith, Jr. , better known by his stage name Ne-Yo, is an American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer and actor. Beginning his career as a songwriter, Ne-Yo penned the hit "Let Me Love You" for singer Mario...

, Fabolous

Fabolous

John David Jackson , better known by his stage name Fabolous, is an American rapper of African American and Dominican descent. He grew up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. Part of his early popularity arose from his hit single "Can't Deny It" in 2001, from his debut...

, Cassidy

Cassidy

Barry Adrian Reese better known by his stage name Cassidy, is an American rapper.-2004: Split Personality:Cassidy's first album, Split Personality, was released on March 16, 2004. There were two singles released from the album. The first single was "Hotel", which featured R. Kelly. The second...

, Papoose

Papoose

A papoose is an American English loanword whose present meaning is "a Native American Indian child" or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in the context of the child's mother. The word came originally from the Narragansett tribe...

, Drake

Drake (entertainer)

Aubrey Drake Graham , who records under the mononym Drake, is a Canadian recording artist and actor. He originally became known for playing Jimmy Brooks on the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation....

, Jadakiss

Jadakiss

Jason Phillips , better known as Jadakiss, is an American rapper. He is a member of the group The LOX. Jadakiss is one of the three owners of the imprint known as D-Block. In early 2007, Jadakiss signed to Roc-a-Fella Records / Def Jam Records.-Early life:By the age of 16, Jadakiss was a freestyle...

, Dutch rapper Sef

SEF

SEF may refer to:* Supplementary eye fields, areas in the primate brain that are involved in planning and control of saccadic eye movements* Spectral edge frequency, a measure used in signal processing...

, French rapper Teki Latex

Teki Latex

Teki Latex is a Paris-based electronica, dance and hip-hop artist, working both independently and as part of the French hip-hop act TTC.-Life:...

 and Danish hiphop duo Nik & Jay

Nik & Jay

Nik & Jay is a Danish R&B / Hip-Hop / pop duo made up of Niclas Genckel Petersen and Jannik Brandt Thomsen ....

. There have also been verses by smaller rappers such as Wax

Wax (rapper)

Michael Jones, better known by his stage name Wax, is an American musician, rapper, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. He became a YouTube star after uploading several of videos of himself rapping and singing, and signed with Def Jam Recordings in March 2011...

, Lil Crazed, Traphik

Traphik

Traphik , also known as Timothy DeLaGhetto, is a rapper, comedian, and videographer. Aside from rapping, Traphik also makes online parody and comedy videos.-Filmography:-Youtube Channels:...

, D-Pryde, and An0maly. Also released was a dubstep remix by Datsik

Datsik (musician)

Datsik is the alias of Troy Beetles, a Dubstep DJ and music producer from British Columbia, Canada. He frequently works with fellow Canadian Dubstep producers Excision and Downlink. His first release was in the spring of 2009.-Biography:...

 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

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs

Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...

, making it his second number one song on that chart. It was also able to top the Hot Rap Tracks

Hot Rap Tracks

Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...

 as his previous single "Lollipop

Lollipop (Lil Wayne song)

"Lollipop" is the first single from Lil Wayne's sixth studio album, Tha Carter III. The track features the late R&B artist Static Major and is produced by Deezle and Jim Jonsin. The song was released digitally on March 13, 2008. The song is Lil Wayne's & Static Major's most successful to date,...

".
To date A Milli sold 2,053,000 digital copies.

Track listing

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

Charts

Chart (2008)	Peak position
UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)	163
US Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009...  (Billboard Billboard (magazine) Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis... )	34