Lil Wayne

The artist behind the 2008 diamond-certified number-one hit "Lollipop" and the first number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for Lil Wayne.

Lil Wayne is an American rapper and singer who released the song "Lollipop" as the lead single from his sixth studio album Tha Carter III on March 13, 2008. The track, which features fellow American singer Static Major, is a dirty rap song with hip house, trap and R&B elements and heavily utilizes the Auto-Tune vocal effect. Produced by American record producers Deezle and Jim Jonsin, the song's lyrics are about sexual desire and oral sex. A remixed version with a guest appearance from American rapper Kanye West, as well as featuring new verses from Lil Wayne, was released as a bonus track for the album on iTunes.

Quick Facts

Birth name

Dwayne Michael Carter Jr.

Born

27 September 1982

Other names

Baby D
Shrimp Daddy
Birdman Jr.
Tunechi
Weezy
Weezy F. Baby
The President

Birthplace

New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.

Occupation

Rapper
singer
songwriter
record executive
actor
entrepreneur

Years active

1991–present

Spouse

Toya Johnson (2004–2006)

Partner

Nivea (2002–2003, 2009–2010; ex-fiancée)
La'Tecia Thomas (2019–2020; ex-fiancée)
Denise Bidot (2020–2022)

Facts from the source article.

Lore & Background

"Lollipop" became the most successful song by both Lil Wayne and Static Major, spending five non-consecutive weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100. Static Major died on February 25, 2008, approximately two weeks before the song's release, making it the eighth song to peak the chart after the death of a credited artist. The song received diamond certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for selling ten million units in the United States and was ranked the number one hip hop song of 2008 by MTV. It also reached number one on the 2008 issue of Notarized by BET and was ranked at number five on Rolling Stone's list of the 100 Best Songs of 2008. With 9.1 million copies sold as of January 2009, "Lollipop" was named 2008's best-selling digital single worldwide by IFPI. The song won a Grammy Award at the 51st Annual Grammy Awards for Best Rap Song. The music video for the song was directed by Gil Green and filmed in Las Vegas at Gavin Maloof's residence on December 31, 2007. The video premiered via BET's Access Granted on March 12, 2008 and reached number one on TRL in April on MTV. Jim Jonsin, Tyga, Jay Rock, Birdman and Mack 10 make cameos in the video. The final frame of the video is a picture of Static praying with the words "In memory of Stephen "Static Major" Garrett."

Reader's Guide

Lil Wayne's "Lollipop" features a remixed version with a guest appearance from American rapper Kanye West, as well as featuring new verses from Lil Wayne, released as a bonus track for the album on iTunes. Other remixes feature Young Jeezy, Gorilla Zoe, Ace Hood, Kurupt, V.I.C., Nicki Minaj, Wiz Khalifa, Tekitek, Rasheeda and Khia, who made a popular female version of the song. Another remix was made commemorating the 2008 NBA champion Boston Celtics. David Banner's song "Shawty Say" samples the opening part of the Lil Wayne's second verse for its chorus. JJ uses elements of "Lollipop" in their song "Ecstasy." Wayne's protégé Drake samples this song on his song "In My Feelings" from his fifth studio album, Scorpion. The post-hardcore band Framing Hanley covered the song as a bonus track on their album The Moment, and it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for shipping 500,000 units in the United States.