Lil Wayne’s then-new single “A Milli” was practically unavoidable in the summer of 2008, as it was played nonstop on radio and in music videos, and numerous rappers, including Jay-Z, Fabolous, Jadakiss, Lil Mama, LL Cool J, and others, freestyled iterations of it that proliferated on blogs to the point where it was difficult to find anyone who didn’t have a version of it somewhere in their repertoire. It’s safe to say it was Lil Wayne’s biggest hit — in terms of effect, if not in terms of numbers — and has left an indelible mark on the rap world ever since.
Lil Wayne got to celebrate the tune reaching a milestone on Spotify yesterday, which may be hilarious in context, by sharing a snapshot to Instagram proclaiming the single had reached a billion streams. In the caption, he added, “A Billi A Billi A Billi,” echoing the song’s original hook. “Special thanks to @spotify and @rapcaviar. And, most importantly, thank you to everyone who has listened, streamed, and continues to bump it to this day!”
Since its debut, the song, which was the second single off his game-changing album Tha Carter III, has constantly appeared on lists of the greatest hip-hop tracks of all time, including BBC’s, Rolling Stone’s, and Complex’s.
Congratulations to Lil Wayne, and here’s to another milli, billi, and even a trilli in the future.
