Lil Wayne

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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."

In Their Own Story

"Lollipop" jumped 76 spots from number 85 to number 9 on the March 28, 2008 issue of the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Lil Wayne's highest-charting single as a lead artist and his first top ten hit on the chart as a lead artist. The following week, it reached a new peak of number 7 on the Hot 100. The single reached a new peak of number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 on April 17, 2008, making it his highest-charting single as both a lead artist or as a featured performer. For the week of May 3, 2008, "Lollipop" reached the number-one spot on the Hot 100, his first number one on the chart. It is also Wayne's first number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and the Hot Rap Tracks chart. After one week, it slipped away from top spot, but returned three weeks later, making it the song with the longest break in between peaks in the Hot 100 since Usher's "U Got It Bad." It returned to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the second time on May 22, 2008. The song has become a top ten success in Canada, peaking at number 10 as of May 29, 2008, and his most successful song in the UK, where it reached number 26 on downloads alone. It reached number 3 on the New Zealand charts and was certified double Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. In 2008, "Lollipop" was the best-selling ringtone in the United States with over 2.3 million copies sold and the second best-selling digital song with over 3.1 million copies. To date, "Lollipop" sold 4,176,000 digital copies in the United States.

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.

Did You Know?

• "Lollipop" spent 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.
• The song was certified diamond by the RIAA for selling ten million units in the United States.
• The music video was filmed in Las Vegas at Gavin Maloof's residence on December 31, 2007.
• The final frame of the video is a picture of Static praying with the words "In memory of Stephen "Static Major" Garrett."