"Girls Around the World" is a song by American recording artist
Lloyd. The song features rapper
Lil Wayne
Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman, joining ...
and was written by Lloyd and Lil Wayne, along with Eric Barrier and William Griffin. The song was produced by his production team,
Big Reese and Jasper Cameron, who also produced his breakthrough hit, "
You
In Modern English, ''you'' is the second-person pronoun. It is grammatically plural, and was historically used only for the dative case, but in most modern dialects is used for all cases and numbers.
History
''You'' comes from the Proto- ...
", which also featured Lil Wayne. The song served as the
lead single
A lead single (also known as a debut single) is the first single to be released from a studio album by an artist or a band, usually before the album itself is released and also occasionally on the same day of the album's release date.
Release s ...
for Lloyd's third studio album ''
Lessons in Love''. "Girls Around the World" received positive to mixed reviews from critics, some of whom noted it as generic, and others named it as a top track from the album. It reached No. 64 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and No. 13 on the
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart. The song samples the drum break from "
Ashley's Roachclip" by
the Soul Searchers
Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as " The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-197 ...
, as well as
interpolating Rakim's verse in "
Paid in Full" by
hip hop duo
Eric B. & Rakim.
Background
The song first leaked on Lil Wayne's ''Da Drought is Over Pt. 5'' mixtape on March 30, 2008. During an interview with British magazine
Blues & Soul
''Blues & Soul'' is a British music magazine, established in 1967 by John Abbey. ''The Independent'' has noted ''Blues & Soul'' as being the equal of magazines such as '' NME'' and '' Q''. ''Billboard'' magazine has called ''Blues & Soul'' "a ...
, Lloyd revealed that Girls Around the World would be the second single from the album. It was sent to U.S. radio stations on May 12, 2008.
Remixes and freestyles
The official remix, "Girls Around the World (We The Best Remix)", features
DJ Khaled
Khaled Mohammed Khaled (born November 26, 1975), known professionally as DJ Khaled, is an American DJ, record executive, record producer and rapper.
Khaled first gained recognition as a radio host in the 1990s on the radio station 99 Jamz, a ...
,
The Game,
T.I.,
Yung Joc
Jasiel Amon Robinson (born September 20, 1980), better known by his stage name Yung Joc, is an American rapper. He is best known for his 2006 hit single " It's Goin' Down". and as a feature on T-Pain's US number-one single "Buy U a Drank (Shawt ...
,
Rick Ross,
Ace Hood
Antoine Franklin McColister (born May 11, 1988), better known by his stage name Ace Hood, is an American rapper. He was born in Port St. Lucie, Florida and raised in Deerfield Beach, Florida. He was signed to record producer DJ Khaled's label W ...
,
Young Dro
D'Juan Montrel Hart (born January 15, 1979), better known by his stage name Young Dro, is an American rapper. After gaining recognition with his regional hit song "Yes Sir", from his 2002 independent album ''I Got That Dro'', Young Dro aligned ...
,
Pitbull
Pit bull is a term used in the United States for a type of dog descended from bulldogs and terriers, while in other countries such as the United Kingdom the term is used as an abbreviation of the American Pit Bull Terrier breed. The term was f ...
and
Busta Rhymes. There is also a radio edit version that features DJ Khaled, The Game, T.I., Yung Joc and Busta Rhymes. The remix also samples from "Paid in Full" by
Eric B. & Rakim. There are no verses by Lloyd; he only sings the chorus. Another remix features a verse from R&B singer
Trey Songz
Tremaine Aldon Neverson (born November 28, 1984), known professionally as Trey Songz, is an American R&B singer and rapper. His debut album, '' I Gotta Make It'', was released in 2005 through Atlantic Records. His follow-up album, '' Trey Day' ...
.
Chamillionaire released a freestyle of this song for his ''Mixtape Messiah 4'' called "All Around the World". In the song, he sings an entire verse, along with rapping.
Music video
The music video of the song was shot in
Miami, Florida
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...
, and directed by
Hype Williams
Harold Williams (born August 1, 1970) is an American music video director, film director, film producer, and screenwriter.
Early life
Williams was born in Queens, New York. He is of mixed African-American and Honduran descent. He attended Adel ...
. The video premiered on June 4, 2008 on BET's ''
106 & Park
''106 & Park'' is an American hip hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that was broadcast on weekdays at 6:00 pm ET/5:00 pm CT on BET; it aired on a one-day delay on BET International. It was the network's highest- rate ...
''. It was also made available on
Yahoo! Music
Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds o ...
on June 9, 2008. Its outer space theme was thought to be influenced by
Janet Jackson's "
Feedback."
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2007 songs
2008 singles
Lil Wayne songs
Lloyd (singer) songs
Music videos directed by Hype Williams
Songs written by Lil Wayne
Songs written by Lloyd (singer)