"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" is the lead single from Haitian rapper

Wyclef Jean Nel Ust Wyclef Jean (; born October 17, 1969) is a Haitian rapper, musician, and actor. At the age of nine, Jean immigrated to the United States with his family. He first achieved fame as a member of the New Jersey hip hop group the Fugees, a ...

's sixth studio album, '' Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant''. The R&B and hip hop song features vocals from

Niia Niia Bertino (born July 11, 1988), better known by her stage name Niia, is an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. Early life Niia was born in Needham, Massachusetts, and was trained by her mother in classical piano and began singing an ...

and

Akon Aliaune Damala Badara Akon Thiam (; born April 16, 1973), known mononymously as Akon, is a Senegalese-American singer, record producer, and entrepreneur. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of " Locked Up" (featuring Styles P ...

, as well as 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 ...

Verizon Wireless Verizon is an American wireless network operator that previously operated as a separate division of Verizon Communications under the name Verizon Wireless. In a 2019 reorganization, Verizon moved the wireless products and services into the div ...

released the song on their V CAST service on August 7, 2007. It peaked at number 12 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

in 2008.

Background

During the chorus,

sings, "See I'ma tell you, like Wu told me, Cash rules everything, around me." This is actually a two-layered reference, the first to the 1993

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop group formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its original members include RZA, GZA, Ol' Dirty Bastard, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, and Masta Killa. Close aff ...

song " C.R.E.A.M.", from which Akon also samples the "dolla', dolla' bill, y'all" chant from the song's chorus, and the second to "

Notorious Thugs The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving es ...

" by Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and the Notorious B.I.G., in which B.I.G. raps, "I'ma tell you like a nigga told me, Cash rules everything around me," which itself references the original Wu Tang track. Additionally, in the second verse of the song, Akon raps "They got they mind on they money, money on they mind. They got their finger on a trigger, hand on their nine", which references a

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

verse in the

MC Breed Eric Tyrone Breed (June 12, 1971 – November 22, 2008), better known as MC Breed, was an American rapper best known for his singles "Ain't No Future in Yo' Frontin'", which peaked at #66 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and "Gotta Get Mine" (featu ...

song "Gotta Get Mine" in which Shakur raps "I keep my mind on my money, money on mind. Finger on the trigger, nigga hand on my nine."

Remixes

The official remix features

, and

Raekwon Corey Woods (born January 12, 1970), better known by his stage name Raekwon The Chef, or simply Raekwon (), is an American rapper. He rose to prominence as a founding member of the hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan, which achieved mainstream success ...

of the

. The remix further samples more of

's song "C.R.E.A.M." and switches between the original "C.R.E.A.M." instrumental and the intro instrumental of "C.R.E.A.M.". Akon's & Wyclef's verses are switched on the remix. Singer

is featured and credited on the remix, but doesn't sing anything on it. On the second line before the ending of the outro, Wyclef says Raekwon's name on the line, "Tonight Wyclef, ____, Weezy on the bill", replacing Akon's name from the original version's outro. Rapper

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated Flow (rapping), flow in her rapping, alter e ...

recorded a remix which was featured on her 2008 mixtape Sucka Free. In this remix, Nicki removes Lil Wayne's verse, replacing it with a verse from herself.

Music video

The

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

, directed by Chris Robinson, is mainly set in a refugee camp. At the beginning of the video, Wyclef Jean is given the mission to prevent the video's lead female Aya Bungo (played by model/activist Gloria Mika) from being deported back to her home country, which is said to be hostile. Akon and Lil' Wayne are also featured as they also seemingly await possible deportation. After a short wait, Aya is informed that she will be deported. Soon after, she sets the camp ablaze and Jean, attempting to reach her, overpowers a guard and ultimately rescues her. Both leap off camera as the camp erupts in flame. The video for the remix premiered on November 27, 2007 on Wyclef Jean's

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

account.YouTube - Wyclef Jean featuring Akon, Lil Wayne, Raekwon, and introducing Niia-Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)
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Track listing

; German CD1 # "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Album Version) # "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Remix Featuring

) ; German CD2 # "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Album Version) # "Fast Car" # "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Remix Featuring

) # "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Ringtone)

Chart performance

The song has peaked at number 12 on the

Billboard charts The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in '' Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, p ...

. On August 23, 2007, the song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 42 and later on peaked at number 14. On that same day it made its first appearance on the

, on the

Bubbling Under Hot 100 Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (also known as Bubbling Under the Hot 100) is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart lists the top songs that have not yet charted on the main ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Chart ...

at number three. In New Zealand the single debuted at number 39 on the week of October 22. The following week, the song jumped to number 17. Now it is at number 8, solely off downloads. The single has peaked at 66 so far in the UK. The song didn't chart in Australia until May 2008, reaching its peak of number 28 in July. The song's appearance in the Billboard year-end marked Wyclef Jean's first appearance there in ten years.

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Lil Wayne singles 2007 singles Akon songs Lil Wayne songs Music videos directed by Chris Robinson (director) Wyclef Jean songs Songs about poverty Songs about prostitutes Songs written by Akon Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Wyclef Jean Songs written by Ghostface Killah 2007 songs Columbia Records singles Songs written by Method Man Songs written by RZA