Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)

"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)"
Single by Wyclef Jean featuring Akon, Lil Wayne and Niia
from the album Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant
Released	August 14, 2007
Recorded	2007
Genre	R&B, hip hop, reggae fusion
Length	3:59
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	Wyclef Jean Aliaune Thiam Dwayne Carter Dennis Coles Devon Golder Gary Grice Jason Hunter Jerry Duplessis K. Lancaster Lamont Coleman Robert Diggs Isaac Hayes
Producer(s)	Jean Duplessis Lamont "LOGiC" Coleman Golder
Wyclef Jean singles chronology
"You Know What It Is" (2007) "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (2007) "Dar um Jeito (We Will Find a Way)" (2014)
Akon singles chronology
"Sorry, Blame It on Me" (2007) "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (2007) "Am I Dreaming" (2007)
Lil Wayne singles chronology
"Duffle Bag Boy" (2007) "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (2007) "100 Million" (2007)
Niia singles chronology
"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (2007)

"Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" is the lead single from Haitian rapper Wyclef Jean's sixth studio album, Carnival Vol. II: Memoirs of an Immigrant. The song features vocals from Niia and Akon, as well as rapper Lil Wayne. Verizon Wireless released the song on their service on August 7, 2007. It peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2008.^[1]

Background[]

During the chorus, Akon 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 Wu-Tang Clan, who produced a song called "C.R.E.A.M." for the 1993 album Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers). Akon also samples the "dolla', dolla' bill, y'all" chant from the chorus of "C.R.E.A.M.". The second reference is to "Notorious Thugs", a song performed 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 was a reference to 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". This is a reference to a Tupac Shakur verse in the MC Breed 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 Akon, Lil Wayne, and Raekwon of the Wu-Tang Clan. The remix further samples more of Wu-Tang Clan'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 Niia 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 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 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 (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 are waiting for possible deportation. After a short wait, the lead female is informed that she will be deported. Soon after, you see her set the camp on fire and Jean, in an effort to reach her, takes out a guard and succeeds in rescuing the lead female. 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 account.^[2] The video was directed by Chris Robinson.

Track listing[]

German CD1

1. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Album Version)
2. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Remix Featuring Raekwon)

German CD2

1. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Album Version)
2. "Fast Car"
3. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Remix Featuring Raekwon)
4. "Sweetest Girl (Dollar Bill)" (Ringtone)

Chart performance[]

The song has peaked at #12 on the Billboard charts. On August 23, 2007, the song debuted on the Canadian Hot 100 at number 42 and later on peaked at #14. On that same day it made its first appearance on the Billboard charts, on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 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.

References[]