Day 98: "She Will" feat. Drake – Tha Carter IV , 2011Happy, uh, Boxing Day! Boxing Day is one of those holidays that Americans don't really understand but that we like to make references to for the sake our friends in Canada and the UK, just to show how "worldly" and "down with the empire" we are. Letting go of Christmas is always a process anyway, so what better way to do it than by wishing each other a happy holiday that none of us actually know the meaning of with a charming dash of irony? Anyway, I just googled Boxing Day to make sure this post was not too wildly ill-informed, and it turns out that most Canadians and British people celebrate it by shopping because all the stores have sales. On that theme, let's discuss this discount-ass Drake feature. Shouts out to Canada. As Wayne raps, "today I went shopping, and talk is still cheap," which is sale-themed, thus making this song appropriate for today. I was thinking that there would be, almost inevitably, a Lil Wayne song that samples George Michael, who died last night, but there isn't. So it will have to be a silent salute from one pop icon to another, and we will instead spend today discussing what she will or won't do."She Will" is a song that, to me, is notable for a few reasons. One is that every time I go to the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood in New York, I'm reminded of Lil Wayne's lyric "I'm in Hell's Kitchen with an apron and a hair net." That's pretty much all there is to say about it, but if you ever are in Hell's Kitchen, I recommend going to Rudy's, on 9th Ave. and 44th Street. It's the best bar between 34th Street and 59th Street in Manhattan, a dive that is home of cheap beer and hot dogs. As you go, make a point of rapping Lil Wayne.This song features into the oral sex tally from the other day, and it also raises some complicated questions about strippers' butts. More notably, it feels like a bit of the dividing line between the point where Lil Wayne was a bigger star than Drake and the point where Drake was a bigger star than Lil Wayne. The whole song is set up as though there's about to be a Drake verse that never comes (Lil Wayne even introduces him, only for it to just set up another hook). And it was undeniably Drake's hook that made this song a hit, as Wayne's verses are just kind of boilerplate punchline fodder, while Drake's hook is genuinely catchy, no matter your thoughts on strippers' butts. Still, there's no denying the song's importance because it's Lil Wayne's second-highest charting single ever (number three on the Hot 100). Of all the Lil Wayne songs a casual fan might know, this is one of the likeliest suspects. No wonder he has such a reputation for rapping about his interest in, er, wining and dining. Weirdly, there was never a video for it, and I feel like neither Wayne nor Drake considers this to be a standout song of theirs; it's almost just an incidental hit. Like I said, discount Drake, who is Canadian. What better song to play on Boxing Day?Finally, this song figures into the official Stevie Wonder vs. Ray Charles blindness Lil Wayne lyrics reference tally, with one point for Ray Charles.Follow Kyle Kramer on Twitter.
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